A doctor, a Para Games medalist, and the woman rewriting what disability is allowed to look like
An interview by Cheryl Fuerte
For most people, a wheelchair marks the end of certain plans. For Kat, it became the start of several new ones.
Dr. Katrina Marie O. Hernandez is a physician, a para-powerlifter, and a wheelchair user who recently competed for the Philippines at the 13th ASEAN Para Games in Thailand. She took home silver in para-powerlifting.
Alongside medicine and sport, she built Kat Out of the Box (@kat.outofthebox on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube), an online platform that uses storytelling, digital content, talks, and workshops to spark conversations on inclusion, representation, and what it’s actually like to navigate the world as a person with a disability.
That work reached an even wider audience through Para-Paraan (Finding a Way Through), a short documentary built around her story, which went on to win Best Film at the Sorok Short Film Festival, Best Documentary Short at the Rebyu Awards, and a Special Jury Prize at Cinemalaya Shorts 2026.
Between medical practice, training blocks, and speaking engagements that range from classroom and corporate settings to serving as a stakeholder at the United Nations Committee on Human Rights’ 20th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, she’s spent years pushing the same message: that disability should be treated as a normal, dignified part of being human.
I hadn’t worked with Dr. Kat before this. I found her profile after she followed dotSpotlight on Instagram, and decided to contact her to share her story, which she gladly agreed to.
For this interview, I asked Dr. Kat about her path into medicine, sport, and disability, what it’s like practicing medicine and competing internationally, and her advocacy on normalizing disability.
Q & A WITH DR. KAT
What first drew you to medicine? Was becoming a doctor always the plan, or did that come later?
Dr. Kat: I was in and out of the hospital when I was younger. I was born with a congenital disease called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, where I was born with gross deformities (club feet) and no strength in my legs. The treatment for this would be to correct my deformities through operations and strengthen my legs through physical therapy (PT), so I was always in and out of the hospital, and that sparked my interest in medicine.
I could just imagine the tremendous challenges you had while growing up, studying, and becoming a doctor, with you as a wheelchair user. Can you walk us through some of those moments?
Dr. Kat: When I was in school, I was also using leg braces (knee-ankle-foot-orthoses) in addition to my wheelchair. At a younger age, I thought I needed to fit in with my peers so I tried as much as possible to avoid the wheelchair.
It was only during college and medical school where I really used my leg braces and wheelchair in tandem, so I could get around and do all the things I needed to do, so I could graduate med school.
However, using my leg braces was uncomfortable for me. Imagine wearing 5kg socks up until your thighs and not being able to bend your knees as you walk. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling.
After graduating med school, I decided to push the limits on what it would be like to get around with just a wheelchair in Manila. It had its perks coz I was more comfortable and less in pain, but it also had its cons since I had more limited options when faced with barriers such as establishments that do not have provisions for wheelchair users, or pavements where people can walk, but can barely fit a wheelchair.
“Imagine wearing 5kg socks up until your thighs and not being able to bend your knees as you walk. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling.”
Has being a wheelchair user changed how you practice medicine or relate to your own patients, particularly those navigating disability or chronic illness themselves?
Dr. Kat: I had the experiences coming from both sides, being a patient and being a doctor. That is a unique experience and I try to leverage that duality whenever I talk to my patients.
The experience helped me to show that I was once on the receiving end of medical care, and that made the patients feel more at ease with me.
“I try to leverage that duality whenever I talk to my patients.”
How did you find your way into para-powerlifting specifically? What drew you to that particular sport?
Dr. Kat: When I was younger, my parents tried to convince me to get into para sports. However, as a kid that was already kind of different, and I didn’t want to be any more different from my peers, so to be honest, I kept on coming up with reasons to avoid it.
So I delayed it, and later on I thought I lost my chance already because I know para athletes should start young.
Anyway after the pandemic, my partner convinced me to get to know the disability community more, since I grew up detached from the community due to internalized stigma. Following her advice, I then decided to enter the community through para sports.
