Ep. 9: Melissa Stockwell-Choose Your Own Story

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Melissa Stockwell-Choose Your Own Story

Freedom comes at a price.  War is known to cause physical wounds.  Something that might be slightly overlooked are other wounds.  For example, emotional, mental and other forms of invisible wounds. 

In 2004, Melissa lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq, and her life was forever changed. After being medically retired from the Army in April 2005 with a Purple Heart and bronze star, all the hard work began. She found support with her Chicago-based paratriathlon club, Dare2Tri. Melissa is the first American woman to lose a limb in active combat and also competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

Since 2008, her primary focus has been firmly placed on the sport of Paratriathlon. Melissa has competed all around the world and has stood on top of many podiums, and is a three times World Champion. In 2016, Paratriathlon made its debut at the Paralympic Games and Melissa raced her way to bronze as part of a USA team and in 2017 Melissa went on to secure a silver medal at the Sarasota ITU Paratriathlon World Cup.

Melissa has not let anything stop her and continues to inspire others.  Since 2004, Melissa has become a War Veteran · 3x World Champion - 2x Paralympian · Bronze Medalist · Triathlon Coach · Dare2tri Co-Founder · Motivational Speaker - First female amputee of Iraq - Mother · Patriot.

Show Notes:

• Balancing family life (0:54)
• Speaking at CIA Headquarters (03:35)
• Life before the military (04:38)
• Why Melissa chose Army over any other service (05:40)
• Her reaction to 9/11 (06:00)
• Fateful day in her life- 13 April 2004 (06:55)
• Why she felt lucky when arriving to Walter Reed (10:40)
• Defining the word perspective (11:50)
• What society can do to help heal invisible wounds (13:48)
• Starting life after 2004 (16:54)
• Turing personal tragedy into triumph (17:20)
• Perception about Paralympians (21:39)
• Awkward questions Melissa receives about her leg and funny stories (23:23)
• Movie title about her life (27:05)

Links:

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Connect with Melissa Stockwell:

Website: http://melissastockwell.c

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More Amazing Stories:
Episode 41: Lee Ellis – Freeing You From Bond That Make You Insecure

Episode 49: Ryan Hawk – Crafting a Legacy of Leadership

Episode 52: Riley Tejcek – Mission of Empowerment and Endurance