Photography by Belinda Mason
“When I was a teacher I used to go to the dance academy after school every day. One day I was coming home from work, I got off the bus and rang my mum to tell say I would be home in 5 minutes but at the end of 5 minutes my life changed.
I had to go to hospital and then into rehab. In rehab, I suffered a lot from depression. I just wanted to stay at home, but I knew that they were trying to help me function independently.
When I was in hospital my psychologist told me about a patient who had been shot a few times who happened to be visiting the hospital at that time. I became friends with him, then he became my boyfriend and now we are married. My husband is a wheelchair basketball player. Now I have gone back to dancing. I would like to have some kind of academy for people in wheelchairs to be able to do the things they want to do.
I feel like you can do anything once you have the support of your family.”
– Jacky, Guatemala 2017