Washington Post

Angela Madsen finds a second wind:

In 1995, a physician at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Long Beach, Calif., told Angela Madsen her “physical condition is a waste of human life.” The former Marine who had suffered a paralyzing spinal injury in the line of duty 14 years earlier and will never forget those harsh words uttered to her during her darkest period.

That statement by her physician gave Angela the boost she needed to take the bull by the horns and not to feel sorry for herself.

There is a saying in the Corps “when the going gets tough the tough get going”.

I am sure that Angela’s own personality and intestinal fortitude  had a lot to do with her getting up when she was knocked down but I will bet that her training while in the Marine Corps had a lot to do with her will to be a survivor.

Angela has performed many incredible feats that a person who is not handicapped would not even think of doing. She rowed across two oceans, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean and is now training to row solo across the Pacific Ocean.

This lady should serve as a role model to everyone, handicapped or not. She has proven to herself and a lot of nay sayers that nothing is impossible if you have the will to push forward and not feel sorry for yourself. “Laugh and everyone laughs with you, cry and you cry alone”.

As the old say goes, “everybody has their own boat to row” and Angela is living proof of that. She is one incredible lady.

A big Semper Fi to this tough female jar head.