I said I was going to race with heart and today I did just that.
And for that I am proud.
The three-time world champion andU.S.
Matthew Stockman/GettyImages
At the hospital, doctors discovered she had fractured her L2 and L3 vertebrae and severely bruised her pelvis.
Her injuries sidelined her from training for three weeks.
Most athletes would be devastated by such a traumatic accident, especially so close to a global championship.
But Stockwell was able to take the incident in stride.
It happened and its not growing back any time soon.
And then that acceptance propelled me into a life I never would have imagined.
The Army veteran will represent Team USA at the Paralympic Games, which began earlier this week.
She will once again take on one of the toughest events the Games has to offer: thetriathlon.
Focus on what you have, rather than what youve lost.
Everything changed for Stockwell in 2004.
As a result Stockwell lost her left leg.
Stockwell tells SELF she actually felt lucky in her situation, all things considered.
This helped encourage her to see things a little differently.
I only lost one leg.
I had my life, I had three limbs.
So it kind of puts things in perspective, she says.
I think life is all about perspective.
Set really big goals.
For Stockwell, simply accepting her situation wasnt enoughshe wanted to thrive.
So the dream was born really quickly.
Swimming soon became her focus.
By 2008just four years after her accidentStockwell was ready to take swimming to the big stage.
This made her the first Iraq War veteran to qualify for the Paralympic Games.
Take things one step at a time.
First she returned to the pool and built up her strength to swim a few laps at a time.
[Returning to swim and bike] was on such a condensed time frame, she says.
But on August 18, sheshared a photowith a positive update.
To say I am excited is an understatement.
I mean, it could have been so much worse.
I could have had a head injury.
I could be paralyzed.
Build your own team.
I wouldn’t be where I am without a team, she says.
Were really all in it together, so we might as well have a good team around us.
Grateful for the support shes received over the years, Stockwell wants other athletes to experience the same benefits.
And we dont give ourselves enough credit on the things that we are capable of doing.
Stockwell will represent Team USA once again in theParalympic triathlonon Saturday, August 28 in Tokyo.
