By Julie Hayne
Pictures: Paul Broben and Ben Rothstein.
He lost his legs in the Bali bombings, but Ben Tullipan was determined to dance with his new bride — with a little help from a famous friend.
Ben Tullipan could be excused for not feeling he has much to celebrate. As our worst-injured survivor of the 2002 Bali bombings, he suffered shocking burns and lost both legs and partial hearing in the attack.
But as he spun his childhood sweetheart Kerrie-Anne Lawson around the dance floor at their June 29 wedding on the Gold Coast, the beaming father-of-one was as far as he possibly could be from playing the victim.
Thanks to his trademark good humour — and six weeks of dance lessons from actor and Dancing With The Stars judge Paul Mercurio — Ben’s inspirational waltz was a lesson in how human spirit can overcome almost any obstacle.
When Paul first heard about Ben, he wasn’t sure just how he would be able to get the 33-year-old onto the dance floor.
“I got a call a few months ago asking if I would be available to teach Ben to dance for his wedding,” Paul explains.
“I had never met him and didn’t know much about him other than he’d lost his legs. I didn’t know what to expect but thought, ‘OK, if he’s up for the challenge, so am I.’…”
Thanks to Belinda Wright of BWP Studios, Southport and Carindale, 1800 552 728, www.bwphoto.com.au
For the full story, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale July 21).
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