30.10.2026 03:36
Ece Aytaç, 37, living in İzmir, suffered a spinal cord injury after falling from a height on March 8, 2015, and began living her life in a wheelchair. Aytaç, who scuba dives and this year faced her greatest fear by doing a tandem skydive, recounted hope and freedom based on her own story in her first book, Elmas'ın Kanatları, whose foreword was written by Sunay Akın.
Ece Aytaç (37), an office clerk at the İzmir Branch of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers living in İZMİR, began to live her life in a wheelchair after sustaining a spinal cord injury as a result of a fall from a height on March 8, 2015. After this challenging period, Aytaç turned to dreaming and creating again, and in her first book, 'Elmas's Wings', published in 2025, she drew on her own story to convey that hope and freedom are not limited to the body.
Ece Aytaç, who took part in many social responsibility projects during her education in Public Relations and Advertising in Istanbul and worked as a volunteer at the Turkish Spinal Cord Paralysis Association, also prepared her university thesis on people with spinal cord paralysis. After graduating, Aytaç returned to İzmir, and two years later, on March 8, 2015, she sustained a spinal cord injury as a result of a fall from a height. After the accident, Aytaç began living in a wheelchair, and at the Turkish Spinal Cord Paralysis Association, where she had volunteered for four years, she took on the role of İzmir Provincial Representative after the accident. After this challenging period, Aytaç turned to dreaming and creating again, and in her first book, 'Elmas's Wings', published in 2025, she drew on her own story to convey that hope and freedom are not limited to the body.
SHE FACED HER FEAR AND JUMPED WITH A PARACHUTE
Aytaç, who also serves as a Board Member and Public Relations and Press Consultant at the 9 Eylül Disabled Sports Club, stated that she loves having different experiences and said, "I love trying new things. I have done scuba diving, and this year I made a tandem parachute jump with the Efes Parachute School. This was my greatest fear; in a way, I faced my fear. But my excitement and curiosity outweighed my fear. I love dreaming. Thanks to this, I write stories."
FALLING FROM THE BED TO THE FLOOR FELT LIKE EVEREST
Aytaç, who recounted that her sense of empathy developed during the period when she joined the Turkish Spinal Cord Paralysis Association as a volunteer, stated, however, that after what she experienced, empathy alone was not enough and that it needed to be turned into solidarity by taking responsibility. Noting that her life changed after the accident, Aytaç said, "After the accident, it was the beginning of a new path for me. I lost my ability to walk. I began to continue my life in a wheelchair. That day, not only my life but also my family's life changed. My plans, my future dreams, even everything changed, and I had to reshape my life again. During that process, my friends at the care home at the Turkish Spinal Cord Paralysis Association supported me very much. The bonds I formed with them at that time, the friendships, and the things I learned contributed to me to some extent. One of the most important issues for me was preserving my independence. When I fell from the bed to the floor, even though the distance seemed like Mount Everest to me, I believed that I would get back into bed, gain my independence, and free myself and my family. That is why I tried very hard. Over time, I saw through experience that the phrase 'standing on one's own feet' does not carry only a physical meaning. Today I do many things that I could not do during the period when I could walk. I try to live by adding value to life, producing, being happy with what I can do, and pushing my limits. I think we need to respect each other with our differences, accept one another, and build together an inclusive life that offers equal opportunities to everyone," she said.
SUNAY AKIN WROTE THE FOREWORD OF THE BOOK
Aytaç, who told the story of how her first book 'Elmas's Wings' came about, said that journalist-writer Sunay Akın wrote the foreword of the book. Stating that the idea underlying the book dates back many years, Aytaç said, "When my book was published in 2025, journalist-writer Sunay Akın also wrote its foreword. The story of the book goes back a long way. In 2008, I had a tattoo of Elmas's wings done. Because I have always believed that the soul has wings and that freedom is not limited to the body. Years later, my life evolved in a completely different direction. Perhaps I wrote that story I once believed in by living it. First I wanted to create my own wings from scratch, and then I wanted to be wings for others. Writing during hospital processes was like therapy for me. Afterwards, I gathered all these stories together and turned them into a book. For me, writing is not only about telling my own story; if I can open a window onto other lives too, and leave a new question in a reader's mind and a beautiful feeling in their heart, then my words have reached their purpose. I continue to produce within literature, and my second book will meet readers in 2027," she said.