“I decided to call this growth, not loss.”
From hair designer to the first disabled fitness competition champion
Kim Na-yoon, 34, with many dreams, tells us that only after losing it
About the beauty of life finally regained

In 2018, at the age of twenty-seven, she was involved in a motorcycle accident while traveling with friends.
After asking a friend to come and get his arm, which had been torn off in the scorching heat and felt like it was going to burn on the boiling asphalt, he was taken to the hospital, but later lost one arm forever.
She had to give up her career as a hair designer, which she had pursued for over 10 years since her teenage years, and was left in despair, unable to stand or walk properly due to spinal damage, so she refused even rehabilitation exercises and just lay in her hospital bed.
However, seeing people who sweat profusely and desperately as they undergo rehabilitation, he feels ashamed of his own pessimistic and weak mindset, and through painstaking efforts, miraculously recovers all his motor skills except for the one arm he lost.

When she sees herself in the mirror, she thinks she resembles the Venus de Milo. She sets new goals for herself: winning a fitness competition and raising awareness of disabilities, and begins a new life.
Even when I walk down the street, people still turn their eyes to unfamiliar faces, and even everyday tasks like getting dressed and eating that I could do without difficulty before took a long time to get used to on my own. However, I have regained a stronger, more positive, more cheerful, and more beautiful me by building new stories that I would not have dreamed of if it weren't for this accident.
Having lost one arm, she says, “I think I’m finally starting to understand what it means to be beautiful in my own right,” and continues to take on new challenges and attempts.

The author's first book, in which he shares his innermost stories, concerns, and thoughts that he was unable to share through YouTube and lectures, has been published.
This book, which tells the story of the time when everything came to a halt due to an accident, the time spent frantically pursuing rehabilitation, the process of beginning to dream of a new life and a new mindset outside the world once again, and the changes in life and mindset that followed, will convey tangible hope and cheerful optimism to many.

Some may say it's unbelievable, but I'm truly grateful for my life.
My life is full of things to be grateful for.
If I had hurt my neck or face at the time of the accident, I would not be in this world.
At least I have my left arm, so I'm just thankful for that.
This accident made me realize that life and death are always not far apart, and it also made me realize how precious it is to be alive and breathing, so I am grateful for that.
I am grateful that I realized so quickly that I had so many precious relationships by my side.

So, I'm going to write down my story for the precious people around me, for myself who is always a strong and reliable corner, and for my life, which is filled with gratitude every day.
I will try to lightly share my life here, which was sometimes like a tunnel where I couldn't see even an inch ahead, and sometimes like a flower path where I cried with happiness with my whole body.
--- pp.23-24 From “Please Find My Arm!”

I know that turning a blind eye to my true self may be the easiest way to avoid destroying my current happiness.
It's also nice to just have a moment of happiness without being able to see myself, like when I was lying in a hospital bed and washing my hair.
But it must have been necessary to accept the reality that I couldn't sit on the toilet by myself after being able to stand on the ground with both feet, and to feel a little miserable when I saw my naked body with my own eyes.
Because I can't just lie in bed forever and expect someone to wash my hair or do my business while wearing diapers.

And if I had been too scared to shower, if I had turned away from my body instead of looking at it with my own eyes, I would never have thought that my body resembled the Venus de Milo.
It was a meaningful day when I finally discovered my second identity, a shining heart that had struggled not to be trapped in sadness and fear.
--- pp.43-44 From "I Resemble the Venus de Milo"

Although sitting and standing on my own was natural for me, many of the patients here dreamed and desperately wanted to be able to stand on their own, even if it meant relying on something.
After struggling to get up, they practice walking one step at a time using the apparatus.
It was truly a mountain beyond a mountain, but their efforts at every moment were more passionate and beautiful than any other sport.
I was embarrassed.
My condition has improved enough that I can walk briskly along the track behind the hospital.
Yet, I was truly ashamed of myself for constantly choosing frustration over challenge.
And then, the moment I found myself comparing my disability to that of others and wallowing in self-pity, thinking that my disability was much more difficult and painful, I suddenly came to my senses.
--- p.126 From “I am the most pitiful patient in the world”

In the distance, people finally began to appear.
At the same time, my heart started pounding.
How would they look at me? I felt like a child being checked for homework.
People who have finally gotten close enough to have their faces recognized.
I glanced at their expressions.
They didn't even look at me, as if their worries were nothing but laughter and chatter among themselves.
The same was true of the people I met on the street afterwards.
Everyone was busy looking at their phones, talking with their companions, or heading somewhere.
People didn't really care about me.
It was just my axe-wielding.
That's when I realized.
The fact that living without worrying about what other people think is not as difficult as you think.
--- p.162 From “I was equipped with courage instead of a prosthetic limb”

This year, I have already turned seven for the second time.
I once had this thought while I was spending my days in the hospital and going through arduous rehabilitation training.

'Yes, I am no different from a newborn baby.
Everything will be awkward now.
But let's not be impatient.
As time passes by, everything will naturally speed up as you live with both arms.'

He used to give me encouragement in my difficult life.
A new life begins after the accident.
As we enter what is commonly called the 'second life', it is only natural that we become more mature.
Of course, there are things that remain unchanged and are still skillful.
--- pp.169-170 From "Welcome, My Second Nine, Ten, and Twenty Years Old"

Even I, who lost one arm, have this kind of sparkling beauty.
A mature beauty that allows me to embrace more people without being pessimistic about my current life.
I have been working hard to cultivate this inner beauty for a long time since the accident.
Some people might sneer and say, "Is such a life even possible?" or "How can I hug others when I've lost my arm?" But I certainly have a wider field of vision and a wider heart than my lost arm.
--- p.224 From "Thank You for Being Alive"

It's not like I wasn't frustrated either.
There have been countless setbacks, and the emptiness of losing an arm still lingers.
It wasn't just me who was special enough to get through everything after the accident.
Everyone who is alive today is great in their own way.
Because we each carry our own pain and suffering.

There's a strange belief that has emerged in me since the accident: that anyone can overcome hardship.
I really think so.
I don't think I have a particularly strong spirit of challenge or mental strength compared to other people.
We all experience big and small frustrations every day as we go through our daily lives.
My life is the same.
The motorcycle accident wasn't the only setback in my life.
There were definitely times when I had both arms intact, times when I struggled at the beauty salon, times when I was frustrated and times when I was happy.
The day I had my motorcycle accident was just one of many days in my life.

So, there is enough strength for everyone who lives through the big and small trials and joys of everyday life.
So, when I was finishing the book, I really wanted to tell this story.
We are stronger than we think.
I wish everyone would remember that fact.

--- pp.230-231 From "Epilogue: We are stronger than we think"