Basketball, volleyball, softball,tennis, and track.
As a naturally athletic child in Toledo, Stephanie Johnson participated in practically every sport.
Today, the 28-year-old says shes more active than ever, despiteor ratherbecause ofa leg amputation in 2016.
EJ Hersom
In fact, it pushes me more.
My injuries dont define me, says Johnson.
I define my injuries.
Johnson prepping for her rowing event at the 2018 Warrior Games.
That means they are the impetusand never the excuse.
Johnson was wounded on June 18, 2013, while serving in Bagram, Afghanistan.
I wanted a better quality of life, she says.
In basketball, Johnson plays shoot guard—the same position she played pre-injury.
When I first got injured, people told me I would never run again, Johnson remembers.
But Im all about proving people wrong.
Johnson prepping for her rowing event at the 2018 Warrior Games.
She enjoys individual sports like running and cycling, but team sportsespecially basketball and volleyballare her favorite.
Theyre more intense, says Johnson.
You are all there together as a team, and I like that aspect of it.
In basketball, Johnson plays shoot guardthe same position she played pre-injury.
She would have done cycling, too, but couldnt manage to fit it in her already-packed schedule.
But I didnt carejust to be out there doing it, I accomplished my goal.
I wanted to finish.
For Johnson, every finish line she crosses represents a bigger victory.
That first year [post-injury, pre-amputation], I was in denial.
I didnt want to accept it and I was mad at the wrong people.
Changing her perspective helped her do a complete 180," she says.
They are helping me cross that finish line.
For Johnson, this serves as potent motivation.
I know that if I was gone, they would still be pushing for me, she says.
In the meantime, shes not yet done with this year’s Warrior Games.
The 2018 Warrior Games began on Friday, June 1 and continue through Saturday, June 9.
