Team USA star Shea Foster thought he might never walk again three years ago but is now set to compete in the Paralympics in Paris .
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 Oklahoma State University , 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.
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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 New York Post : “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 identity is not in running, but it's in controlling what you can control. But it was very demoralizing.
“Everybody thinks the first thing is, ‘Oh, you just won't be able to run again’, but mentally it really gets to you and it affects the silliest of things. The way you react to people, the way you type an email, the way you go to the grocery store, what music you listen to – it changes the whole dynamic.”
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Foster needed to lean on his family members - his grandmother and aunt in particular - to do nearly everything for him. Eventually, doctors cleared him after an MRI showed his spine was intact and that his bones had fused, and he was running for Oklahoma State by November en route to earning All-American honors.
When it became clear he wouldn't be able to qualify for the Olympics , Foster decided to join the Paralympics. He is ready to become a national hero with Team USA after rising to fame in the Netflix reality show “Surviving Paradise”.
Foster was one of several contestants attempting to go from the wilderness to a luxury villa for a $100,000 prize. He is now being recognized in public.
“It was always something I wanted to do, but it was never the right time,” Foster added. “It was just so random, but the timing was so perfect – it was in the summer, it was my last year of school, there weren't a bunch of roadblocks, it just made sense.
“I didn't really know what I was getting myself into and I didn't know if I was gonna like it or not like it, but I did ask myself 'Shea, if you don't do this, will you regret it?' And the answer was yes. I'm glad I went. It was an incredible experience.”
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