WATCH: Bianca now only embraces life

AFTER trying to come to terms with her broken body for the better part of 20 years, Bianca van der Schyff (40) is in a space in her life where she embraces living.

Bianca visited Thailand to take part in the World Tai Chi Day on April 27. What makes this amazing is that Bianca is completely blind and has trouble walking.

She was in a tragic car accident 20 years ago. Her car rolled off the Elands Interchange after impacting a barrier. Following the accident, Bianca found herself unable to move and see. Since then she has had years of therapy and mobility and independence training.

Bianca describes this time as very depressing for her as everything she had been working up to at that point, which includes ballet and studying law, she could no longer do.

The road to recovery

Bianca’s journey with tai chi started six years ago when she met Craig Boden, who was to instruct her on how to fall.

Because of her blindness and the fact that she was mostly wheelchair-bound, she often fell out of the chair and needed to learn how to fall and not hurt herself. Craig was not content to merely help her fall, but made it his mission to help her walk again. He told her something that changed her entire view on life.

“I will walk you down the aisle,” he said.

“If he could see it, I could see it too,” said Bianca. Up to that point she was unsure if she would ever be able to walk again.

Through her tai chi training, Bianca has progressed in leaps and bounds. She is now able to do things she never thought would be possible, such as climbing stairs unaided.

The pair has worked on a special trust relationship as all the work Craig does with Bianca has to be physical. Craig said people don’t always understand how they work, but the trust between them has let her work with other tai chi practitioners. Bianca also said tai chi has helped her confidence immensely.

“After the accident, I was shy and unable to speak to people. Now I am not only able to be part of a conversation, but I hold my own, even with strangers.”

A true inspiration

Bianca and Craig said her influence on the trip to Thailand was amazing to see. At first people were unsure how to be around her, even gravitating away from her or being overly concerned.

Towards the end of the trip the other people not only accepted her but she became somewhat of a social inspiration. She officially started the dancing at a farewell event by opening the dance floor with Craig. “Craig was hipping me around the dance floor,” she said smiling.

A moment of true happiness and accomplishment for Bianca was the visit to a temple in Thailand. To visit the temple a huge flight of stairs had to be climbed as the lift was out of order. With Craig in front of her and a guide behind her Bianca managed to climb the 386 steps to the top.

“I used my own power to persevere through it,” said Bianca.

Her aim for the future is to have fun. “I want to live. This is my body. This is what I’ve got. It’s nice just to be okay. I will never look back.”

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