From Amputation to the Paralympics: Stef Reid’s Story

I saw the boat coming ((music playing)) directly towards me and I knew instantly something's wrong. He is coming way too fast. He doesn't see me. ((music playing)) And in that moment, all I was thinking about these are your options for survival. That is a heavy prospect for anyone to face, let alone a 15-year-old ((music playing)) girl.

The propeller of the boat left Steph Reed with severe lacerations. So severe her right foot ((music playing)) had to be amputated. Yet, as dismal as things were at the moment, this life-threatening accident provided Steph with the foundation for a testimony of perseverance and of trust in God. Steph shares her story on this episode of GPS, God, People, Stories.

It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I'm Jim Kirkland. At the core of Steph Reed's life story is the assurance and confidence to move forward in hard circumstances knowing that God is with you. This is a foundational element of the Christian life. As Billy Graham explains, >> the effective Christians throughout all history have been men and women of great personal courage and discipline.

A true Christian never plays it safe. He never sits on the fence. He commits himself. The power to live life with full commitment and confidence comes from a resolved faith in Jesus Christ. If you'd like to grow toward that kind of faith, visit our website, find peacewithgod.net. When you're there, click on begin a relationship with Jesus.

That's at find peacewithgod.net. And as always, the quickest way to get there is through the link in our show notes, >> GPS, >> God >> people stories. >> As a child, ((music playing)) Steph Reed and her family lived a nomadic lifestyle. She was born in New Zealand to parents from the United Kingdom.

Eventually, they settled down in Canada's largest city, Toronto. >> I didn't necessarily grow up in a Christian home. I definitely grew up in a home that appreciated a lot of the values. And I always say my mom basically had two dreams. And her dreams were one that we would both have braces and Hollywood smiles.

That was really important to her. And the other was that we would be really well educated. Where they lived that would usually mean private school, but the tuition was something Steph's family didn't have the money to easily afford. They did however find a reasonably priced Christian school in the area.

So that's where her folks decided to send them. >> So I actually had a very very Christian education and religious studies were part of that and we learned Bible verses and I knew how to handle the Bible. >> While Steph had a lot of knowledge about God, she didn't have what is most important, a personal relationship with God.

I knew a lot about God and and I was very aware of him and I was very aware of what he wanted for me. I just wasn't necessarily sure that was what I was wanted to do. I think growing up I kind of had this perception of God that he just has this habit of asking us to do stuff we don't want to do.

And I'm like it sounds awful. >> In middle school Steph focused on her dreams by becoming a student athlete. She played everything. You name it, basketball, cross country, volleyball, tennis, swimming. But at the age of 13, she was introduced to rugby and she was hooked. She had found her sport. >> So I kind of settled on the idea that, okay, this is what I'm going to do.

When I am, you know, like 30, 35, and I have a family and, you know, life is basically over. Um, you know, I was a teenager at this point and 35 seemed ancient. Um, that's when I'll get really serious about faith. That's when I'll give my life to God.

But for now, I'm just gonna kind of do my own thing and live out my own dreams because I don't want to talk too much to him about them because what if he picks something else? >> With those dreams in mind, she planned to keep God on the sidelines. >> And I thought, this is it.

This is for me. This is what I want to spend my life doing. And you know, fine, everybody wants to Olympics. who wants to be a sports superstar. But when I was 15, I I caught the eye of some of the national coaches. And it looked like this ridiculous dream actually had a shot at at coming true. >> During the summer, she was 15 years old.

Everything Steph ever wanted in life looked like it was about to happen. She wondered, could life really be this good and easy? And that was also the summer that everything changed in an instant and everything that I thought was going to happen suddenly became impossible. >> It was an August morning in 2000.

I was going to my friend's cottage and she had this amazing cottage by the side of a lake and they had a boat and we actually we spent most of that weekend tubing which is when you attach a rubber inner tube to the back of a speedboat and you know you go flying across the water and I mean it was awesome and we spent most of the weekend doing that and the morning that I was getting picked up you know been so much fun we thought let's let's do this one last time and so I went up first and I had hit a wave and I had fallen off, you know, like you do standard.

And I was waiting in the water for the boat to come back and pick me up like it always did. >> But this time there was a miscommunication between the person who was charged with spotting Steph and the driver of the boat. The driver didn't realize Steph was off the tube and in the water.

I saw the boat coming directly towards me and I knew instantly something's wrong. He is coming way too fast. He he doesn't see me. And in that moment, uh all I was thinking about these are your options for survival. And I thought, okay, my best shot is I don't have enough time to swim out of the way.

I will I'll surface dive. I will get as far below the water as possible, as far below those propellers. I'm going to hold my breath. The boat will pass over top. It's going to be fine. But I couldn't get under because I had a life jacket on. And in that moment, there was absolutely nothing I could do. >> The last thing Steph remembers seeing is the boat cutting through the water heading toward her.

