Woman Formerly Paralyzed Teaches Groom-To-Be In Wheelchair To Dance
SHERMAN OAKS (CBSLA.com) — After suddenly becoming paralyzed by a rare spinal cord disease, one woman defied the odds and is now teaching others to dance.
Eight years ago, Marisa Hamamoto was in a wheelchair and was told she would never walk again.
"I thought my life was over and I would say the biggest reason why I thought my life was over was because I thought I would never be able to dance again," Hamamoto told KCAL9's Andrea Fujii.
But three years later, through therapy and hope, she defied the odds.
"A lot of it was just continually believing that I was going to be able to walk and dance again," she explained.
Now she has a passion to teach dance and specifically to those in wheelchairs, like Mike Sarnataro.
"Just because somebody is disabled, it doesn't mean they are limited in what they can do," she said.
Sarnataro's legs were amputated when he was 9 months old but he says being in a wheelchair wasn't going to keep him from learning how to dance for his upcoming wedding.
"You gotta follow the rhythm and that's something I've never done in my whole life," he explained.
His future bride, Cyndi Romualdo, is thankful.
"It's our first dance ever together. For the past three years, we really never danced together," Romualdo said.
"We won't be the couple sitting down at the next party either," Sarnataro added.
The couple's first dance will be on Nov. 22.
Meanwhile, doctors told Hamamoto her paralysis could recur but she says she lives life to the fullest each day.
For information about Marisa Hamamoto's dance lessons, click here.
