Team USA star Shea Foster thought he but is now set to compete in the in . Foster is preparing to take part in the Paralympics, which begin this week. The 27-year-old will take part in the T-38 men’s 1500m race, a group for athletes whose movement and coordination are affected at a low degree in their legs - but doctors thought Foster would never walk again.
Back in June 2021, Foster was set to report to , where he was preparing to join their cross-country team as a graduate transfer following stints at Lamar University and Southeast Louisiana University. However, he suffered a brutal crash while driving his 2012 white Jeep in Louisiana. Foster crashed into a tractor-trailer that had spiraled out of control.
As a result of the incident, Foster was in a coma for 48 hours and was even temporarily paralyzed from the waist down for two weeks. The horrendous crash resulted in a fractured spine that required 50 staples on both sides of Foster’s body. Only 360-degree spinal fusion kept his spine together, with doctors inserting screws and rods in his back while he also required knee surgery.
Given the severity of his injuries, doctors insisted it would be a “miracle” if Foster could ever walk again. He told the : “I would describe the pain as..
. it's demoralizing. It's taking away your gift, or at least the gift that you think you had, that the population or other runners or other people that made you different or made you special.
It really made me realize that my identit.