Then she pushed herself below the surface and everything became really dark. I remember just kind of going under and just I don't know for whatever reason somehow in my mind I'm like just just play it you know respond like you would respond if you saw a bear like just don't move and you know maybe the propellers won't find you. >> At some point Steph had to come back up for air even though she wasn't sure if it was safe. >> I remember resurfacing and knowing just how lucky I had been.

But I also knew something was really wrong. I [snorts] unfortunately was caught in the propellers and it caught my lower back and my right leg and I was scared because even though I couldn't see my injuries, um they pulled me onto the boat and they wouldn't let me. I could see all their faces and I knew that, you know, we were we were hours away from the kind of help that I needed and I didn't have hours.

Steph was in shock, but she remained conscious. She knew she might not live, which in turn got her thinking about God and his place in her life. you know, that super awesome plan I had concocted of, you know, figuring out the important things in life and figuring out where I stood in terms of eternal life and and Jesus and God and and what this all meant.

Um, I thought I had more time. You know, it never occurred to me that at 15 this might be it. And I was wildly unprepared and I was scared. >> Steph could hear her friends on the boat. They were frantic because they were afraid she was going to bleed to death.

In the chaos, they came up with a plan that they believed would give her the best chance of survival. >> We're nowhere near the kind of hospital that I need. And they just thought the ambulance is going to take too long. So, actually, what they did was they turned a deck chair into a makeshift stretcher.

They loaded me into one of their vans. And then they just started driving in the same direction as the ambulance. And they thought, "We'll meet him on the highway. This is going to be faster." Steph was rushed to a local clinic. It was in that ambulance that Steph Reed prayed for the first time in her life. >> God, I just there's nothing else I can do.

Like, I would just really love it if you'd saved my life and give me another chance just to live with my eyes more based in reality instead of this idea that, you know, I got to pick and choose and, you know, had all this time. God answered Steph's prayer, but not in the way she expected.

After being transferred to a hospital, one of the best orthopedic surgeons in Canada operated on her. >> I walked away with no spinal damage. And I'm thinking, "Wow, like this is awesome. Like, well done, God. Like this is, you know, if I had known this is what it's going to be like.

This sounds great." And that was also the reason why I just I didn't understand when my mom came into the recovery room and her face did not look like someone who thought this is awesome. >> Nothing could have prepared her for what her mom said next. >> Stephanie, my darling, I am so sorry.

You know, the surgeon did everything he could, but he was unable to save all of your foot and was forced to amputate. And in that moment, everything I wanted in life was suddenly gone and taken and and I was angry. And I just thought, God, like, why would you save my life and then take away the thing that I loved most?

Like, it just doesn't make any sense. or you know, if you're all powerful, why would you save my life and then not save my foot? Like, how am I supposed to play rugby if I can't run? And at that point, I didn't even know if I was going to be able to walk.

I had no idea what was going to be possible. And I just I didn't want to spend my life sitting on the sidelines watching everybody else fulfilled their dream. Um, the whole thing just felt really really unfair. Steph had a long recovery process ahead of her both physically and mentally. >> There's a phrase that a lot of people say it's hope dies last.

And basically what they're getting at is if you if you have hope, like a sliver of hope, you know, you can still hang on and you can keep going. But if you don't have that, it's over. And there was a period after the accident where I didn't have hope.

Um I didn't want this life. I I wasn't excited about it. I just wanted to sleep and forget. I was miserable. I was, you know, I'm in physical pain. I wasn't eating. I I didn't want to see anybody. >> Steph was sinking deeper into her frustration when she received a wakeup call.

It was from a nurse who entered her hospital room on what Steph admits was a day when she was not her best self. Nurse Clawudette walked into my hospital room and she was carrying a breakfast tray and I looked at her and I said, "I don't feel like eating today."

And I closed my eyes thinking that she would get the hint and, you know, she would just leave. >> But nurse Claudette wasn't going anywhere. She looked directly at Steph. >> And she said really kindly, but also very firmly, "Stephanie, it is time. It is time to move forward.

Others have and you can too. And she set down the tray and she walked out of the room and at this point I am not going back to sleep because I am furious. I thought you know who who does this nurse think she is. you know, I have just had a life-changing traumatic injury and you know, I have earned this pity party and nurses are supposed to be kind and accommodating and not say stuff like that.

[gasps] But at the same time, I just I can't stop thinking about her because she was the first person who walked into that hospital room and actually expected something better from me than moping. And that just felt really good. The idea of hope and possibility came pouring back into Steph's mind.

She still wasn't excited about her future, but at least she was going to start trying for something. And she knew she couldn't do that alone. >> I remember saying to God, you know, all those years I spent thinking, "Oo, I really like my life. Actually, I'm going to hang on to it and maybe you can have it at 35 when I'm done."

