At just 15 years old, Eva Navarro’s life changed forever when she was struck by a car. The incident left her without full use of her legs.
"Being in a wheelchair is really hard, especially when I went from being normal to being someone who's considered special ed," Navarro said.
Her wounds were more than skin deep.
"I would get bullied a lot because of what happened to me, or because the way I do things is different," she said.
Now, four years later, Eva is one of 37 inspiring campers, swimming, climbing, scoring, and playing a variety of adaptive sports at this year's UCSB and Cottage Health's free wheelchair sports camp, proving that limitations can be transformed into possibilities.
"I like to say this is the best week ever, but I don't want it to be their only week ever, and we work really hard at camp to balance challenge and skill so they flow and grow," said Camp Director Reni Van Hoorn.
Campers range in age from 6 to 21, and the skills they learn here are invaluable tools they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
"We have counselors that are talking to them like, here's how you learn to drive when you have a disability, here's how you can be independent so you can go to college," Van Hoorn said.
As for Eva, it’s her last year as a camper, but she plans to come back to camp next year as a volunteer to empower the next generation of wheelchair athletes.
"You have special needs, or if you're disabled, don't let that define who you are because you're beautiful on the inside and out," she said.
For more information about the camp visit https://www.cottagehealth.org/services/rehabilitation/junior-wheelchair-sports-camp/
