(CBS) — She’s a beauty queen with an important message.
Pearl Gannon, Miss Wheelchair Illinois, is someone you should know, reports CBS 2’s Harry Porterfield.
READ MORE: Chicago Speed Cameras To Start Issuing $35 Tickets To Drivers Going 6 MPH Over The Limit On MondayGannon was eight years old when she slowly began to lose her ability to walk, from a neuromuscular disorder named CMT, and she has observed peoples’ perceptions about those in wheelchairs.
“People will see me rolling down the street. They’ll think I’m completely helpless, and I want to break those stigmas,” she says.
And she has.
READ MORE: Carjacking Arrest: Veronica Harden Charged With Stealing Car With 8-Year-Old Boy InsideThe 27-year-old Chicagoan loves sports. She is active in adapted water skiing and adapted wake-boarding.Last month, she entered the Miss Wheelchair Illinois 2014 pageant and won.
The national pageant will be held in California in August.
“Despite being in a wheelchair, life isn’t over. There are so many things that are still out there for you,” Gannon says.
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