Most British people have probably never heard of Irene Villas. (Spanish Irene is three syllables, with short vowels.) When she was 12 her mother was driving her to school and they caught an ETA bomb intended for someone else. She lost both legs, one right at the hip, and several fingers. Her mother lost an arm and a leg.
Now she’s all grown up with children of her own. She’s a journalist and author, and she gives inspirational talks. On Wednesday night she gave one in Santa Cruz de La Palma, run by FYDE, La Fundación Canaria para la Formación y Desarrollo Empresarial de CajaCanarias. The subject was overcoming difficulties. Good timing or what? Actually, I think the organisers were thinking of the volcano which has left everyone here with a feeling of insecurity, quite apart from all the other griefs.
I was the first person in because I had to go down the wheelchair lift, so I got to talk to her all by myself for about 5 minutes. It helped. The talk helped some more. It’s one thing to know intellectually that it’s possible, but quite another to see someone who’s overcome worse. Just the extra oomph I needed, as I was getting a bit fed up with my slow progress.
