Women’s Health UK – September 2019

My body might be considered

dysfunctional, but it does function.

People tend to see you in a

wheelchair and automatically view

you as disabled, but I get to do

everything I want with my body. By

doing this shoot, I’m showing a side

to impairment that isn’t always seen

• we’re strong and powerful as hell.
  Regardless of my various issues,
  my body kind of rocks. I have
  Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which
  basically means I’m like Elastigirl

from The Incredibles – my connective

tissues are too stretchy, which affects

everyone in different ways, but, for

me, it results in joint issues, as well

as chronic fatigue and pain.

Sport has been an absolute saviour

for me. I live with anxiety and

depression, and training was the only

thing that got me out of bed during

tough times. Even if I was crying the

whole car journey there, just turning

up and doing something gave me

such a sense of achievement.

I wear my waist beads to celebrate

my womanhood, femininity and

sexuality. They remind me that,

even with challenges such as fibroids

and endometriosis, my yummy

tummy is absolutely beautiful.

They’re a way of connecting with my

heritage and my body as a whole,

but also promoting healing as well.

Eating is one of the perks of my job.

I find the term ‘diet’ too restrictive,

so I talk about fuelling. I’ll fuel my

training with eggs, turkey bacon and

toast, or porridge followed by eggs

and lots of plantain, then recover

with Jamaican brown stew chicken.

I have to convince people that I’m

an elite athlete. Paralympians are

true athletes, we work just as hard,

if not harder, to get to the top of

our game. Aside from the physical

element, there are so many other

challenges to deal with: from

simply being able to access training

facilities, to being able to afford

the expensive equipment we need.

VANESSA WALLACE, 42

Paralympic shot-put and javelin thrower who

won gold at the 2018 European Championships

Women’s Health SEPTEMBER 2019 | 97

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