A hurdle in the race of life

Twenty-nine year old, Lora Jessica Webster, is an incredible women’s volleyball player, a cancer survivor, and off the court, a mother of three.  Lora played Middle Hitter/Setter for the U.S. Paralympics Team in 2004, 2008, and 2012.  She is the proud recipient of 6 Gold Medals, 3 Silver Medals, and 2 Bronze Medals.  Lora resides in Point Lookout, NY  with her family.

When Lora was just 11 years old, she started to complain of knee pains.  Lora was very athletic and thought that the pain was caused by overuse and growing pains, but her parents were very worried about the swelling.  They took Lora to the doctor and figured out what the issue was; it was Osteogenic Sarcoma, which is a type of cancer.

After a successful surgery, that took a grueling 9 hours. she was back to volleyball.  Lora started playing “sitting volleyball”.  She enrolled in the University of Nebraska in the fall of 2004, but soon after left to train full-time with the USA Women’s Sitting Team in Oklahoma City. In 2008, the team qualified for the Paralympics, and advanced to the gold-medal match in Beijing.  However, they lost to world power China in the final. During that match, USA did win one set which they’ve never done before, but china came back to win the gold medal. The US team did receive a silver medal for 2nd place.

Lora Jessica Webster is an inspiration to many people, not only the ones battling cancer, but the countless teens that think a disability prevents them from achieving their dreams.  Lora has proven that you can overcome overwhelming odds, be able to have a family, and lead a normal life.

http://www.teamusa.org/Athletes/WE/Lora-Webster.aspx

2012 – Paralympic Games (Silver Medal)… Volleyball Masters (Gold Medal).

2010 – Parapan American Championship (Gold Medal)… World Organization for Volleyball Disabled (WOVD) World Cup (Gold Medal).

2009 – Parapan American Zonal Championship (Gold Medal)… Eurocup (Gold Medal).

2008 – Paralympic Games (Silver Medal)… World Organization Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD) Intercontinental Cup (Bronze Medal).

2007 – Sitting Volleyball Invitational in Shanghai China (Silver Medal).

2006 – Sitting Volleyball World Championship in Netherlands.

2004 – Paralympic Games in Athens (Bronze Medal).

2003 – Parapan American Games  (Gold Medal).