The follow post is part of the SITS Girls Back to Blogging Challege Day 4: A Blog Post about a Woman Who Inspires Me. The post originally appeared on this blog in May 2010.

I am an NBA fanatic. Anyone who knows me is aware of this. A couple of years ago the series of commercials ran during the playoffs (for a car company, I think) featuring a loquacious garage attendant that worked at one of the NBA arenas. He often held players “hostage” as they entered or exited the arena garage, yammering on and giving them his insight into how they could improve their games.

One of his mantras was “Never. Let. Up.”  Those words stuck with me because it was something I needed to hear at the time. It is a message we all need to hear from time to time.

I was reminded about the need to keep going despite challenges and disappointments when I checked the status update of a childhood friend on Facebook. Her post was: “Challenges are merely distractions meant to keep us from pursuing our destiny. Are you moving forward towards yours?”

Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Maybe it is because I was already thinking about the need to stay determined to move forward despite that I happened upon the inspiring story of Dayniah Manderson, a 30-year-old immigrant from Jamaica. She was born with spinal muscular atrophy Type II, a degenerative neural disease which caused a severe curvature of her spine.

Dayniah was fortunate enough to find a doctor who became her advocate and friend. This led to her finding another doctor who was willing to do a cutting-edge surgery that greatly improved the quality of her life and life expectancy. Dayniah knows the disease will continue to progress. She doesn’t have an ‘ideal’ life, but she makes the very most of the life she has been given.

Dayniah pursued her dreams of starting a family, getting her masters degree, and becoming a teacher. Life is a struggle and she often deals with pain. Yet, she never allows this to deter her from living the life she has been given to the fullest. She is an inspiration to anyone who has a disability. But her story is encouraging to those of us who are able-bodied and full of excuses why we can’t achieve our goals.

Dayniah’s story is truly inspiring. Check it out here. What stories inspire you?

While reading a story about the attempted car bombing of Times Square this weekend I stumbled across was led to the story of Dayniah. The video clip here is just under ten minutes, but her inspiring story is well worth every minute.

As an added bonus, this week’s challenge is sponsored by Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances. One lucky winner gets to take home “Thelma and Louise” – a spanking new Electrolux washer and dryer set that would look fab in my laundry room.

Explore. Challenge. Write.

I am an NBA fanatic. Anyone who knows me is aware of this. A couple of years ago the series of commercials ran during the playoffs (for a car company, I think) featuring a loquacious garage attendant that worked at one of the NBA arenas. He often held players “hostage” as they entered or exited the arena garage, yammering on and giving them his insight into how they could improve their games.

One of his mantras was “Never. Let. Up.”  Those words stuck with me because it was something I needed to hear at the time. It is a message we all need to hear from time to time.

I was reminded about the need to keep going despite challenges and disappointments when I checked the status update of a childhood friend on Facebook. Her post was: “Challenges are merely distractions meant to keep us from pursuing our destiny. Are you moving forward towards yours?”

Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Maybe it is because I was already thinking about the need to stay determined to move forward despite that I happened upon the inspiring story of Dayniah Manderson, a 30-year-old immigrant from Jamaica. She was born with spinal muscular atrophy Type II, a degenerative neural disease which caused a severe curvature of her spine.

Dayniah was fortunate enough to find a doctor who became her advocate and friend. This led to her finding another doctor who was willing to do a cutting-edge surgery that greatly improved the quality of her life and life expectancy. Dayniah knows the disease will continue to progress. She doesn’t have an ‘ideal’ life, but she makes the very most of the life she has been given.

Dayniah pursued her dreams of starting a family, getting her masters degree, and becoming a teacher. Life is a struggle and she often deals with pain. Yet, she never allows this to deter her from living the life she has been given to the fullest. She is an inspiration to anyone who has a disability. But her story is encouraging to those of us who are able-bodied and full of excuses why we can’t achieve our goals.

Dayniah’s story is truly inspiring. Check it out here. What stories inspire you?

While reading a story about the attempted car bombing of Times Square this weekend I stumbled across was led to the story of Dayniah. The video clip here is just under ten minutes, but her inspiring story is well worth every minute.

Explore. Challenge. Write.