Soul surfer Bethany Hamilton has inspired fellow disabled athletes to never give up and keep on pursuing their dreams during the PossAbilities Sports Luncheon held on Oct. 14 in the Wong Kerlee International Conference Center in the Loma Linda University of Health in Loma Linda, California.
"It's pretty cool to see what amazing [things] humans can do after going through [or continuing] to go through hard time," she said, reported the IE Community News Group.
Hamilton once again recalled the day when her left arm was bitten by a shark. On Oct. 31, 2003, Hamilton, who was only 13 years old then, was surfing in Hawaii with her father, brother and best friend when a shark attacked her, biting off her arm.
"At that point I felt like my dreams and my love for surfing was being taking away from me, which was devastating," she said. "[That's] more devastating than losing my arm."
"Even at 13, I thought, I can do without my arm, but to do without surfing" was something that she cannot deal with, she said. So despite all the hardships she endured surfing with just one arm, Hamilton braved on just so she can still enjoy the sport she feels most passionate about.
"In life we all face obstacles," she said. "I believe by pursuing our passions we can then have the drive to overcome."
Hamilton's road to recovery after the shark attack can be read in her book called "Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board." It also inspired the 2011 film also called "Soul Surfer."
The luncheon managed to raise over $125,000 to benefit PossAbilities, an outreach programme that helps disabled athletes go on training for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Other speakers of the event included paratriathlete Andre Barbieri, handcyclist Delmon Dunston, paracyclist Nicholas Gleissner and canoeist Greg Crouse.