Suddenly, I'm in the space where I'm like, "Actually, God, I really don't like this life right now." and here you go. You have it. Maybe you can still do something awesome with it. I'll try, but I'm really going to need your help. >> Even though Steph knew God was with her, she still struggled with the fact she would have to deal with the consequences of that day on the lake for the rest of her life.

While she was never angry at the boat's driver, he was a friend she knew well, and what had happened was an accident, she still wondered why God would allow it to happen and what this meant for her future. >> You know, the realization came quite quickly that sport's probably not going to be your future.

And so, what do you do? I had to just completely let go of what I thought I knew about life and what mine was going to look like. And actually the really cool thing that I learned was that I could have lost every limb on my body and and I still fundamentally would have been the same person.

Like nothing about me changed. I I was still somebody who was, you know, competitive. I was somebody who loved to work hard and like work towards a goal and that was never going to leave me. But reality is reality. And I now basically I thought, well, that's still me.

I just need to find a different way to express this. So, it was just being open to, okay, God, I I really wanted my life to look like this. And it was very specific, but what if I just widen what that expectation might might look like? >> Steph started to pray specifically about her options. >> It's just thinking, okay, has God not answered this prayer or has he just answered it in a different way? and and maybe I need to just open my eyes a bit more and look around and just double check what might be on his radar because he's got a much better vantage point than I do. >> When Steph prayed, she stayed completely honest with God.

She still had moments of anger and frustration as she tried to make the best of her new life, including attempting sports again. But without a lower leg, getting back into sports wasn't just challenging, it was incredibly painful. >> It wasn't fun. Your body takes time to adjust. specifically your your stump.

You're now walking on skin and bones. Like feet are amazing. Feet are amazing in the way that they absorb impact and even things like heel skin. The skin on your heel is amazing in terms of its toughness and its resilience. So, I'm now walking on bones and skin that don't do that.

And it's it's really hard for your body and your and your stomach to adapt. >> Steph knew that she might have to let sports go due to the pain of adapting to a prosthetic. With that in mind, she worked hard in high school and earned a full academic scholarship to study biochemistry at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. >> I decided that actually I wanted to be a surgeon.

The surgeon, Dr. Crater, who who saved my life was amazing and you know, just both in terms of his skill set in in the in the operating room and also who he was as a person. And I thought, yeah, I think I want to be like him. Like that would be pretty awesome.

As she started college life, she received a proper blade prosthetic for her leg and found a coach who was willing to take a chance on training her. >> He was kind of like, you know, look, I I've never worked with somebody with an artificial leg. I don't know how this is going to go, but you are more than welcome to come and try and and if you show up and you're committed and you work hard, I won't cut you from the team, even though I think we both know you're probably not going to make the travel standard. >> Steph agreed to the coach's terms.

She was thrilled that he was willing to take a chance and help her with her passion to learn how to run competitively. A few years into being on the team, Steph had significantly improved, and her run time was good enough for her to travel with the varsity team. >> I wasn't winning, but you know, I was racing as an ill-bodied athlete, but one that also ranked me on the International Parolympic website.

And then, you know, around the time that I'm graduating, I suddenly have this like maybe you train properly for a year and just see where this goes. >> Steph poured into her year of training and the hard work paid off. She made it to her first parolympic games in Beijing in 2008.

Her first event, the long jump, was supposed to be her best. >> Everything had been going amazing in the buildup to the long jump. We'd had a a training camp in Switzerland and we did the testing and the speed was there, the power was there, the technique was there, my family had flown over, my personal coach was there, and like the stadium, the bird's nest was packed out with 80,000 people at 9:00 a.m. in the morning. >> Steph's performance didn't go as she hoped. >> I absolutely bombed.

I fouled every single jump and just felt like a total failure. I ended up recording one mark which was just a safety jump which was good enough for second to last place. And I felt ashamed and I felt embarrassed. And again, this this whole thing like, [sighs and gasps] "Oh, God, did you seriously bring me through all of this to come onto the world stage and fail in front of everybody?" >> Afterwards, Steph's coach called her over to the side of the track.

She could not make eye contact with him because she was so ashamed of her performance. >> And he said something that I wasn't expecting. He said, "Stephanie, I know this is hard, but I need you to know that while I am disappointed for you, I'm not disappointed [snorts] in you."

And it was just such a relief to hear that from my coach. And again, I knew that was also at the same moment, God saying, "This this isn't what it's about. It's not just about that gold medal." >> Steph still had to compete in the 200 meter race that night.

I knew my shot at a medal was over. You know, I was going in ranked in seventh. Absolutely nobody was going to care or notice about the athlete charging home in seventh place. I knew that. But something in like I just I didn't care because this was for me.

