Paralympian Anastasia Pagonis’ remarkable success story began when she lost her vision at age 14. Granted, it’s a tough age for any teen, but dealing with a life-changing disability made things even more challenging.

“It took me about eight months to kind of regroup myself,” she told TODAY, “and then I got it in my head, ‘Okay, I’m blind. Now what am I going to do with my life?’”

A Long Island native, Pagonis practically grew up in the water. She’d taken up competitive freestyle swimming just a few months prior to going totally blind. While she excelled at the sport even with limited vision, an “abusive team” atmosphere prompted her to quit competition.