Nicole Marquez

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My next OVERCOMING THE ODDS article is on another Jackson, MS native.  Nicole Marquez has been dancing almost all of her life.  When Nicole was 25, she moved to New York City to pursue her dreams and had a horrible accident, falling six stories and breaking her back and neck in three different places.  While most people would think her dreams of being a dancer were over, Nicole had a different outlook. 

When Nicole was in the hospital, she admits she heard one of the doctors saying she may never walk again and would be a quadriplegic confined to a wheel chair.  “When I heard that”, Nicole says, “She had a ventilator in her throat and couldn’t say anything to the doctors.”  However, she told herself that that wasn’t going to happen to her and that she would definitely “walk again and dance again.”  After years of physical therapy, Nicole is still working to pursue her goals.  “I’ve done physical therapy and occupational therapy,” Nicole says, “and I’ve also done yoga.”   Compared to where Nicole was 7 years ago after accident is simply a miracle.  Her persistence to keep getting better and improve has helped her overcome the odds of a debilitating situation.  “Much like a car, I keep running but have to go in for a tune up,” she said. Periodically, Nicole visits with dancing teachers to get updates on her progress.  Since the accident, she has had huge support from family and friends.

As far as getting back to functioning totally normally and dancing on a regular basis, Nicole that there is no timeline and things will happen when they happen.  “I can’t say if I can do it you can do it because that’s a lie” Nicole says.  “It is up to the person to decide if they want to make their situation better.”  Nicole admits that she came from a family that instilled the mindset in her that if you aren’t happy in your situation, fix it yourself.  “When I had my accident, I told myself I was going to make myself better no matter what,” Nicole says.  “A person has to make that as their goal to improve their situation, it’s not easy but anything is possible.”

Nicole Marquez works as a Motivational Speaker in the Metro Jackson area and continues to pursue her personal goals.  Nicole Marquez Overcame the Odds of a crippling injury that threatened to ostracize her from society and prevent her from pursuing her dream of becoming a dancer.

For $2.99, get Nicole Marquez's ebook Falling Isn't Failure 

http://www.blurb.com/ebooks/612284-falling-isn-t-failure-pages