I am thankful for being able to live up to my dreams
My name is Oliver. Raised in Vienna, I already discovered as a child my passion for traveling the world, immersing in different cultures and learning new languages. I started to study history, languages and translation, which has brought me to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Scotland. Over three years ago, all my plans were suddenly changed and put to a halt, so it seemed. Over night, I could no longer walk or move my legs and I felt like a child in a surreal world that could be changed only in almighty dreams. Yet such changes did not happen and the neurological effects of the myelitis did not fade: for the rest of my life I would be forced to use a wheelchair. In the end, things did change somehow and I quickly realised that showing presence and participating in life would be the only means of survival. I started to resume traveling and learned new languages (Dutch and Spanish). And I have turned my passion into a new job: I have set up my own business as a translator and editor, started to write articles on accessible travelling and engaged in travel photography. Today, I am happy and – for all the occasional setbacks in life – I am thankful for being able to live up to my dreams. I would not like to change my life with anyone else: I am the true me, perhaps for the first time in my life.
