Stratford, Ont. man becomes first visually impaired rock climber to represent Canada at international competition

Stratford’s Chaz Misuraca is headed to the Paraclimbing World Championship subsequent week.

Misuraca says he would be the first visually impaired climber to symbolize Canada at a world occasion.

“It’s fairly enormous for me,” he advised CTV Information. “Fairly enormous for anybody that’s visually impaired, I consider.”

Misuraca began mountain climbing 4 years in the past after loosing his eyesight. He has a hereditary illness referred to as Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), which causes the optic nerve to die.

“Quite a lot of occasions I can’t actually see what I needs to be terrified of, so it helps me hold a transparent head,” he stated, speaking about mountain climbing with a visible impairment.

After loosing his imaginative and prescient, Misuraca struggled with melancholy and alcoholism, however stated mountain climbing has helped him cope and recuperate.

“I noticed my life isn’t over,” he stated.

“While you’re mountain climbing, I discover you’re not interested by what’s happening in your life, what you probably did earlier than, what you’re doing after. You’re simply focusing in your subsequent gap and shifting up,” Misuraca stated. “I’m in a superb place, and shifting ahead I really feel like my life is constant to develop and be nice.”

On Could 24 and 25 he'll compete on the Worldwide Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup for Paraclimbers in Utah. He and 5 different Para athletes will probably be representing Canada on the competitors.

“I’m actually excited,” he stated. “I get to fulfill plenty of different Para athletes and I all the time get actually impressed speaking to different folks that went by way of troublesome occasions of their life. I’m certain, additionally like me, they thought their life was over as soon as they developed that incapacity of theirs, however then prevailed by way of it. It’s superb to see.”

Misuraca stated he isn’t letting his visible impairment get in the best way of reaching new heights, and hopes he'll return to Stratford with a medal round his neck.