I chose para powerlifting because I was in my gym era during that time and, functionally, having a stronger body allowed me to be more mobile.
“Later on I thought I lost my chance already because I know para athletes should start young.”
What did training look like in the early days, and how has that changed as you moved toward competing internationally?
Dr. Kat: Before being part of the team, I went to the gym by myself and learned everything via YouTube. I taught myself different exercises, which exercises to put together for my needs, and what adaptations I needed given my disability. Now that I’m in the national team, my training programs are now different and specialized, and more geared towards the actual sport, para powerlifting.
But when I was starting out, training felt really more like a chore and an option. Thankfully, as I got used to it, my body anticipated the training until it became part of my routine. After it became part of my routine, transitioning into professional athlete training became easier.
Take us back to the ASEAN Para Games in Thailand. What did that silver medal moment feel like, and what did it take to get there?
Dr. Kat: As a national athlete, it’s an honor to carry the flag of the Philippines and to be able to take home a medal for my country. This is something all athletes work towards. I am so grateful to be able to represent the country and at the same time see the hard work and training that I’ve put in over the years translate into something tangible.
To be honest, It took a lot of discipline and knowing myself. The training blocks, nutrition requirements, and recovery phases are important physical aspects of being an athlete, but you also need mental resilience when you set out to compete. So for me as an athlete, I also needed to do a lot of mental conditioning, internal alignment, and self-reflection, so that my physical and mental health would be in sync.
“I am so grateful to be able to represent the country and at the same time see the hard work and training that I’ve put in over the years translate into something tangible.”
You’ve got a growing platform, Kat Out of the Box, with over 4,000 followers now. What made you decide to start it?
Dr. Kat: I really didn’t expect myself to start the Kat Out of the Box profile across all those platforms. To be honest, I was never really active on social media prior to my advocacy on normalizing disability.
It started when I was going through social media content of other disability advocates from other countries. I saw that disability was a bit more normalized and access was more widespread than here in the Philippines. The more I looked into the content they posted (how people with disabilities in other countries live a far more mobile and active life than here in the Philippines), the more I said to myself, “I wanted to see that here in the Philippines”. And that’s how it all started.
You built the platform while also practicing as a doctor and training competitively. Doing all those already gives you a ton of amazing content and stories to share on your platform. But I suppose your medical background does help shape the way you talk about disability, mindset, and adaptive living?
Dr. Kat: Yes, it has helped in a way, I can articulate more and focus on relevant topics, but then it’s really the actual experiences I have, more than the medical background, that moves my content forward.
Of course, training competitively and winning a medal have given me more content to post. Bottomline is, I want to be able to show that persons with disabilities can live meaningful lives, and I am just glad I am able to do that through my platform.
“I want to be able to show that persons with disabilities can live meaningful lives.”
You’ve lectured on disability sensitivity at the UP College of Medicine and UST College of Rehabilitation Sciences. What’s the biggest misconception you still find yourself correcting in these institutions, even among future healthcare workers?
Dr. Kat: The most important misconception I find myself telling them every now and then is that disability is not unique. It’s a part of life. At any point in anyone’s life, a person can become disabled. It can happen to anyone. We can acquire a disability through an accident, injury, medical illness, or simply by just getting old.
And so by this, I really hope that by prioritizing accessibility, we extend the quality of life of the general public, not just for people living with disabilities. Because by doing so, a lot more people will be able to participate in society, regardless of their abilities.
“Disability is not unique. It’s a part of life.”
Para-Paraan (“Finding a Way Through”) started as a 10-minute short film and ended up winning Best Film, Best Documentary Short, and an official Cinemalaya selection. What was the original idea behind it, and did you expect it to resonate the way it has?
Dr. Kat: We wanted to be able to show people with disabilities in a different light. In the Philippines, we’re so used to hearing the same narratives for persons with disabilities: weak, kawawa (pitiful). But on the other hand, some people tend to romanticize the lives of persons with disabilities and portray it as inspiration-porn.
