AAA Play IDPWD Instagram live stream with Kelly Cartwright

International Day of People with Disability is a United Nations day that promotes inclusivity and celebrates the achievements and contributions of people with disability. By gathering together to celebrate this day, we can help to ensure inclusion for the 4.3 million Australians living with disability and contribute to positive change in our community.

AAA Play celebrated this fantastic event with an amazing line up of guests and an awesome new accessible feature on www.aaavic.org.au, that was launched as part of IDPWD.
This was a Facebook Live stream of an engaging conversation with Australian athlete, Kelly Cartwright followed by a panel featuring guest speakers,
Kelly Cartwright, Gold Medallist Paralympian
Michael Brown, Chairman Reclink Australia
John Ballis, CEO, Reclink Australia
David Moody, NDS State Manager and
Chelsea Haag Witherden, AAA Play Ambassador

Meet Kelly Cartwright
The story of Kelly’s life is best described as triumph over adversity. At the tender age of 15, after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in her right knee, she was forced to make a decision that would change the direction of her life. In November 2004, faced with the option of amputation or radical surgery to remove the cancer Kelly had her right leg amputated. After a painstaking 3 months of rehabilitation she was fitted with a prosthetic leg. Having learnt to walk again, and facing the reality that her netball career was over, she looked for a new direction. That direction was running. With a growing passion for running, Kelly’s training intensified in pursuit of her next goal – to be the best above-knee amputee 100m sprinter in the world. Adding to her fast-growing list of achievements Kelly became the first above-knee amputee woman to climb to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in 2009. 2012 was by far Kelly’s biggest year. Drawing on all her training, she rose to the top in Long Jump, setting a new world record; claimed the gold medal; and ran a personal best in the 100m to claim silver in London at the 2012 Paralympic Games. With injury concerns to her foot Kelly moved away from athletics and is now in pursuit of success in her new passion of powerlifting. Having represented Australia at the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games the future is very exciting for Kelly as she aims for the Australian Able Body Powerlifting record. Away from the track, Kelly is a mum to her little boy Max born early 2016. Kelly is an ambassador for Rare Cancers and Make-A-Wish Foundation Australia. Kelly is in demand as a motivational speaker and is having a huge impact as a health and fitness model.