When she was 11, the young figure skating star was struck by a rare virus that sent her to the hospital. For weeks, doctors tried to understand what had happened to her spinal cord. Eventually, they discovered that she had transverse myelitis.
"I sat in the hospital for two weeks not knowing what I had," recounts Salamani, now 15. "The doctors told me that in two years I could be 100%. I wanted to be back on the ice immediately. I didn't know about disabled sports and how enjoyable they are."
Since then, her life has taken a drastically different course. After spending time rehabilitating at the Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre (OCTC), the Garneau student started volunteering her time to help other young people afflicted with spinal cord injuries and to help them discover new joys of life.
Thanks to her work, the Centre nominated her to be chosen as one of the 7,000 "difference makers" participating in the 25th Anniversary Relay of Rick Hansen's Man in Motion World Tour.
"It was a real honour to be chosen to participate and to have the memories," she says. "I find the money that Mr. Hansen has raised has helped with the rehabilitation and the care that I've got. The awareness has helped; he's helped so many people."
She says that meeting him and Corey Smith, who also spent time in therapy at the OCTC and is now a member of Canada's national wheelchair basketball team, was inspiring. "It showed me even more that even if you're disabled, you can do whatever you set your mind to and you should never give up."
The nomination from the OCTC pointed to this desire of hers to always push the envelope. "In a physiotherapy dance group, Celina encouraged other members of the group, taught the therapists additional choreography techniques, and definitely 'set the bar high' for both the therapists and group participants," it said.
After discovering the possibilities of sport and competition that existed with a disability, Celina quickly jumped on new opportunities.
"I find that it sucked getting this virus, but it changed me completely" she says of the complication which slowed her figure skating ambitions. "Now I get to live a life where I understand other people and have a different life that I enjoy now."
And she hasn't lost her competitive edge, now focusing on skiing and waterskiing.
"When I was doing my physiotherapy, my therapist recommended that I do waterskiing and I also have always done skiing. I immediately wanted to get into them competitively. For winter skiing, I'd like to go to the Paralympics. I need a tool to help keep my balance and turn right on the hill."
The Anniversary Tour continues its travels across Canada as Salamani continues her volunteer work with young people who've suffered spinal cord injuries in the Ottawa region.
