Life beyond fear: Karina Hollekim at TEDxBucharest

Karina Hollekim, the first female athlete to complete a ski base, overcame a terrible accident and returned as a winner. She will share a story about those moments which can change our lives forever, about willpower and passion.

What do you do when you're told you cannot walk anymore? In August 2006, she suffered a near-fatal accident after her parachute failed to open during a routine jump.

Did she give up or did she fight for her passion? She's a real TEDster -- Karina defied faith. After 20 surgeries, doctors didn't believe she would walk again. Helped by intense rehabilitation, she succeeded in putting back her skis in 2009 and, as a result of her struggle, she shot a biographical movie, "20 Seconds of Joy", to show the process she got through.

In the last few years, she has been travelling the world sharing her story and inspiring people to seek determination and passion in pursuing their dreams: an example of will, determination and hope.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)