Silvia Leticia Pablo González – Age 30

Living with Spina Bifida and Finding Purpose

My name is Silvia Leticia Pablo González, I’m 30 years old, and I was born with spina bifida.
When I was born, the doctors told my parents I needed surgery, but it was risky and expensive. They didn’t have the financial means, so the surgery wasn’t possible. Over the years, my parents worked hard to help me live as normal a life as possible. They took me to therapy and to an association called Transiciones, where I received walkers and leg braces.

But everything changed when my parents separated. My father struggled with alcoholism, and my mother moved my three sisters and me to my grandparents’ house. My father took my only brother to live with an aunt.

After the separation, my mom had to work tirelessly to support us, every day from eight in the morning until nine at night. It became too difficult for her to take me to school, so I had to drop out around the age of eight. It was also hard for her to take me to therapy or out for walks.

That’s when I realized I was not like other children. My disability prevented me from doing many of the things my sisters could do. From ages eight to seventeen, I was mostly confined to our home. I only went out once or twice a year, usually to a small store two blocks away, with help from my sisters or cousins, often around Christmas or my birthday.

During those years, I watched my sisters go to school, make friends, attend village festivals, and work to help my mom, while I stayed behind. Sometimes when everyone went out, I was left home alone. I always told my mom I was fine because I didn’t want her to feel sorry for me. Deep down, I felt like a burden. I would talk to God and ask Him, “Why can’t I do the things my sisters can? Why did You create me this way? Did You make a mistake?”

I stopped seeing my brother after the separation. He never visited, but I always prayed for him. As a child, I dreamed of many things I thought were impossible for me. I wanted to go back to school, to exercise, to sing, to dance, to have friends… even to fly.

I remember one day, sitting alone on the floor, watching a plane fly over our house. I looked up and said to God, “What would it feel like to fly? Could I ever experience that?”

Even though I thought it was impossible, I asked anyway.

A Turning Point

In 2012, I reached one of the lowest points in my life. I felt that my life had no meaning. I had developed a serious ulcer on my right foot. That same year, my father took his own life after struggling with alcohol. I was devastated and tried to take my own life several times as well.

But just when it felt like the darkest night, God began to bring light into my life. In December of that year, I prayed constantly, asking Him to change my life.  Even just to let me leave the house for a week.

Then one day, a childhood friend named Blanca Puz, who also used a wheelchair, came to visit me. She saw how sad I was and asked if I’d like to go with her to her job for a week. She said she wanted me to see that there were many other people with disabilities, and that I wasn’t alone.

I immediately said, “Yes, I want to!” Blanca spoke to her supervisors at Hope Haven Guatemala, where Mark Richard was the director. They agreed, and there, I received my very first wheelchair.

When I arrived, it felt as if the doors to a new world had opened. I saw people with disabilities doing amazing things. I asked God to forgive me for all the times I had complained or wished I hadn’t been born.

A New Life at Hope Haven

At 17, my life completely changed. My coworkers welcomed me with kindness and affection. They taught me independence and showed me that my wheelchair wasn’t a limitation, it was freedom!

At first, I was scared to use it. I didn’t know how, and I was afraid of falling. But Blanca, Julia, Freddy, and Gustavo patiently taught me. I realized that my wheelchair didn’t stop me from living, it made everything possible.

Ilse Caballeros, the physical therapist, helped me treat my ulcer and encouraged me through every step. One day, a colleague named Freddy Pérez told me he was tired from running a marathon the day before. I laughed and asked, “How do you run?”

He smiled and said, “With my chair.”

I was amazed and asked if I could ever do that too.
He told me, “Of course. You can do anything you want.”

That moment changed everything.

Becoming Who I Was Meant to Be

From 2013 onward, God showed me that He is perfect and He doesn’t make mistakes. I realized that I am not an error; I am part of His plan. Every hardship from my childhood prepared me to become who I am today.

With the help of God and many wonderful people I call “angels,” I have achieved so many dreams:

• I went back to school at 18.
• In 2015, I traveled to Canada to compete in the Paralympic Games with Guatemala’s national wheelchair basketball team.
• I helped support my mom financially and eventually told her she could stop working.
• I made many friends, traveled throughout Guatemala and other countries, and competed in races like the 10K and 21K, sometimes even beating men!
• I spent several months hosting a Christian radio show.
• I participated in Guatemala’s first beauty pageant for women with disabilities — and won Miss Personality.

In 2014, my brother also took his own life. It was hard to understand, but that same year, I gave my life to God and was baptized.

In 2018, I bought a motorcycle and adapted it with two extra wheels. For years I had traveled everywhere by bus — this was freedom.

Helping Others Find Their Light

One of the greatest blessings in my life has been helping other children with disabilities improve their quality of life.

I worked at Hope Haven for nine years until it closed during COVID-19 in 2021. In 2022, I joined Beeline, and in 2023, God opened the door for me to lead a project at a furniture company, creating job opportunities for people with disabilities.

In 2024, I began working at Transiciones, the same association that had helped me as a child. That was a dream come true.

Now, in 2025, God has brought me back to Beeline Guatemala, where I continue doing what I love most: helping improve the lives of children and their families.

I want people to see me and understand that using a wheelchair does not limit us. It doesn’t define what we can or cannot do.
It’s simply the tool God has given us to move toward our dreams and fulfill His purpose for our lives.