- Christina Vithoulkas was left paralysed after bike crash
- The 30-year-old daredevil has found man of her dreams
Christina Vithoulkas, Australia’s first female para drifter, has revealed how she found love again after a shocking motorcycle accident six and a half years ago changed her life forever.
Vithoulkas was visiting family in South Australia in 2018 when she came off her dirt bike while attempting a stunt, leaving her with a lacerated spleen, fractured skull, punctured lungs, broken ribs and a severed spinal cord.
Her injuries were so bad she was later told she would never walk again.
And while her life has changed dramatically since the accident, she has vowed to not let anything stop her from living her life to the fullest.
The 30-year-old has relearned how to do everything in her day-to-day life – including getting her adrenaline rush by drifting suped-up cars – and she’s even found love again.
‘I am so grateful for where my life has taken me. I’m in a two-and-a-half-year relationship with the man of my dreams,’ Vithoulkas told News Corp.
Christina Vithoulkas (pictured) was left paralysed after breaking her back during a bike crash
The 30-year-old has since found love again with ‘the man of her dreams’
‘He is too good to be true and I am so grateful our paths crossed.
‘He is the only person since my injury besides my immediate family who sees me as a human being and doesn’t view me as ‘disabled’.
‘He’s on the same page as me about not wanting kids in the immediate future and it was one of the first things we discussed on our first date, because I think it’s important and people wait too long to have uncomfortable conversations.
‘Trying to juggle the disability and kids at the same time wouldn’t be something I’d want to jump into anytime soon.
‘I’m only 30 so I have so much time to work out what is ahead of me.’
Vithoulkas has also found joy in motorsports again – this time in drifting.
Drifting is a sport where the driver intentionally oversteers, with loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through the entirety of a corner or a turn
Vithoulkas competes in a modified car which has hand controls instead of a brake and clutch on the floor.
Vithoulkas came off her dirt bike while attempting a stunt, leaving her with a lacerated spleen, fractured skull, punctured lungs, broken ribs and a severed spinal cord
The former freestyle motocross rider has since found joy in motorsports again – this time in drifting
She is fundraising for The Wings for Life World Run which takes place on May 4
‘That’s why I love drifting so much … I can’t think of another sport that a paralysed person can do where we’re not separated from the non-disabled community,’ she told the ABC.
‘If drifting became an Olympic sport, I wouldn’t need to be in the Paralympics.
‘I think that’s why I love it so much, because when I’m out there, I feel normal. That’s probably not a right word to say, but that’s exactly how I feel.
‘I feel like I’m not at any disadvantage.’
Vithoulkas is now helping raise money for Wings for Life World Run – with 100% of the run’s entry costs being donated towards spinal research.
‘It isn’t so much about finding a cure for me personally, but the thousands of people all around the world whose lives would significantly change for the better if they were able to walk again,’ she said.
‘I love this run, walk and roll event.
‘It’s not something I necessarily train for as a wheelchair racer, I go there and do my best and I think that is the great thing about it.
‘It’s you against you. You can take it seriously or you can just go there and have fun with your friends and family.’
The Wings for Life World Run takes place on May 4.
