She hit surgery No. 16 this month, another stop on a long road that began the day a car pulled out in front of her motorcycle in 2013.
A split-second move by her husband, she says, saved both their lives. Her leg was crushed between the bike and the car.
No broken bones, but compartment syndrome and nerve damage followed. That damage turned into RSD, and the pain has spread through her leg and into her back.
A year after the crash, her foot started curling inward. That led to repeated operations: reconstruction, bone fusions, and a string of procedures aimed at stopping the decline and keeping her moving.
Ten of the surgeries trace back to the 2013 wreck; the recent ones target chronic pain, nerve problems and lower-back issues that affect her spine.
More than just a coach
She’s had a spinal cord stimulator removed because it didn’t help her stay active, and she hopes to have a pain pump taken out in a year or two.
“I’m not looking for sympathy,” she wrote. “I don’t want to be stagnant. I wanna be active and support my kids and coach the sports I love.”
Her work in the schools matters. As a substitute teacher at National Trail Local Schools, she’s around the kids and the athletes she coaches, and she calls that “a blessing.”
Her doctor, she says, “applauds me for being active and not just giving into the daily pain,” and helps manage her so she can keep showing up.
Community replies rolled in the same day. Nicole Douglas Porter wrote, “BIG hugs and prayers going up for you on this journey!!!”
Abby Lee added, “Big hugs and prayers for a speedy recovery and the relief you need!!” Neighbors offered practical support, Kay Shindeldecker wrote, “Need anything let us know we are here !!!” and small-town voices kept circling back with the same message: we’re with you.
Some responses carried heavier echoes. Patti Morrissey Mitchell shared a family tragedy after a similar crash and said she would keep the coach in her prayers.
Others kept it simple and earnest: “Hope you heal quickly,” one person wrote. “What a trooper you are!!!” another added.
Through all of it she keeps the same tone she uses with her players — steady, matter-of-fact, with a flash of humor.
She still jokes that the kids “give me a headache,” but she goes back to the court and the field anyway.
That choice, to keep coaching while managing constant pain and repeated procedures, is what people are praising.
This is a story of ongoing medical struggle and quiet resilience: a coach who rebuilt a foot, weathered a dozen more surgeries, and keeps returning to the work that matters to her community and her family.
