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Take a look at this great article featuring our beautiful Triumph Ambassador Edie Perkins over on Cure Nation's blog.

Edie Perkins – Cheers Peer Support

What do you do four years after you’ve been hit by a car and paralyzed from the chest down? For most of us, ‘Move to Vermont and assume the leadership of a prestigious non-profit’ doesn’t top our list. Then again, most of us don’t spent our lives competing in (and winning!) marathons and cycling competitions.

After a traumatic accident, Edie ended up with seven broken vertebrae in her neck and spine. She also broke 11 of her 12 ribs and was rushed to a hospital where she stayed for 10 days before being transferred to another facility, where they knew nearly nothing about spinal cord injury.

Luckily, Edie eventually ended up at a wonderful rehab hospital, Casa Colina.

Part of the rehab at Casa Colina consists of attending a support group run by your peers – in this case, run by the Triumph Foundation. The groups “address both practical and emotional needs of people living with SCI” and offer “candid advice and guidance from others who have faced similar circumstances”, according to the Triumph website. In the group, Edie saw people who had been living with paralysis for decades, coming to the group to share information with the newbies – some of whom attend the meeting still in their hospital gowns. Edie, with her background in education and team sports, joined Triumph as a peer-counseling Ambassador.

“I was lucky.” Edie recalls about this time in her life. “I knew right away that I wanted to compete, and I knew there was a way to do that. There were always disabled athletes in the marathons I had run, so I knew there was a place for me. I wanted to share that with others.

Read the rest of the article by visiting Cure Nation