“I am so impressed I am even in the water,” Leary told Channel Nine’s broadcast. “I am like ‘yeah,Lex,you have come so far’.” Leary said her parents “are the reason why I am here because they stuck by my side for six months in that hospital and never let go of me”.

Belinda said the Paralympic dream had been important,not just for Leary but for the entire family. “It has been incredibly important,” she said. “As Russ said,she wasn’t meant to live.

“We have a different daughter back. I love her personality. She is funny and crazy,but most importantly she is fulfilling her dreams prior to the accident. She always wanted to go to the Olympics. That was her thing.

“Honey,we love you,we are so proud of you. Couldn’t be prouder and I can’t wait to see how you go.”

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