Close Ad

Womans Husband of 14 Years Leaves Her After She Was Paralyzed - Makes a Comeback in More Ways Than One
Woman Whose Husband Left Her After She Was Paralyzed Finds New Love With Personal Trainer
Uplifting News

Womans Husband of 14 Years Leaves Her After She Was Paralyzed - Makes a Comeback in More Ways Than One

Losing a loved one and being diagnosed with a critical illness would destroy someone's life. Yet, one amazing woman has bounced back stronger than ever.

By all accounts, 37-year-old Riona Kelly of Halifax, Yorkshire got off lucky. While a car accident 18 months prior shook her up, she had her health and was able to walk.


But one day would change all of that drastically in ways she couldn't imagine.

Rushed to the hospital with a spinal stroke leaving her paralyzed from the waist down, she heard the words anyone dreads to hear.

"Doctors told me I would never walk again," she recalled to the Sun.

However in a cruel twist, she'd soon lose more than just her mobility.

A Husband Deserts His Wife

woman crying
Photo by Karolina Grabowska 

Just five days into her hospital stay, Kelly says that her husband of fourteen years called it quits on their marriage.

"It was the time I needed my husband the most."

It left Kelly -- a mother of four -- alone to fend for herself in a scary new world in a wheelchair. Her lows were perilously low.

"The first time I went out in a wheelchair I thought everyone was looking at me, I hated it and hated myself," she recalled, adding that she considered the worst.

"If someone had given me the choice I would have ended my life, I didn't want to live anymore.”

She thanks her lucky stars for her friend Sarah and her kids for seeing through that dark period.

Riona Kelly was not ready to go out without a fight.

A Strong Woman’s Comeback Story

Kelly did physiotherapy around the clock, determined to get strength and feeling back in her legs. Then one day, despite what the doctors told her, she took her first steps on her own.

She says there are four great reasons as motivation to never give up.

"It took me 25 minutes to get up 16 steps, and the same time to come back down again, but I was determined to do it for my children."

Amazingly, that's just the first act of her incredible success story.

During her rehab, she met personal trainer Keith Mason. The two instantly hit it off.

"After our sessions, Keith and I stayed in contact, he would ask me how I was getting on and our relationship blossomed from there."

It's been a love song ever since.

"We have now been together for 11 months, the children really like him and I finally feel like I'm living the life I deserve."

How One Woman Reminds Us to Walk Our Path

couple holding hands and walking on the beach at sunset
Photo by Dominic Sansotta

Kelly's ex-husband Richard maintains that he told her of the divorce the morning before her stroke. Kelly's just thankful that he's in the rearview.

"Looking back, going through what I did was the best thing to ever happen to me."

Against all odds, Kelly is literally walking away from her troubles. She only needs her wheelchair to walk longer distances. Like, for example, the two marathons she's completed.

Who can imagine how lonely Kelly must have felt in that hospital in the weeks and months after her husband left her?

Author Ryan Holiday talks about two choices we have when faced with adversity. We can wallow in the 'Dead Time -- where we are passive and biding.'

Or, as Kelly chose, we can choose 'Alive Time,' where we are 'learning and acting and leveraging every second towards their intended future.'

With friends and family as motivation, she chose life and is now living her best. Even at our darkest point, it's a path available to us all.

More from Goalcast:

Hot Stories

Why Paul Walker Left His Only Daughter With Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel & Paul Walker were more than just friends, they were …

content.jwplatform.com

When the tragic news of Paul Walker's death surfaced, the world was left in shock. As one of the most beloved stars of the Fast and Furious franchise, his passing was felt deeply by fans around the globe. But perhaps the most devastating impact was felt by his daughter, Meadow Walker, who was left without a father.

Keep ReadingShow less
Life Stories
stranger pays for man's huge bill

We've all been there: you’ve loaded up your shopping cart or ordered a service, only to reach for your wallet and realize that it’s not there. It can be an embarrassing and anxiety-inducing scenario, one that sets the tone for the day.

A man faced a similar situation one day when he couldn’t remember his new PIN at a gas station. But when a stranger stepped in to help, he did more than save this man’s day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Uplifting News
rapper eminem poses for a picture
Eminem
UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 09: ASTORIA Photo of EMINEM (Photo by Nicky J. Sims/Redferns)

There is no doubt Eminem is a complicated person. His 25-year career has been defined by feuds, violence and toxic male aggression. However, amid the chaos, the rapper has maintained the ability to lay bare his vulnerabilities and acknowledge his weaknesses. Nothing illustrates that complexity better than the fraught relationship between Eminem and Eminem's mom, Debbie Nelson Mathers (maiden name Nelson).

Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, didn’t have the best upbringing. Raised in poverty, his parents grappled with addiction and relationship troubles, scarring the young rapper as he was beginning to carve out an identity. As such, he harbored resentment for his mom and dad, and swore he would break the pattern when it came to his own daughter.

Keep ReadingShow less
Celebrities