I just got around to the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune Magazine and came across this article...thought some of y'all might be interested. Hope I'm not violating any copyright laws here...
FOR THE BETTER
BACK IN THE GAME
Kelly Reed
By Desiree Chen
Published October 24, 2004
MISSION: Compete in a triathlon
MOMENT OF TRUTH: Two years ago, when Kelly was 28, the Arlington Heights native took a deep breath and quit her job as a graphic designer to join then-boyfriend Matt Reed as a professional triathlete, training and competing full-time in the grueling contests of swimming, biking and running. One night that October, after a stellar performance in France, an elated Kelly woke up Matt in their Colorado home to tell him: "Everything's coming together. It's going to work."
BACKSTORY: The next morning, while riding her bike, Kelly was broadsided by a 15-ton dump truck. Her injuries left her paralyzed from the waist down and her legs were severely damaged. When Kelly, a standout runner since high school, was told she would never walk again, she begged her family to let her die. By Christmas, she decided the only life she could bear was one in which she could walk. So she began an unrelenting regime of physical therapy. But she was very angry, painfully reminded every day that all she'd achieved was gone. After several months, she wiggled a toe. That led to her first step, then walking, then riding a bike. Kelly and Matt got married, and a year after the accident, she wanted to race again.
OUTCOME: Kelly made her comeback in the Accenture Chicago Triathlon. Her hope was to finish. With her family cheering, she came in 12th. Kelly was pleased but, in her typically competitive way, lamented missing the top 10. Her next goal: the 2008 Summer Olympics.
PAYOFF: "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, but I needed to take the best out of it. Maybe that's why I treasure [racing] now, why I needed to take it back."
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
FOR THE BETTER
BACK IN THE GAME Kelly Reed
By Desiree Chen
Published October 24, 2004
MISSION: Compete in a triathlon
MOMENT OF TRUTH: Two years ago, when Kelly was 28, the Arlington Heights native took a deep breath and quit her job as a graphic designer to join then-boyfriend Matt Reed as a professional triathlete, training and competing full-time in the grueling contests of swimming, biking and running. One night that October, after a stellar performance in France, an elated Kelly woke up Matt in their Colorado home to tell him: "Everything's coming together. It's going to work."
BACKSTORY: The next morning, while riding her bike, Kelly was broadsided by a 15-ton dump truck. Her injuries left her paralyzed from the waist down and her legs were severely damaged. When Kelly, a standout runner since high school, was told she would never walk again, she begged her family to let her die. By Christmas, she decided the only life she could bear was one in which she could walk. So she began an unrelenting regime of physical therapy. But she was very angry, painfully reminded every day that all she'd achieved was gone. After several months, she wiggled a toe. That led to her first step, then walking, then riding a bike. Kelly and Matt got married, and a year after the accident, she wanted to race again.
OUTCOME: Kelly made her comeback in the Accenture Chicago Triathlon. Her hope was to finish. With her family cheering, she came in 12th. Kelly was pleased but, in her typically competitive way, lamented missing the top 10. Her next goal: the 2008 Summer Olympics.
PAYOFF: "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, but I needed to take the best out of it. Maybe that's why I treasure [racing] now, why I needed to take it back."
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune