Defying odds, a specially-abled woman, Renee Bruns from Atlanta, Georgia in the US, travelled 117 countries on a wheelchair and recently broke the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the most countries visited in one year. Bruns accomplished the feat by travelling to 55 countries from May 2022, a CNN report said. On their website, GWR wrote about Bruns, "When Renee was 5 years old she took her first plane ride to New York City. It was at that moment where she realized she needed to see and experience the world. Renee also wants to prove to other children and young adults with limitations that 'the unimaginable is possible'." Taking to Instagram, Bruns shared a photograph of her holding the GWR certificate, seated on a wheelchair. She also documented her explorations on the Meta-owned platform. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Renee Bruns (@wheelstravels) From exploring a hotel which seemed like a modern-day tree house in Solomon Islands, racing with a little girl in Palau and kayaking in the cold waters of Antartica to watching the penguins, Bruns had vivid experiences during her explorations. "My absolute most favorite memory in Antarctica was kayaking.I cannot explain how surreal it is to be floating on The Southern Ocean in a small piece of plastic, knowing that there could be whales and seals living their lives right below the water's surface," she wrote about her experience in Antarctica. The CNN report said she was diagnosed with diastrophic dwarfism — a skeletal dysplasia that impacts cartilage and bone development. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Renee Bruns (@wheelstravels) “In a strange kind of way, (being a wheelchair user) has allowed me to see humanity differently than an average traveler will see, because they can just go about, and step down that sidewalk and back up again,” she told the CNN. She finds boarding a plane difficult and is of the view that airplanes need to be more accessible for people with disabilities. She planned a month before visiting any new country and searched for hotels which have ramp facilities. Despite the plans, there were difficult circumstances, however, people came forward to help her. “I’ve had tons of piggyback rides from men all over the world. I’ve had women and men come and grab the front or the back of my wheelchair and help me up a flight of stairs. So it always works out,” she told CNN.
