Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

When presented with a challenge, there’s not much that can hold Megan Fachini back.
That’s why in just over a month’s time, the Strathmore local will brave terrain, test her strength and agility, and push her mind to compete in the strenuous Woman2Warrior obstacle course that requires those participating to lift, climb, jump, and crawl. Yet the 4.5 km challenge also serves as a metaphor for the 26-year-old, who won’t let anything stand in her way – not even her Cerebral Palsy or being wheelchair bound – to financially and physically support the cause of obtaining funds for people with disabilities or medical conditions.
Fachini was born with Cerebral Palsy, which affects her muscle tone, movement, and motor skills. Determined to defy the stereotype, she pursued a career of becoming an education assistant, attended the Easter Seals Alberta’s Camp Horizon for the past five years, and was named the youth ambassador for Easter Seals in Southern Alberta in 2014. It was at the first Women2Warrior event last year, where Fachini was asked to deliver a speech and volunteer together with friend Melissa Schayes, that sparked the conceptualization of the duo joining forces to confront the course head on at the end of this May.
“People look at me and they think I am what they see and that’s it, but I’ve experienced so much more in life than my 300 lbs wheelchair,” said Fachini. “When Melissa first brought up the idea I thought ‘are you nuts? There’s no way I can do this.’ It’s going to be challenging to do the training and everything else, but I’m up for a challenge and in my mind there’s no better cause this money can go towards. I am much more than my wheelchair. I won’t let that hold me back, I refuse to.”
The twosome will enlist the use of a modified wheelchair – the Park Explorer, a combination of a wheelchair and bicycle provided by Easter Seals – and depend on the strength of firefighters to help Fachini attain certain obstacles. While Schayes will push the wheelchair through the course, Fachini will rely on her own body strength when approaching the obstacles requiring much weight bearing. To prepare for the venture, therefore, she’s been strengthening her legs through sit-to-stand exercises where she has reached a maximum time standing of 60 seconds.
Although nerves are already starting to kick in, the determined Fachini is passionate about the cause. Women2Warrior raises money for Easter Seals Alberta and the Children’s Hospital Aid Society (CHAS) for the purchase of mobility equipment and to offer summer camp programs.
“The opportunity to get out to camp is literally the highlight of my year because it’s the only place where nothing matters,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that I talk funny or that I’m in a wheelchair. Nothing matters because you’re there with a whole bunch of other people who live the same reality as you so they don’t care either. I’ve been to Easter Seals’ Camp Horizon as a camper and suffice it to say, I will pretty much bend over backwards for those guys. It’s an amazing place.”
Over the years, Camp Horizon made it possible for Fachini to participate in activities such as white water rafting, a high rope course, and swimming. The change in her personality and attitude didn’t go unnoticed by those around her, including Schayes, who is a job coach with the Strathmore branch of the Advocacy in Motion Society (AIMS). In trying to prolong the positive energy as well as raise awareness about Cerebral Palsy in the community, Schayes continued to encourage Fachini in preparing for the event.
“We live in a community that doesn’t have any education on Megan, so if we get her out there and get her through this obstacle course, it’s a way for us to educate people and say just because this thing that she’s sitting in, just because she’s in that, it doesn’t mean that she can’t do it,” said Schayes. “When she’s at Easter Seals, she lights up. I’ve never seen this girl smile so much. If you can get her to those places and get her to do these things that she thinks are amazing then you get to keep that positivity in her. That’s what we hope for.”
Fachini has already surpassed her mandatory entrance fee of $300 and just reached over $700. Her goal is to gather $1,200 – the amount required to send one individual to camp. While her efforts thus far have only included a Facebook post and approaching a few individuals, posters will be posted throughout the community to raise the remaining $500 and more. Fachini and Schayes will participate in the Woman2Warrior obstacle course at SAIT in Calgary on May 28.