Stricken by polio when she was one-and-half years old, and being wheelchair-bound since then, has not stopped a Negrense from joining competitions here and abroad and winning power lifting medals, the latest of which a silver in the Far East and South Pacific Games in Kuala Lupur, Malaysia, in December.

Achelle "Jinky" Guion, 31, of Barangay San Jose, Sipalay City, said her medal in Malaysia was her second international medal, the first being a bronze, also for power lifting, that she won in the 2nd ASEAN ParaGames in Hanoi, Vietnam in December 2003.

Guion says she hopes to win a gold at the ParaGames in Thailand this December.

The ASEAN ParaGames is a biannual multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities. The games are participated in by the 11 countries located in Southeast Asia. Patterned after the Paralympics, it includes mobility disabilities, amputees, visual disabilities and those with cerebral palsy.

Guion is the youngest of nine children of retired electrician Mesitle Guion, 81, and retired school teacher, Rispha Guion, 80. She said she studied at the Cabarus Catholic College in Sipalay City and Fr. Patrick Hurley recommended that she stay at the Tahanang Walang Hagdan while she pursued her bachelor of arts degree in Management at Trinity College in Manila.

She did not finish her college course, but at the Tahanang Walang Hagdan she has a job packing medicines for United Laboratories. She also has a wheelchair-bound basketball player boyfriend from Baguio.

Guion said her being wheelchair-bound has not stopped her from discovering her abilities and pursuing challenges that have enabled her to beat even able-bodied athletes in power lifting.

She said she believes in overcoming challenges and inspiring others and is urging other persons with disabilities to go out and explore their capabilities, too.

Discovering power lifting has been very challenging and has allowed her to travel and enjoy seeing other countries, she said. "Don't let your disabilities hold you back," she said.*CPG

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