Haven Survived a Suicide Bomb and Went on to be a Paralympic Swimmer! Uncut with Haven Shepherd

Life Uncut

Haven Shepherd was born in Vietnam. When she was 16 months old, her biological parents, who had had an affair, detonated a bomb that was intended to be a family suicide. It instantly killed her biological parents but Haven survived. Haven was thrown 10 metres from the family hut and driven for 2 hours on a motorbike to the local hospital where they amputated both of her legs.

She hasn’t had surgery since!
4 months later, she was adopted into an American family and gained 6 siblings! Haven is now an elite paralympic athlete who competed at Tokyo 2020. She also happens to be a laugh and a half with some of the most outrageous ‘double decker’ date stories we’ve ever heard!
In the chat we speak about:

  • What Haven remembers about her early years

  • Whether she holds resent for her biological parents

  • How strangers ask inappropriate questions about how Haven lost her legs

  • How Haven’s parents initially weren’t going to be her parents and the serendipitous way they found each other

  • Why swimming was the best option for her

  • How parents should teach their kids about disability

You can find more from Haven's Instagram!

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