Ellen DeGeneres Meets Paralympian Tatyana McFadden
Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.
In another inspirational moment for The Ellen Show, Paralympian Tatyana McFadden visited the show and told her story while sharing her amazing outlook on life.
McFadden was born in Russia and during the time of the fall of communism. She was born with spina bifida and shortly after that she was moved to an orphanage because her birth mother could not take care of her.
She would watch other kids leave and get adopted until years later, she was adopted by her American mother.
McFadden got involved in sports because her parents knew she didn't have medical treatment and figured it would be a good way to help her heal and become stronger.
She played almost every sport including swimming and archery. However, when she tried wheelchair racing, she knew it was for her.
She was becoming healthy, independent and strong. Around the age of nine, McFadden knew she wanted to become a professional athlete. She has an extremely long list of accomplishments that continue to rise as she furthers her career.
DeGeneres revealed that McFadden got to go to the White House and meet President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. She said she really wanted to meet First Lady Obama because she knew that the First Lady and DeGeneres went to CVS. So, in the time she was able to meet the First Lady, she asked what the best advice was for being on The Ellen Show. McFadden is getting ready for the Chicago Marathon and DeGeneres gave her a special surprise. You can watch McFadden tell her amazing story in the video below.