by Rachel Smith
There are only nine women in the world who have rowed two oceans, and Angela Madsen is one of them. There is only one woman who has rowed two oceans and completed a rowing circumnavigation of Great Britain; there is only one Angela Madsen, a paraplegic woman who rows across oceans.
On January 8, 2011, Angela will be among 16 highly motivated crew members attempting to break the 33 day world rowing record. They will depart from Agadir, Morocco and row to Port St. Charles, Barbados in the West Indies. For more information on the expedition, visit www.rocexpedition.com.
Angela is thrilled to be a part of this historic experience, but then she does love a good challenge. Her perspective has always been one of optimism and strength. She says, “Disability is not a death sentence. It does not reduce or diminish someone’s capacity for anything that life has to offer, it only makes other people think that it does.”
Angela sustained a spinal cord injury in 1993. She had surgery on a back injury, which she’d picked up while serving in the military. By all accounts, it seems that during the surgery, if it could go wrong it did, and what should have been a fairly straightforward 4-hour procedure turned into a 10.5-hour disaster. But sadly it didn’t end there and the lengthy time spent in hospital after the botched operation resulted in Angela losing everything and being forced to start over from scratch.
It took some time, but with the support of family and friends, Angela adjusted to her new life. Being introduced to wheelchair athletics aided Angela’s transition and helped to show Angela what life still offered her.
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Angela Madsen |
On January 8, 2011, Angela will be among 16 highly motivated crew members attempting to break the 33 day world rowing record. They will depart from Agadir, Morocco and row to Port St. Charles, Barbados in the West Indies. For more information on the expedition, visit www.rocexpedition.com.
Angela is thrilled to be a part of this historic experience, but then she does love a good challenge. Her perspective has always been one of optimism and strength. She says, “Disability is not a death sentence. It does not reduce or diminish someone’s capacity for anything that life has to offer, it only makes other people think that it does.”
Angela sustained a spinal cord injury in 1993. She had surgery on a back injury, which she’d picked up while serving in the military. By all accounts, it seems that during the surgery, if it could go wrong it did, and what should have been a fairly straightforward 4-hour procedure turned into a 10.5-hour disaster. But sadly it didn’t end there and the lengthy time spent in hospital after the botched operation resulted in Angela losing everything and being forced to start over from scratch.
It took some time, but with the support of family and friends, Angela adjusted to her new life. Being introduced to wheelchair athletics aided Angela’s transition and helped to show Angela what life still offered her.