TeamUP Co-Captain and founder of Get Back UP Today, Beth Deloria, developed paralysis in her lower leg in 2004 from spinal cord trauma caused by the “perfect storm” of birth defects she didn’t even know she had. This paralysis is a condition known as foot drop.
Beth had been an active person and competitive athlete all her life up until that point. An accomplished marathoner, she ran her first marathon in Chicago in 2001 and qualified for the Boston Marathon. Distance running was her passion, but she learned that she might never walk “normally,” much less run, due to foot drop. Not one to give up easily, Beth was determined to find a way to run again.
But after years of searching unsuccessfully, she felt depressed; uncertain she would find a way to regain her mobility and quality of life. Finally, Beth found and was fitted for an Allard ToeOFF® brace. She says, “within six months of getting the brace I was back at the Chicago Marathon.” She broke down crying on the starting line because she’d almost given up hope she would ever be able to compete in a marathon again.
Her passion for running motivated her to find a way to regain the mobility she had lost to foot drop. Beth’s challenges also lead her to Allard USA, maker of the ToeOFF® brace. In 2011, they joined together to create a global support movement, Get Back UP Today, to help others with mobility challenges regain their own quality of life.
Read more about Beth Deloria’s inspiring story and watch her recent interview on Spectrum News.
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