Meet The Co-Captains

I was rushed to the hospital where the doctors induced a three-day coma. When I finally woke up I couldn’t swallow, talk, or move my right side at all. I was completely paralyzed, with nothing but faith and humor to get me through. From that day onward, I was determined to get my movement and speech back completely.

One of the first things the doctors noticed was that I was going to need a brace for my lower right leg/foot. They outfitted me with a hard plastic AFO. It allowed me to walk again, but that’s about it. It was very medical-looking and it’s silly but I felt like a medical experiment wearing it. I began doing research on what brace I could run and bike in before I could even walk again. My husband Sam joined me in this endeavor. Finally, we found the Allard BlueROCKER. ^® Then I found GetBackUPToday.com, where I connected with athletes who had challenges like I did.

Walking, eating, and speaking are all second nature to most people, but I had to relearn all of these. The BlueROCKER^® gave me one less thing to worry about while I made these significant adaptations to my life. It allowed my therapists to focus on my balance so that I could build up my endurance, get back up on my bicycle, regain proper gait, and learn to run again.

Three years after that horrible night, I competed in the Boulder Half-Ironman and am currently National Champion in Women’s C2 paracycling. After getting my BlueROCKER^®, my right foot felt more mobile. The brace reignited the fire of athletics in me.

There are certain points in life that change you. This was that point for me. I was just becoming a true competitor in the world of triathlon when I was shaken to the core. I did not know how to live with a disability. No one I knew had ever competed with a disability before. I’d never even heard of hemiplegia, and now I have it. But with my Allard BlueROCKER^®, I am not just alive – I am living again. Life really is one big adventure.