Paralyzed bride strips down to just her lingerie and her catheter for powerful photoshoot

A woman who famously became paralyzed after her friend pushed her into a pool at her bachelorette party has been making it her mission to show how capable disabled people really are, by getting married, having a baby - and now posing in a sexy lingerie shoot.

Rachelle Friedman Chapman, 29, was left wheelchair-bound after her friend playfully pushed her into the water shortly before her wedding in May 2010, causing her to hit her head and suffer a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the chest down.

Five years later, a lot has changed for the North Carolina resident. She married 32-year-old Chris Chapman, welcomed a daughter via surrogate, and recently found the confidence to strip down to her underwear for an empo

Rachelle certainly wasn't always so self-assured. After her accident, which, she says, she doesn’t blame on her friend, Rachelle's self-esteem suffered due to hurtful comments written about her by strangers on the internet. 

'All of a sudden I realized there were people who viewed me as un-dateable,' she said, 'and you start to look at yourself and say, "I don't like this about me, I don't like that about me."'

She wasn't actually un-dateable, of course. In fact, in 2011, she finally got her wedding. Then, two months ago, her daughter Kaylee was born with the help of a college friend who offered to be her surrogate.

Life with her new baby has been joyful but a huge adjustment for the Chapmans, as they have had to install specially-made furniture to allow Rachelle to change Kaylee's diapers and put her to bed. 

But while she's found happiness with her family, Rachelle is also still making peace with her body - which is why she decided to prove to herself and everyone else that she, and disabled people like her, can still be sexy.

So with her husband in tow, the new mom made a trip to a local Victoria's Secret to shop for lingerie for her big shoot.

In the photos, Rachelle poses on a bed in a variety of sexy underthings, from a matching pink lace set to a pair of purple panties.

'I'm hoping it will inspire others to just focus on the things they love about themselves and not be so critical,' she said, adding that she is sharing the pictures on Facebook and Twitter. 'I'm encouraging everyone to get on social media and mention something they love about themselves with the hashtag #WhatMakesMeSexy.'

But just because she's found the courage to bare all doesn't mean that she doesn't still struggle with insecurities - especially about her catheter, which is visible in all of the pictures. 

'The big thing that I am self-conscious about is the catheter I have to wear all the time,' she said. 'I have to accept it, and I wanted to show people that just because you have this, just own it. It doesn't have to be the focus of what you are, what you look like.'

The focus of these particular snaps seems to be more that Rachelle has a great figure, which she manages to maintain without a strict diet or trips to the gym. She noted that she does get a workout from things that are much easier for most people, though, like getting out of bed and getting dressed. She also plays wheelchair rugby.

'I want to put a different face to disability,' she said, adding that she hopes that her message will resonate with women who aren't disabled, too: 'We all have flaws [and] we all have things going for us, and for the first time I'm not hiding my catheter. I'm not hiding anymore.' 

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