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25 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,January 3,2019 insidehalton.com "You can't let whatever might be wrong with you stop you from shooting for what you want." These words of wisdom were imparted by Oak- ville's Vienna Del Mastro, 14, on the heels of her silver medal victory at the IDO World Tap Dance Champi-World Tap Dance Champi-W onship in Riesa, Germany in early December. To say the Holy Trinity Secondary School student knows about perseverance would be a massive under- statement, as her success in the field of dance comes just a few years after she regained the ability to walk. Vienna said her love of dance dates back to a very young age. She started taking bal- let at age two and tap at age six. From there her inter- ests grew to encompass all genres of dance, although tap remains her favourite. "I like dancing because it lets you express how you feel and play differentfeel and play differentf characters," said Vienna. As she got older Vienna began entering dance com- petitions where she en- joyed great success in the team category. Her blossoming dance career, however, was halt- ed in March 2015 during a vacation to Barbados. Vienna said on one sun- ny she was walking to the beach through a wooded area when she received an insect bite to her leg. She thought nothing of it, however, a few days lat- er on the plane ride home it became clear something was wrong. "One of my eyes started dimming. It started getting really dark," said Vienna. "I said to my dad, 'Is it getting darker?' He said it wasn't." Vienna's sight eventual- ly returned to normal, however, a few days later she completely lost the vi- sion in one of her eyes. Visits to the hospital failed to yield any answers.failed to yield any answers.f While Vienna's sight came back, problems with her eyes continued. At times she would see in black and white only. At other times the col- ours of her surroundings would be drastically al- tered with the sky turning red at one point and the grass turning blue. Vienna's mother, Che- mayne Micallef, remem- bers the impact the vision impairment had on her daughter. "I remember one time they called me from the school and she was down on her chair crying be- cause her vision went. She had it back and then it just went and she was holding onto the chair because she couldn't see anything," said Chemayne. Despite the issues with her eyes Vienna continued to participate in dance, at- tending one competition even though her vision was diminished. Then Vienna began ex- periencing pain in her legs, which increased to the point where she could no longer walk, let alone dance. "I was just so scared. I thought I was going to die or end up like this for the rest of my life," said Vien- na. "When I was so sick it really made me grateful for what I had. I lookedfor what I had. I lookedf back at what I could do be- fore and realized I was sofore and realized I was sof lucky I was able to do that." Vienna would be con- fined to a wheelchair forfined to a wheelchair forf about six months, unable to attend school or even move about her home without assistance. A turning point finally came when a doctor thought to ask Vienna if she had received any in- sect bites prior to her symptoms. Vienna told the doctor about the bite and about the bite mark, a red bull- seye-shaped wound associ- ated with a tick. A few rounds of antibi- otics began reversing Vi- enna's condition. Vienna remembers the first time she was actuallyfirst time she was actuallyf able to get up and take a few steps away from herfew steps away from herf wheelchair. "I was crying inside," she said. "I thought to myself, 'There is no way this is happening.'" While no diagnosis of Vienna's affliction was ev- er made, theories ranged from Lyme disease to anfrom Lyme disease to anf infection called chikungu- nya. Following her rehabili- tation Vienna returned to dancing with a vengeance, coming out on top for the Canadian Dance Company at a group competition in Toronto despite breaking a toe in the process. Vienna said losing the use of her legs drove her to further excel at her danc-further excel at her danc-f ing. "Now that I realize what I have to lose I'm going to do whatever I can in the time that I have to reach my dreams," she said. Vienna would go on to win a bronze medal for Team Canada for her tap solo during the Common- wealth Cup, which was held during the summer of 2017 in South Africa. In early December Vi- enna was awarded a silver medal for her tap solo in Riesa, Germany during the IDO World Tap Dance Championships 2018. She received a second silver medal during this competition for produc- tion. Vienna said the experi- ence was surreal, noting two years earlier she had watched these champion- ships and dreamed of be- ing like the girls she saw dancing. In 2018 she found her- self competing against some of these same danc- ers. With this victory now behind her and others surely ahead Vienna is of- fering the following wordsfering the following wordsf of advice to those who are facing major obstaclesfacing major obstaclesf that stand in the way of their dreams. "You never know what's around the corner so you can't ever give up, you can't let whatever might be wrong with you stop you from shooting for what youfrom shooting for what youf want," she said. "A gold medal podium is like the moon. If you don't aim for it, you'll never set foot on it." GIRL ONCE CONFINED TO WHEELCHAIR WINS DANCE SILVERS IN GERMANY DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS YOUTH LOST USE OF HER LEGS FOR SIX MONTHS FOLLOWING INSECT BITE IN BARBADOS After an insect bite while vacationing in Barbados in 2015 Vienna Del Mastro lost the use of her legs. She fully recovered returning to dance and just won a Silver Medal at the World Championships in Riesa, Germany for her solo and another Silver Medal for Production. Nikki Wesley/Metroland