Bombing Survivor Who Lost Both Legs Joins U.S. Para-Equestrian Team at the Paralympics [Video]

• Beatrice de Lavalette was 17 when she suffered serious injuries and lost both her legs during the Brussels bombing attack in 2016.
• Thanks to her horse, DeeDee, she didn’t give up hope and worked hard to get back to her passion of riding.
• She has since joined the U.S. Para-Equestrian team and will be representing the country in the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

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Beatrice de Lavalette was 17 when she got caught in the 2016 terrorist bombing attack at Brussels airport. She suffered a spinal cord injury, serious burns, and lost both her legs.

Despite the tremendous changes in her life, she’s attributed her personal growth to that tragedy. Now she’s representing the U.S. in the Tokyo Paralympic Games as part of the Para-Equestrian team.

Beatrice has considered riding as her passion — an activity she began at age 3. When she was only 12, she had already taken up dressage.

She shared that coming to terms with her injuries threw her into a depressive state. She found herself crying a lot in the hospital until an unexpected visitor brought her hope: her beloved horse, DeeDee.

Beatrice recalled the fateful visit in an interview on The Doctors. “DeeDee saved my life,” she said. Her mom brought DeeDee to the hospital parking lot. She recalled, “I went outside in the rain and as I got closer, she came towards me and put her head against my chest. That moment made me decide that I wasn’t going to give up on life.”

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A post shared by Beatrice De Lavalette (@beatriceldl)

Her injuries made it next to impossible to return to horseback riding, but she didn’t let anything hinder her. Focusing on rehab and retraining, she was able to return to the saddle five months after the tragedy.

She recalled her journey to CNN. Being on horseback was uncomfortable for her in the beginning, since she was too thin and haven’t regained her sense of balance. It was like having to relearn riding all over again. But after building up muscle and working on her balance, she found it easier with time.

Beatrice credits her fast recovery to her horses, especially DeeDee. Everything was also made easier thanks to her doctors, caretakers, and support from her friends, family.

She was soon able to join the U.S. Para-Dressage team and made her first appearance in 2020. Now, she’ll be able to showcase her hard-earned skills at the Paralympics, along with Clarc, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood.

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A post shared by Beatrice De Lavalette (@beatriceldl)

She wrote on her website, “I can’t change what happened, but I can succeed at being me. As I have said many times, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What else is there to say? There are no ‘What ifs.’ I have a new life in front of me. What’s important is that I’m alive and I feel that I will do something grand with my life.”

Source: Good News Network