Meet Adaptive Athlete: Brandy Sullivan

Brandy Sullivan grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she thrived in competitive sports like soccer, track and field, and rifle team, drawn to both the team dynamic and the drive to excel. She joined the Air Force in 2006, serving as a Munitions Systems Specialist and deploying to Iraq, where she supported both Army and Air Force operations.

 

In 2009, while manning a security checkpoint, Brandy was caught in the blast radius of an explosion. Later that year, a serious aircraft incident during her medical evacuation compounded the traumatic brain injury she had sustained. The aftermath was disorienting and frustrating, with cognitive rehab revealing the true extent of her injury. Years later, she began losing her vision, a slow and painful progression that was eventually diagnosed in 2024 as AZOOR, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the retina. She is now fully blind in her right eye and partially in her left.

 

The transition to living with an “invisible” disability has been isolating at times, often filled with fear and shame. But Brandy is actively working to reclaim her strength through CrossFit and powerlifting, both of which challenge her physically and mentally in meaningful ways. At ATF, she’s seeking confidence above all else, not just to move through life more boldly, but to eventually help others facing similar fears.