BANG: His glory
On June 22, 2010, I was sitting in my pre-operative room with my family. The IV was already in and I was waiting for the nurse to come get me to prepare me for surgery. I felt an astonishing amount of peace and a mere sense of excitement knowing that I was eight hours away from the rest of my life. I asked for my family to come huddle around me as I took the last few moments before the surgery to pray over them. My prayer was simple, "Lord, the strength, the peace, and the comfort you have given me over the past four months since I made the decision to have my leg cut off, would you please take it from me and instill it on my family’s hearts right now. I am about to go to sleep and I do not need it anymore Father, but I know that my family needs your comfort now more than ever. Thank you, Father, for your mercy and I cannot wait to enter into the next stage of my life where You, and only You, will receive all of the glory. Amen." The surgery lasted a little over six hours and was a complete success. Now, I just had one job for the next five to six weeks, to rest and recover.
"Thank you, Father, for your mercy and I cannot wait to enter into the next stage of my life where You, and only You,
will receive all of the glory. Amen."
will receive all of the glory. Amen."
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On August 4, 2010, six weeks and one day after my amputation, I took my first steps on my new leg. It felt so normal, and was the first time I could remember walking pain free in years. It didn't take me long to get used to it, but I had to constantly hold myself back from running. The day finally came, on September 14, 2010, where I ran on my new running leg! It was the first time I was able to run with a normal gait since 2007 and boy, did it feel good. The day they let me take my running leg home was the day I started getting ready to run in the 2012 Paralympics in London. My first run lasted eight minutes. My legs were so weak from not running and getting used to my new leg, that eight minutes was all I could handle. Each time I went out to run after that, I went further, and further, and further. I finally decided it was time to get a coach. I knew enough about running to get by, but if I wanted to become great I knew that I would need someone to help me with my training program. After spending time praying and thinking over this decision, the Lord put on my heart an old teammate from UGA and a dear friend, Ross Ridgewell. I think he was initially surprised when I called and asked him to coach me. I don't think he ever thought I would consider him to be my coach, but there was no doubt in my mind that he was the man for the job. After we figured out our schedules and how we could make it work, he was in!
My official training for the 2012 Paralympics in London began on January 6, 2011. In seven inches of snow and ice, Ross and I went on our first run together since we had known each other. It was not optimal weather for the first day of training, but I believe that our run set the stage for what was to come. We knew that if we could make it happen in seven inches of snow, there wasn't going to be much on our journey that would slow us down. One of the biggest questions we both had starting off was what can and can't I do. We quickly learned that there was really nothing that I couldn't do, so we did everything! As the training began to build and we started looking ahead to potential meets to run, we decided that aside from our big goal of running in London, we would shoot to qualify for the U.S. Paralympic Nationals at the end of June. We felt like we could be ready by then to do fairly well, which is exactly what we did. I ran in a qualifying meet the week before and made it to nationals in the 100m and 200m run. |
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U.S. Paralympic Nationals were an amazing experience. It was the first time I went to a meet with "my team"; my coach, Ross; my prosthetist Laura; and my family. It was awesome having everyone there to keep me focused and getting me ready to run. My first two races were in the 100m and 200m prelims. I placed second in the 100m prelim and first in the 200m prelim, which qualified me for finals the next day. I rested up that night and took care of the treatment my body needed before going back out and racing the next day. I finished with a fourth place finish in the finals of the 200m and bronze in the 100m. For being my second race as an amputee, I was extremely happy with the results and couldn't wait to get back into training to get faster and faster. With my distance background, Ross and I felt I would probably have the best shot of medaling in the longer distances, specifically the 400m. When we got back from Nationals the plan was to take three to four weeks off and then start training for the 400m.
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A few days before we started training again, I got a call from the Track & Field Associate Director for the U.S. Paralympic Track Team, Cathy Sellers. She wanted to congratulate me on my performance at Nationals and proceeded to tell me that my performance in the 100m earned me a spot on the 2011 ParaPan American USA team. I was ecstatic! All I could think about again, was how blessed I was. To think, only 13 months before this, I had my leg amputated. Now, I had an opportunity to represent the United States of America, my country, doing the one thing I love to do more than anything, run. God is so good!
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"To think, only 13 months before this,
I had my leg amputated." |
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I began my journey of training and quickly fell in love with the art of the 100m dash. It was more than just a race, it was a skill. I learned very quickly that it wasn’t just an easy, fast race. The technique and focus it takes to run a great 100m dash is almost un-teachable. I was blessed to have an opportunity to be taught by one of the greatest 60m and 110m hurdlers of this decade, Terrence Trammell. Terrence is known for his amazing starts and reaction out of the blocks. In a race as short as the 100m dash, the start can make or break your race. Having a chance to be taught this art by one of the best in the world was unreal.
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November approached quickly and before I knew it I was packing for my journey to the biggest race of my career to date. I knew that I had done absolutely everything I could in the time I had to prepare and the rest was in the Lord’s hands. I was so excited and blessed to be a part of this amazing experience and journey. The team got together in Houston, Texas for team processing where we got all our team gear, had one last great meal, a team meeting, and then off to bed for the early morning travels to Mexico. Once we arrived onto the Olympic Village where were staying, we got situated in our rooms. Then, we had team meetings to make our goals and plans for the week ahead. We got there a few days before the meet to allow us time to adjust to the weather and elevation changes. The men's T-44 100M finals was the first day of the meet, giving us no time to worry or think of anything else that had happened so far. It was simply go time! As we walked out of the call room and onto the track, my emotions were calm. I set my blocks, took a few practice starts, and said one last prayer before they introduced us and started the race.
I was more relaxed than I thought I would be. I found the confidence that I had lacked in my first few races that day. As they sat us in the blocks, I continued to remain composed and shut my mind out of any and every distraction. They called us into set, and then, BANG! My body reacted and I shot out of the blocks. Thirty meters into the race all I could see was the finish line. As I crossed the finish my teammates and I embraced each other and waited for the official results. I had won in 11.31 seconds! I couldn't believe it, in my third race ever as an amputee I just won a gold medal. I got down on my knee and all I could think to say was, "Really, God! Really?! Thank you so much! Only with you was this possible!" I found out the next day that the time I ran in that race ranked me as the fastest single amputee for the 100m, in 2011. I was number one in the world! Wow, just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I hear this. God is so good! From day one my eyes have been set on running in the 2012 Paralympics in London, England and setting world records. Although these may seem like lofty dreams and goals, I wouldn't be me if I didn't set them and then "Run4Him" after them!
I was more relaxed than I thought I would be. I found the confidence that I had lacked in my first few races that day. As they sat us in the blocks, I continued to remain composed and shut my mind out of any and every distraction. They called us into set, and then, BANG! My body reacted and I shot out of the blocks. Thirty meters into the race all I could see was the finish line. As I crossed the finish my teammates and I embraced each other and waited for the official results. I had won in 11.31 seconds! I couldn't believe it, in my third race ever as an amputee I just won a gold medal. I got down on my knee and all I could think to say was, "Really, God! Really?! Thank you so much! Only with you was this possible!" I found out the next day that the time I ran in that race ranked me as the fastest single amputee for the 100m, in 2011. I was number one in the world! Wow, just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I hear this. God is so good! From day one my eyes have been set on running in the 2012 Paralympics in London, England and setting world records. Although these may seem like lofty dreams and goals, I wouldn't be me if I didn't set them and then "Run4Him" after them!
