Teaira Daniels from Cincinnati, Ohio, has been through so many horrible things in her life but has always remembered that it’s important to never give up.
Back in 2009, Teaira’s little girl Amariyah passed away after she was diagnosed with Pompe’s disease.
Teaira’s life fell apart. In order to keep her mind off of things, she decided to pursue a passion that she’s had for her entire life: hairdressing and cosmetology. The kind woman wants to help other people feel beautiful as an ode to her beautiful daughter.
The hairdresser-to-be signed up for cosmetology school, but she had to drop out because of medical reasons.
A couple of years ago, she didn’t feel well and didn’t think much of it at first, but her condition was much more severe than anyone anticipated.
Two days later, Teaira woke up with no feeling whatsoever in the lower half of her body. She was paralyzed from the chest down.
“I was in ICU for 6 weeks and doctors were unsure if I would survive and even if I managed to survive I might not ever walk again. Ultimately I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder called neuromyelitis optica,” she recalls.
Teaira’s time in the hospital was absolutely heartbreaking as she struggled with so many different emotions. She had no idea whether or not she would survive or ever regain some movement in her lower body.
However, Teaira never gave up and wanted to pursue her dream of becoming a hairdresser at all costs.
It took multiple extensive surgeries and plenty of grueling hours of therapy, but Teaira started to regain some very slight forms of mobility. She still isn’t able to walk independently or put much weight on her legs, but Teaira manages to do most things with her wheelchair.
Thanks to her wheelchair, she then graduated from the cosmetology school in 2017. However, she realized that finding a job wouldn’t be easy with her condition, because it’s difficult for her to style and apply chemical products to customers.
However, a standing wheelchair would fix all of those issues.
The woman launched a GoFundMe campaign and wanted to raise $18,000 in order to be able to purchase a ‘manual superstand wheelchair’. With these special chairs, it’s possible to stand up while still getting support from the chair, allowing the person using it to have far more mobility and freedom.
“I needed to have the proper chair so that I could be higher than my clients when it came to styling and [applying] chemical products,” she told Buzzfeed.
“I tried out the chair and fell in love,” she added. “I knew this chair was the right fit for me.”
After hearing about her story, the non-profit organization Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities then gifted her one of these amazing chairs, but that’s not the only surprise that Teaira received.
Famous makeup artist Theo Turner and author D.L. Hughley heard about this woman’s story and decided to share her GoFundMe video to their hundreds of thousands of followers.
Teaira was flooded with encouraging comments and warm, loving words. Since she already received a standing wheelchair, the hairdresser now wants to use any donated funds to get a wheelchair-friendly van to commute to work.
Speaking about work, Teaira’s career as a hairstylist is looking quite bright.
She’s had her eye on a couple of job openings at nice salons, and the first job interviews were very promising.
“I have to actually bring a model in [to a job interview] tomorrow to perform a cut and color,” she told. “I’ll use my mom who’s in the GoFundMe video with me.”
Teaira’s story has inspired many around the world, and she hopes that she can truly make a difference when she says that it’s important to never give up.
“I just want to encourage and show others that no matter what you are going through, hold on. I find that with time the pain in my life has eased and I am able to smile.”
What an inspirational woman!
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