Laurentian student living with polio is being called an inspiration

At the age of three, Koko Blaise was diagnosed with polio.

He said he faced many challenges back home over the years, including not having access to a wheelchair.

“I got paralyzed when I was three years old. I heard of this story from my Mom. She taught me how to walk with a stick on my legs. I got my first wheelchair when I got to university, when I was a freshmen, to where I sit in a wheelchair to enjoy how a wheelchair can help a disabled person,” Blaise said.

One of the reasons why he chose to move to Sudbury was because it’s a bilingual city and to continue his education, Blaise told CTV News.

Blaise is currently studying biochemistry at Laurentian University (LU), and says he is hoping to work in the medical field once he graduates.

Blaise decided to try out para-rowing at LU.

“It’s amazing, get up early in the morning, come in here be active and see that this program can help a person, and also to improve my life,” Blaise said.

Thomas Merritt, the parasports rowing head coach, said Blaise has been a great addition to the team.

“It’s been fantastic to have him on the team. He comes into rowing as a novice rower but he has literally decades of experience in sports,” said Merritt.Thomas Merritt, the parasports rowing head coach, said Blaise has been a great addition to the team. (Supplied by Thomas Merritt)“We set him up, we go through the basics of the stroke and then we transition onto a boat back in June. So, it’s been a lot of fun just to make that transition with an athlete… Anytime you get an athlete on the water for the first time there’s that excitement of this is the first time that we’re able to do that.”

A few years ago, Blaise decided to become an advocate for people with disabilities.

Over the course of five years, Blaise was able to host many initiatives to help purchase over a hundred wheelchairs for others living with disabilities back home in Africa.