She faced several extreme physical and psychological challenges during her life. Around the age of six, she contracted polio, which left her bedridden for nine months. Although she recovered from the illness, she limped when she walked because the illness damaged her right leg and foot. Her father encouraged her to play soccer, go swimming, and even do some very unusual moves for a girl at the time to help her recover. Moments later, while she was traveling with her boyfriend on a bus, the vehicle collided with a tram. Due to the collision, Kahlo was impaled by a steel handrail which entered her hip and came out the other side. She suffered several serious injuries, including fractures to her spine and pelvis. After spending several weeks at the Red Cross hospital in Mexico City, Kahlo returned home to recover further. She began painting while recovering and completed her first self-portrait the following year. Frida Kahlo marries famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (Biography of Frida Kahlo,