Seen from afar, the life of Milena Surreau looks like a melodrama. Autism diagnosed late, sports career dreams aborted, a genetic disease and meager income (900 euros per month, disabled adult allowance included) earned by carrying mud and wheelbarrows of salt in the Guérande marshes. Seen up close, the daily life of the French para-badminton champion (SL4 category) already seems much less sad without however resembling a musical. Especially when you watch the young woman shivering in a wheelchair where she sat down to rest her legs, after a Saturday in January spent on her farm. But the Breton woman exudes a joyful energy. “Today, I do para-badminton standing up, but in five years, if I can’t walk anymore, I will do para-bad in a wheelchair. It is not a drama to use a wheelchair »says the salt worker from Batz-sur-Mer, a hat from the Czech Republic Olympic team screwed on her head – in homage to the origins of a grandmother -, while distributing some kibble to Eugene, her service dog.
