Teen swimmer became blind; now she’s training for the Paralympics with a guide dog

Your “Daily Dose of Uplift” for September 16th:
In effort to overcome anxiety and depression from losing her eyesight, Anastasia Pagonis found joy in swimming once again thanks to the help of a four-legged friend.
Anastasia became blind when she was 14, which would curb anyone’s enthusiasm, much less their entire life.
“Being a teenage girl is hard, so having that on top of it was just such a struggle for me,” Pagonis told TODAY. “It took me about eight months to kind of regroup myself, and then I got it in my head, ‘Okay, I’m blind. Now what am I going to do with my life?'”
The Guide Dog Foundation paired her up with a Labrador named ‘Radar’ who was raised by a professional hockey team upon hearing of her motivation to continue swimming.
“Having Radar has just given me so much independence and I’m literally in love with him. He’s the best thing ever,” she said. “We’re a match made in heaven.”
Presently, Anastasia is training for the Paralympics in 2021.
Check out the full article on Sunny Skyz!