Why Sam is travelling 441km over eight days in an everyday wheelchair

Samantha Longmore says she’s giving people something to stare at. 

“That is me in a wheelchair, wheeling down the Olympic Highway midway through my week, for a purpose,” she told A Current Affair.

The 33-year-old is wheeling from Corowa to Yass over eight days, covering an incredible 441km in her everyday wheelchair, to raise $200,000 for rural mental health support.

Sam is bilaterally paralysed after she fell asleep at the wheel and crashed her car near Canberra in 2013.

Sam only suffered superficial injuries, but then the ambulance she was in crashed, changing her life forever.

“Anger very quickly turned into drive. I’ll show that person, I’ll show myself what I can do out of this situation,” Sam said.

Sam went on to become a dual world champion in waterskiing and now runs three businesses: a mobile bar for hire, a weed-spraying company, and knitting workshops.

The Big Wheel challenge begins tomorrow, with the goal to raise funds for Rural Aid.  

For more information about Sam’s mission, click here.