Q: Can you tell us about the training you did to prepare yourself for the 2008 Paralympic Games? MS: I moved out to Colorado Springs and the Olympic Training Center to train full time in hopes of making it a reality. I swan thousands and thousands of laps and lived and breathed swimming. I am proud to say all the hard work paid off. The training for 2016 and 2020 was just as intense, your days revolve around it! Q: When you were growing up, did you ever dream you would become a world class athlete? MS: I always wanted to be an Olympic gymnast. I was at the elite level but never at the top. So, when I got injured and found out about the Paralympic Games it was almost like I had a second chance to compete on the worlds biggest athletic stage.
Melissa Stockwell
The Power Of Choice, Her Journey From Wounded Warrior To World Champion Q: Did you have any idea that you would be deployed to Iraq March 2004? MS: After Sep 11, 2001, I knew I would most likely be deployed at some point. So, when orders came down that my unit would be deploying in early 2004 it wasn’t a big surprise.
A first lieutenant, Melissa Stockwell was the first female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War. She lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded when she was leading a convoy in Baghdad. For her service in Iraq, she was awarded the Q: As first lieutenant, you were the first Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Q: Why did you decide to join the ROTC at the University of Colorado? MS: As soon as I knew what wearing the uniform stood for I wanted to wear one. To give back to a county I felt had given me so much. Freshman year I saw cadets around campus and decided to become one of them sophomore year. I never looked back!
female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War … can you share with our audience how that day started out for you? MS: It started out just like any other day over in Iraq. We are always up early. Getting ready for the day and then getting our daily briefing for the day and casualties from the previous day. Then we went over our mission for the day, got into our vehicles and we were off.
Q: Tell us what it was like to join former President George W Bush on Bush’s W100K ride for wounded military veterans. MS: An incredible experience. Myself alongside 20 other wounded Veterans and the President on a three-day mountain bike ride on his ranch down in Texas. President Bush holds himself accountable for the lives of the Veterans that served under him and does what he can to let us know that we are not forgotten. Whatever you believe in politics, he is an incredible man, and I was honored to have him as my commander in chief. Q: Your Co-founder of the Chicago-based Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club. Can you tell us how it started and the services it provides? MS: I co- founded Dare2tri with two friends back in 2011 with the mission of getting athletes with physical disabilities into the sport of triathlon. We knew the impact sports could have on anyone’s life but especially someone with a disability. We take away all the barriers someone has for getting into the sport: expensive adaptive equipment, coaching, training, sometimes just transportation to the
race and the self-confidence and self-worth our athletes get is incredible. Our athletes inspire many both on and off the racecourse. Q: Tell us how you manage your work life balance? MS: I find what I’m passionate about and put my hours into that. I have an incredible husband who wants me to go for my dreams. I have a team of family and friends that believe in me and support me in any way they can, and I just feel like the luckiest girl to get to do what I love! Q: What would be the title of your autobiography? MS: I have one! It’s called the Power of Choice and it was released last year. The Power of Choice is so applicable in all of our lives, and we can all choose to live the life we want regardless of the obstacles that come our way. My choice to accept the loss of my leg propelled me into a life I never could have imagined.