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Townsville mourns demise of Australian wheelchair basketballer Natalie Curtis

Bynewsmagzines

Feb 12, 2023
Australian wheelchair basketball silver medallist, disability advocate, business owner and mother-of-one Natalie Curtis, 30, (pictured) has tragically died


A beloved wheelchair basketballer winner and incapacity advocate who at the time manufactured headlines after currently being forced to crawl off a Jetstar flight has tragically died, leaving guiding her young son. 

Natalie Curtis, 34, was an icon in Townsville – a celebrated athlete and enterprise girl who owned incapacity company provider Important Supports and Provides. 

The mother-of-1 after represented Australia in wheelchair basketball and was also an avid disability activist – going viral in Oct past yr following revealing she was pressured to crawl off a airplane when Jetstar team could not provide her with a wheelchair.

Now, the north-eastern Queensland neighborhood is in mourning right after Ms Curtis’ sister Emma discovered she out of the blue died on the evening of Sunday 5 February. 

‘If you understood Natalie, you would know she was the most stunning, variety and proficient man or woman,’ Emma wrote.

Australian wheelchair basketball silver medallist, disability advocate, business owner and mother-of-one Natalie Curtis, 30, (pictured) has tragically died

Australian wheelchair basketball silver medallist, disability advocate, company operator and mother-of-one particular Natalie Curtis, 30, (pictured) has tragically died

‘She was a daughter, a sister, an aunty and a mom to a attractive little boy.

‘Everyone who knew her beloved her immediately, she experienced these types of a sort soul and would do anything for the men and women she cared for most.’

Ms Curtis, who was born with spina bifida – a birth defect exactly where the spinal wire fails to create appropriately – was immersed in activity from a younger age.

She commenced as a swimmer but dropped out in childhood following her younger sister tragically drowned in the family’s backyard pool.

At 14, she picked up wheelchair basketball and skilled challenging into adulthood – afterwards securing a place in the Australian Gliders and saying a silver medal at the 2013 Japan Oceania Championships. 

Having said that, her dreams of competing on the intercontinental stage were being dashed when she was in a major auto accident right after returning from the games again to Townsville, which left her with five spinal fractures. 

In the years that adopted, as she labored in the direction of her restoration, she set her eyes on new pursuits – marrying, adopting a son, Malakai, and beginning her very own small business providing home care deals to those people dwelling with a disability.  

Ms Curtis also properly trained and coached a wheelchair basketball workforce, worked for Sporting Wheelies to provide wheelchair basketball into colleges, and was a happy ambassador for the Australian Institute of Activity. 

Ms Curtis played for the Australia Gliders at Japan Oceania Championships in 2013

Ms Curtis played for the Australia Gliders at Japan Oceania Championships in 2013

Ms Curtis performed for the Australia Gliders at Japan Oceania Championships in 2013

Ms Curtis trained and coached wheelchair basketball teams and worked to bring the sport into schools

Ms Curtis trained and coached wheelchair basketball teams and worked to bring the sport into schools

Ms Curtis trained and coached wheelchair basketball groups and worked to provide the activity into schools 

In 2021, her Olympic hopes had been reignited when she was picked for the Australia Gliders squad to prepare for the Tokyo Paralympics. 

In new months, Ms Curtis was again thrust into the limelight following her ordeal with Jetstar.

When boarding a flight from Singapore to Bangkok on October 27 final 12 months,  she was presented a no cost customised wheelchair that matches airplane aisles – having said that, when she landed, she was explained to she would have to have to spend to be wheeled off the airplane.

She refused to fork out, and rather crawled to the door of the aircraft ahead of having into her standard wheelchair, with her tale later on likely viral right after footage of the incident was shared with Seven’s Sunrise system. 

Ms Curtis also recently featured in mini-documentary collection Fearless Movies which follows the tales of folks dwelling with disabilities as they carve professions, with her section titled ‘The Functioning Supermum’. 

In the episode released in December, Ms Curtis detailed her IVF struggles, subsequent adoption of a relative’s son and her struggles with homelessness following separating from her husband. 

Ms Curtis was forced to crawl down the aisle of a Jetstar plane after she was not offered a complementary wheelchair (pictured) in October last year

Ms Curtis was forced to crawl down the aisle of a Jetstar plane after she was not offered a complementary wheelchair (pictured) in October last year

Ms Curtis was pressured to crawl down the aisle of a Jetstar airplane after she was not presented a complementary wheelchair (pictured) in Oct very last yr

Labor point out MP Aaron Harper, who satisfied Ms Curtis a few years back at the community organization growth centre, explained he was ‘devastated’ by the unfortunate news of Ms Curtis’s death. 

He mentioned she had ‘only days ago’ signed a lease on a new making to expand her enterprise.  

‘Nat had good personalized drive and resolve to get started her have organization Very important Supports and Providers,’ the member for Thuringowa wrote on Facebook. 

‘Recently we met at the launch of the Fearless sequence, another of Nat’s inspirational stories of conquering several hurdles in life to obtain so a great deal in wheelchair sport & to get started her personal disability aid small business.

‘Our total local community will miss you Nat. Could you rest in peace.’ 

A person local stated Ms Curtis’s loss was ‘absolutely devastating’, although a gentleman described her as a ‘true warrior’ and ‘leader in the community’. 

Not-for-earnings organisation Sporting Desires stated Ms Curtis was a ‘young soul taken much too shortly.’ 

‘She was so a great deal much more than an athlete,’ the organisation mentioned.

‘A vivid human being, spouse, mom to a compact boy, business enterprise founder and supervisor of her possess company supporting persons with disabilities. 

‘Someone who sales opportunities by instance. RIP Natalie.’

Ms Curtis has been remembered as a 'kind soul' who was determined and driven

Ms Curtis has been remembered as a 'kind soul' who was determined and driven

Ms Curtis has been remembered as a ‘kind soul’ who was decided and driven 

Ms Curtis’ sister Sheree Poggioli has released a GoFundMe to support with funeral prices and setting up a rely on for her five-12 months-aged son ‘to shine just as his mother did in lifestyle when he is older’.

‘Our spouse and children is shattered and the devastation she has left powering is outside of our comprehension and belief, a lengthy with beautiful memories and a attractive little boy,’ Ms Poggioli wrote.

‘Natalie gave so substantially to her group with donations, time and like to all she new, I am inquiring make sure you to the group to give back again to assist my family.’

Local people are also looking for to have a basketball hoop erected in close proximity to exactly where she lived in honour of her memory. 

Ms Curtis will be farewelled by liked types in a ceremony at Morleys Funerals at the Lakes at 10am on 17 February.  

WHAT IS SPINA BIFIDA?

Spina bifida is a birth defect involving the improvement of a baby’s backbone and spinal cord through the to start with thirty day period of pregnancy

It impacts about 150 babies born in Australia each individual year 

The ailment can trigger numerous complications based on its severity, which can involve: muscle weak point in the toes, hips or legs, decline of experience in components of the skin, bladder or bowel incontinence, hydrocephalus (fluid on the mind), finding out complications, backbone problems these kinds of as scoliosis, sexual issues or Chiari malformation (where component of the mind pushes down into the spinal canal)

Proof implies that its growth is results in by the two genetic and environmental variables, this sort of as lower folate in a mother’s diet even though expecting

Spina bifida might be diagnosed in the course of ultrasounds and blood scans through pregnancy.

There is no get rid of, with therapy depending on the severity. Surgical procedure may possibly be utilized in some cases to minimize long term incapacity. 

Resource: Healthdirect.gov.au 

Source: | This post at first belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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