Student with cerebral palsy 'can achieve anything'

A student with cerebral palsy who was told she would never walk or talk is about to graduate in criminology and has recently completed a half marathon.

Issy Hart, 22, from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire is studying at the University of Plymouth and recently completed the city's half marathon.

Two years ago she suffered a disability hate crime, which made her even more determined to prove her doubters wrong.

She said she wanted to show other people: "If you believe in yourself... you can literally achieve anything."

She added: "Coming to university was like, showing other people but also showing myself that I can do it.

"And disability doesn't have to hold you back. I'm kind of proving to myself that I can go out there and do hard things."

Cerebral palsy is the name for a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement and co-ordination.

Two years ago while out walking with a friend near Plymouth Hoe two teenage girls were mimicking her and being abusive. When she confronted them, they started filming her.

She reported the incident and received support from the police and university staff, but there were no prosecutions because officers did not have enough information to identify them.

"Not only did it make me stronger and like myself more, but it also motivated me to advocate for disabilities and that's kind of what I did with the pain it caused me," she said.

The Plymouth half marathon proved to be a huge challenge, with injuries on top of her cerebral palsy - she needed some support towards the end of the race but was proud to complete the course.

She said: "My body was on the verge of giving up, it's in that moment that I learnt how powerful your mind can be.

"So my body has completely given up, but it was just like saying to myself 'I can do this'.

"So the race didn't go to plan at all, but I did it."

She said: "I was told that I would never walk or talk and I have just completed a half marathon. I'm proving that no matter what is in the way, you can do it and if you believe in yourself that much, you can literally achieve anything."

She has a 10km race booked in September and is planning to travel around South East Asia before starting her career.

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