My name is Lera Alexandrova, but some of my friends call me Alex. My journey with a back injury began at just two and a half years old, after taking a fall. Two back surgeries in the T5-6 region and years of intense physical therapy allowed me to regain a sense of normalcy, until life changed again when I had my children and underwent an emergency back surgery in 2015 as my T5-6 vertebrae were too weak and were collapsing.
Navigating a New Normal
After another surgery and a major back reconstruction in 2019, I found myself in a wheelchair. Adjusting to this new reality as a single mother with no family support was overwhelming. Everyday tasks became full of challenges, and I felt lost trying to find the right information and resources to help me navigate my new condition.
Creating a Community for Change
I spent countless hours searching for guidance, feeling frustrated by how difficult it was to find the right resources all in one place. That’s when I had the idea to create OvercomingChange.com—a site inspired by platforms like Yelp and Angie’s List, but specifically for people with disabilities. I wanted to build a single hub where individuals could easily find and share reliable support services. I wanted to have another tool like Facebook connected to it, where people could share their stories and it would allow them not just socialize and find others with a similar diagnoses, but also be able to share their experiences with the company’s service by leaving a rating or a comment.
Building this nonprofit has been a challenge that I never could predict based on the motivation I had and my dream for this platform to help so many people battling their changes and challenges.
Embracing Community
Now, as the founder of OvercomingChange.com, I use my experiences to support others facing similar challenges. Through determination and the right support of some amazing people and organizations I came across, I learned how to embrace life again—not just for myself, but for my kids as well. Instead of focusing on what I did not have anymore, I began to see new possibilities.
My mission is to make sure no one else has to feel as lost as I once did. Life changes, but it doesn’t have to stop. We adapt, we grow, and we move forward—one step, one push, one moment at a time. Let all the people that are seeking for a support system and the information to be able to find it on our platform and become united.
