On Easter Sunday, April 12, 1998, Vanessa and her family were in a tragic car accident. Vanessa lost her life twice; once while in care flight and on the operating table. Due to a defected seatbelt, her internal organs were ruptured leaving her without a spleen and kidney and fighting for her life. In addition to her internal injuries she suffered from an incomplete T-12/L1 spinal cord injury.
After waking up from an induced coma a month later with no idea of the extent of her injuries Vanessa thought she was going to walk out of the hospital. Little did she know her life had been forever changed. She had no idea she was about to face the most mental and physical challenge of her life; living life with a permanent disability.
The hardest part for her, was not knowing who she was anymore. She was a lost soul who did not know her purpose in life. As result of her depression she lost complete confidence in herself and turned to drugs for many years.
Despite several failed abusive relationships and drug use she still found a way to better herself. In 2007, Vanessa received her Bachelors degree in Sociology and her Masters degree seven years later. In between that time Vanessa gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who changed her outlook on life. Vanessa finally had a reason bigger than herself to live. She realized that her disability wasn’t something that could define, her but something she had to embrace.
In 2014 Vanessa competed in her first ever CrossFit competition. It was at this competition that she met David Vobora, founder of the Adaptive Training Foundation. He invited her to his gym where at the time he was training injured Veterans alongside professional athletes.
After working out there for six months and using the solo step for two months, Vanessa rid of the crutches she used for 15 years and graduated to a cane. She was quickly able to achieve her goal of holding her daughter's hand. Vanessa's confidence grew with her new found strength and she went onto to compete for 6 years in CrossFit paving a way for other female athletes.
Once the competitions stopped, there was still a strong desire for Vanessa to stay integrated at ATF. Vanessa has regained muscles in areas she thought wasn’t possible which motivated her to continue on her athletic journey as an adaptive athlete while setting an example to her daughter. Outside of raising a daughter and working full time, her joy has been riding her handcycle long distance with a fellow ATF alumni. Her goal is to handcycle across a new state each summer.
Vanessa has watched ATF change countless lives, and it’s why she takes an intentional approach with getting to know most athletes that come through a new class ensuring as the community grows the alumni stay connected.
