Rosie Gorman, 22, slammed into a wall during a series of backflips, injuring her legs so severely doctors thought she may never walk again
The cheerleader and personal trainer committed herself to physical therapy but said she’s left with “severe muscle and nerve damage”
Two years after the accident, Gorman completed a marathon and was “bursting with happy tears” when she crossed the finish line
A woman who was left with “severe muscle and nerve damage” following a horrific accident two years ago was told she may never walk again — but she just ran a marathon!
Rosie Gorman, 22, was doing a series of backflips during a cheerleading competition when her shins slammed into a wall, resulting in an injury doctors likened to a car crash, according to The Daily Mail.
Gorman, a personal trainer and dancer who had been participating in cheer competitions for ten years, was told her legs “wouldn’t function the same” after the incident, which left her with compartment syndrome. The “extremely painful” condition happens when swelling cuts off blood flow to muscles, according to the Cleveland Clinic, which says the syndrome can lead to permanent muscle damage, paralysis or death.
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Rosie Gorman slammed into a wall during a series of backflips
“I just hit the wall with such force,” Gorman told The Daily Mail, explaining that backflips were “something I’m so confident in and it’s like second nature to me. It’s such a shame that something so simple to me ended that cheerleading career.”
She said that she was on bed rest for several weeks, but committed herself to physical therapy to relearn how to walk. And five months after the accident, the Manchester, England, native said she was able to do a backflip once again.
“Everything’s telling you not to do it and that it’s a bad idea, but I’ve done it so many times before and you’ve got to believe in yourself you can do it,” she explained. “I would rather push through that pain than never be able to do it again.”
Although Gorman credited strength training and her “strong build” for her comeback, she explained, “It’s been a long road to recovery. I have been left with severe muscle and nerve damage. A lot of the feelings [have] actually never grown back.”
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Rosie Gorman says she still deals with the impact of her shin injury
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This past April, she completed the Manchester Marathon, and was “bursting with happy tears” at the finish line. “I just ran a whole marathon after being told I should not be able to run,” she told The Daily Mail.
Gorman said she was motivated to put so much effort into her recovery because of her family.
“I think knowing what it did to my family and how upsetting it was for them seeing me in that way is what drove me to get better and work hard,” Gorman said.
“To athletes who have grown up in a certain sport and wanted to do it for the rest of their life and for whatever reason that’s been cut short — it feels like the worst thing in the world. You’ve got to really persevere and find something else out there that’s for you and that you will love.”
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