Finding CrossFit After Losing Use of a Leg
Some background.
In 2013, Amelia Garris was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome after a dog bite left her without the use of her right leg. When she began to lose the use of that leg to nerve damage, she sought physical therapy.
Unable to run at all, let alone walk without crutches, the physical therapists eventually told her they couldn’t help her any longer.
Amelia’s mom looked at her and said, “You’re going to the gym tomorrow.”
It was a CrossFit gym.
“When I went to CrossFit, people didn’t look at me differently, because everyone has to modify things in CrossFit. So I just fit in,” Amelia said.
“I wanted to lift big weights and do everything that everyone else was doing. I just kept going heavier and heavier, and the difference it made both inside and out was quite beautiful.”
Amelia said that CrossFit gave her the confidence to take a job coaching and apply to Graduate school. Amelia also enjoys competing, taking first place in the 4th annual WOD 4 Wheels competition in Houston, TX.
Now Amelia gives motivational speeches on being an adaptive athlete and dealing with chronic pain.
“I picked a road of instead of chasing narcotics, which is what doctors wanted to give me, instead I found CrossFit,” Amelia said.
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