Laurentian student living with polio is being called an inspiration
At the age of three, Koko Blaise was diagnosed with polio.
He said he faced many challenges back home over the years, including not having access to a wheelchair.
“I got paralyzed when I was three years old. I heard of this story from my Mom. She taught me how to walk with a stick on my legs. I got my first wheelchair when I got to university, when I was a freshmen, to where I sit in a wheelchair to enjoy how a wheelchair can help a disabled person,” Blaise said.
One of the reasons why he chose to move to Sudbury was because it’s a bilingual city and to continue his education, Blaise told CTV News.
Blaise is currently studying biochemistry at Laurentian University (LU), and says he is hoping to work in the medical field once he graduates.
Blaise decided to try out para-rowing at LU.
“It’s amazing, get up early in the morning, come in here be active and see that this program can help a person, and also to improve my life,” Blaise said.
Thomas Merritt, the parasports rowing head coach, said Blaise has been a great addition to the team.
“It’s been fantastic to have him on the team. He comes into rowing as a novice rower but he has literally decades of experience in sports,” said Merritt.Thomas Merritt, the parasports rowing head coach, said Blaise has been a great addition to the team. (Supplied by Thomas Merritt)“We set him up, we go through the basics of the stroke and then we transition onto a boat back in June. So, it’s been a lot of fun just to make that transition with an athlete… Anytime you get an athlete on the water for the first time there’s that excitement of this is the first time that we’re able to do that.”
A few years ago, Blaise decided to become an advocate for people with disabilities.
Over the course of five years, Blaise was able to host many initiatives to help purchase over a hundred wheelchairs for others living with disabilities back home in Africa.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.