A member of Nigeria’s amputee football national team, Michael Joel has shared a strong testimony about the transformation of his life, revealing that he has reached places he could not get to when he had two legs.
Joel added in an exclusive interview with Sports247 that taking up amputee football also helped him overcome the psychological downturn that hit him when he lost his left leg due to an injury he copped while playing regular football.
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The smooth-talking player, who hails from Imo State but lives in Lagos, disclosed: “Apart from being in the national team, I’m also a player of Team Phoenix. I’m happy that I can still play football, because it had been my dream since early in my life.
“I was not born this way, but my story changed on December 16th, 2018. I was actually playing able bodied football and had big dreams.
“I was a young boy growing up and enjoying football. I was even using it to feed myself and take care of my mum. That was until the 16th of December 2018.
“It was a Sunday, and I was playing in a tournament for my community when I broke my left leg on the pitch. It eventually led to amputation, and that brought me to where I now am.”
He also reflected on his journey after the injury and amputation, as he went through a period of his life that was not an easy phase to face, being a new experience for him altogether.
Joel continued, “I won’t say it was an easy task or a soft road for me. It’s been rough, tough and difficult. It’s not easy that you initially had two legs and, all of a sudden, one is gone. Now you have only one.
“It’s something that’s psychologically hard to face. You have to work on it and adjust to a new life. You have to fight off depression, stabilise your mental state, and keep your mind alive.
“You have to defy your surroundings, face many things, accommodate friends who look down on you and overcome various kinds of thoughts.”
He then picked positives from the setback, pointing out that what he could not achieve with two legs, he has been able to surpass with just one and reckoned that it might not have been possible had the amputation not taken place.
“I faced many things, but fought my way out in order to be where I am now. Playing able football, I had my two legs, and all of a sudden, I had one.
“I decided to let go of the past and focus on what the present has brought to me. In fact, playing with one leg has taken me very far to even where I had not been when I had two legs.
“That’s why amputee football is now one of the greatest testimonies of my life. I can vouch for it because I didn’t leave the shores of this country when I played able-body football.
“But, in playing amputee football for Nigeria, I can’t count how many countries I’ve been to. It’s been full of many great experiences, including meeting people of different colours and races.
“I’ve gone to places that my father or mother could not take me, neither could my two legs. So, it’s been a great experience for me,” he reminisced.
Joel concluded by disclosing his biggest source of strength that helped him at a point when life seemed to be over, as he submitted: “God is my dearest motivator, my stronghold and my backbone.”