So we wanted to stay in the middle, to find a balance. To show what it’s like living with a disability in a world where accessibility is an after-thought, or even not thought of. We wanted to show strength and resilience of persons with disabilities, but also raise the question: are we relying too much on resilience when these basic accommodations should be provided?
We tried our best to make the film as relatable to even those without disabilities, so getting the reception we have now is surreal. We are grateful that more eyes are on the advocacy.
“We wanted to show what it’s like living with a disability in a world where accessibility is an after-thought, or even not thought of.”
What’s a stereotype about disability, or about wheelchair users specifically, that you find yourself correcting most often, even now, even in spaces that consider themselves progressive?
Dr. Kat: People with disabilities can live full and meaningful lives. Yes, it deviates from what is “normal,” but I believe that it’s important to honor these differences and not think that it’s less from the norm.
When we honor these differences, we widen our imaginations to the different ways that people live life and we just make space for everyone.
You’ve said your aim is to normalize disability, not just raise awareness of it. For our audience’s understanding, can you help us understand the difference between those two things?
Dr. Kat: Awareness is the first step. It’s more about learning about disability and understanding the barriers at play.
Normalizing disability, for me, is changing how we perceive disability, that disability is part of human diversity and that people with disabilities can live meaningful lives.
“Normalizing disability is changing how we perceive disability.”
You’ve spoken in front of very different audiences, from serving as a stakeholder at a UN human rights event to students to fellow para-athletes. Does the message change depending on who’s in the room, or is it always the same core thing you’re trying to get across?
Dr. Kat: The core message still stays the same, but the manner of delivery and which stories I put into play that embody those messages changes depending on my audience. Of course, it is important to meet your audience where they are at or else the message will not come across.
Do you still have time for yourself? Competing as a para-athlete and running an advocacy platform both demand enormous discipline. How do you balance training, medicine, and building Kat Out of the Box?
Dr. Kat: I’m lucky that all my roles are part-time and that my sport training doesn’t require me to do it daily, since muscles need time to recover. So with everything not being full-time I can move around my things on my calendar relatively easily, if needed.
Random question. Is there a version of yourself from earlier in your life that you wish you could talk to now? If yes, what would you tell her?
Kat: Yes, my childhood self who was afraid to be different. I want to tell her that being different doesn’t mean you’re anything less. It’s what makes you unforgettable so leverage on that power.
“I want to tell her that being different doesn’t mean you’re anything less.”
If someone reading this is newly navigating disability themselves, or is close to someone who is, what’s the first thing you’d want them to know, not as an advocate, but as Kat?
Dr. Kat: Give yourself time and experiment. We don’t have to have everything figured out. Having a disability will also mean that life will not be as straightforward. So experiment and try different things, but at the same time, give yourself time to go through the trial and error process and learn from mistakes. It’s okay to make mistakes and to take a break every now and then, but as long as you always remember that you still have to live life, then all’s good.
When we honor these differences, we widen our imaginations to the different ways that people live life and we just make space for everyone.
– Dr. Kat Hernandez
IN CLOSING
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” is an understatement of Kat’s story. She did not just make lemonades, she made lemon pound cakes, lemon cookies, lemon bars, lemon meringue cakes, and more. As a doctor, a para athlete, a platform creator, and someone constantly going through an uphill battle for inclusivity and accessibility, Kat has shown, and continues to show how a full life can be lived by someone with disability. She is amazing.
Going through the interview with Kat is a profound experience. To say that I was inspired is also an understatement. I’m in awe of what she has accomplished, and of what she’s trying to accomplish. With her platform @kat.outofthebox, I do hope that more people become not just more aware but also start to normalize disability. And somehow perhaps with heightened awareness, some concrete actions in including accessibility into everyday life can take place.
Thank you Kat for your time. I’m really glad to know you and more glad to be able to share your story with our dotSpotlight readers.
