Speaker slam: Windsor Paralympian now competing as a motivational speaker

A Windsor Paralympian is now competing as a motivational speaker.

Danielle Campo, 39, is in Toronto presenting her life story to an audience of judges.

“This is something I said I would never do, and here I am,” Campo said during a recent interview with CTV News. “It’s totally something absolutely out of my comfort zone.”

However, if she has learned anything from the last three years, Campo says, she’s just going to “go with it”.

“I'm competing under the theme of perseverance,” says Campo. “To share and summarize my life in five minutes it's been, you know, the challenge.”

In August 2021, Campo gave birth to her daughter Morgan.

“Her birth was textbook. My recovery was anything but,” says Campo.

What followed was nine days on life support, 15 in the ICU and more than seven weeks in hospital, fighting for her life.Danielle Campo McLeod is seen with her family in a London, Ont. hospital. (Source: Danielle Campo McLeod / Facebook)

All of which with the support of the Windsor-Essex community where countless social media posts were sent and dozens of candles lite here in the region as Campo recovered in London.

“Like every race that I swam in the Paralympics, I felt Windsor-Essex County and that was so loud while I was sick,” says Campo. “I didn't have a choice of ‘how do you survive this’? It was, with this many people behind me, how do you not?”

Campo is using her brush with death – and her ongoing recovery - to be a motivational speaker in overcoming obstacles.Danielle Campo-McLeod (Center) is back home in Windsor with her family, after seven weeks in hospital fighting a serious infection. (Courtesy: Danielle Campo-McLeod)

“There's those gold medal moments in all of our struggle and, how do we find those gold medal moments?” she says.

In her athletic career Campo was judged by the stopwatch; in SpeakerSlam she must impress a panel of judges.

“I've never been in a sport with judges like gymnastics or figure skating, right? So kudos to those athletes,” she says.

Campo has to change her thinking to compete on a stage and not in the pool.

“It's not that they're judging your story,” says Campo. “(They’re judging) the way you deliver it.”

SpeakerSlam is North America’s largest inspirational speaking competition.

Campo is competing July 16 at 6 p.m. in Toronto.

You can watch here.