Never Give Up

Bettina Sluzki Lewis was an expressionist artist, art teacher extraordinaire and a dear friend. Born into a Jewish family in Belgium, her life was turned upside down when Hitler's troops invaded the country. She was nine years old. Her father, a diamond cutter, bribed a Nazi official and her family escaped to Argentina.

Life was not kind to Bettina. She lost both her legs from the knee down, one in a tragic accident, the other to cancer. With a prosthesis on each leg she learned how to drive a hand control car. Lively as ever, Bettina would take on downtown Vancouver traffic. We would go shopping together—for shoes! Bettina, a stylish dresser, loved shoes.

The picture above was taken in Venice during our trip to Italy. The steep terrain and cobblestone streets in Italy were not what you could call wheelchair friendly.

“If we go down that hill we will never get back up again.” I’d say to Bettina.

“We can do this,” was her reply.

As we made our way back up the hill Bettina would push on the wheels of her chair while I leaned onto the handle bars pushing from behind. We made it back up to the top.

One of the most important lessons Bettina taught me in art and life was to “Never give up.”