I thought I am going to go back there and I am going to get a personal best for me. >> Steph walked to the start of the race with a refreshed mindset. Along the way, she even said hi to the people in the crowd. >> I was all the way out in lane nine cuz that's where they put slow people, but it was fine because I thought, well, I'm closer to the crowd.

I can feel the energy, so it's going to be fine. And so I lined up in the blocks and and the race went off and I I just attacked and I went for it and and I ran a fantastic bend. >> At this point, Steph was in sixth place, but the race was far from over.

At about the 150 meter mark, the leader trips and falls and she takes out the athlete next to her and I'm thinking, "This is crazy. This never happens." And at this point, I'm sitting in fourth place and I'm thinking, Stephanie, get your butt up there into the medals.

This is your shot. Don't don't miss it. And I ended up sneaking a bronze medal by like the smallest we're talking like, you know, [snorts] hundreds of thousands of a second, the smallest margin ever. Steph couldn't believe what just happened. For her, that race was about more than getting a bronze medal and setting a new personal best. >> I was so proud of myself because had I not shown up at that start line like fully committed to doing my best and just rewriting those expectations, I never would have been in the position to take my shot when all of the chaos kicked off at the front.

Steph attributes that race day to being a lot like her walk with God. >> It's not perfect. It never is. And yet you just end up in these ridiculous situations that God somehow works out. And and actually that first medal at those games was the launch of my career because had I not won that medal, I never would have had the chance to then train with this other group, this really amazing group, and I never would have progressed the way that I did.

Since then, Steph has gone on to be a four-time parolympian, triple parolympic medalist, and five-time world record holder. But in 2015, [snorts] Steph was hit with another physical setback. >> I remember in 2015 having a horrendous back injury and just being so angry at God that I couldn't compete in the World Championships and not knowing if my career was over.

It was a disc issue, which is the worst because they heal unpredictably. So, I didn't know if I'd be out for six months, two years, or forever. You don't know. >> While Steph was out with her injury and out of competition, a broadcast company asked if she would be a commentator for the World Championships.

By saying yes to this opportunity, Steph discovered a new love covering and analyzing sports on TV. And you know, again, this awful thing happened, which God is just kind of watching it. And in the end, it ended up being the start of my sports broadcasting career. And I feel like that has just been the story of my life.

And the thing that I've tried to get better at is is just, you know, withstanding or holding back on my judgment and like, okay, God, I don't know where this is going. And again, I'm not happy about this, but this is probably leading somewhere. So, I will do my best to contain my anger and frustration and try and trust you. >> Steph's life is a testament to trusting God, especially through change.

In the summer of 2022, Steph retired from her parolympic career to focus on sports broadcasting and speaking engagements. Every season of her journey has led her to a true understanding of one of God's promises to his children. His promise is, I will always be with you. It's not, "I'm going to grant you your wildest dreams."

It's not, "I'm going to gift you everything you want in life, whether it's a parolympic gold medal or a Lamborghini or a world record." Like, he's not even promising us an easy life ((music playing)) or a pain-free life. God's [snorts] actual promise for me, for everybody, is that he will be with us.

((music playing)) >> ((music playing)) >> If you'd like to experience God's promises as you navigate life, you can start your own journey with him today. ((music playing)) Go to our website, find peacewithgod.net. When you're there, click on begin a relationship with Jesus. That's at find peacewithgod.net. And you can also find the link in our show notes.

In just a minute, you'll hear a final word from Steph about what you can expect or not expect when you walk through life with God. >> You're listening to GPS, God, People, Stories, ((music playing)) a podcast production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. >> The effective Christians throughout all history have been men and women of great personal courage ((music playing)) and discipline. >> Billy Graham.

Christ never allowed anyone to be ((music playing)) a bystander or a spectator. Christianity, if it is anything, is something to which you must respond and commit yourself. A true Christian never plays it safe. He never sits on the fence. He commits himself. In the New Testament, we read that God laid down certain specific suggestions as to how the Christian life is to be lived.

He never promised a life of ease. He said that we were to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil by living a yielded life filled with the Holy Spirit and a self-disiplined life. We live in a world of revolution. The world is changing every day. Often it is difficult for us ((music playing)) to adjust ourselves to so many new situations that face us every day.

This is why we so desperately need the control of Christ and Christian self-discipline. Today, I'm calling upon Christians everywhere to come to Jesus ((music playing)) Christ in dedication, surrender, and self-discipline. Just as Billy Graham said, the world is a challenging place to live in without the solid foundation for life provided by Jesus Christ.

Learn more about how Jesus can give you direction and discipline and strength to overcome the world at find peacewithgod.net. net. When you're there, click where it says begin a relationship with Jesus. The website again is find peacewithgod.net. And you can find a link to the website in our show notes.

Our guest on this episode of GPS is Steph Reed, a parolympian who has learned to trust God in the unexpected moments of life. She has one more word of wisdom. >> If you're going to do life with God, expect the unexpected. And it's something that I have to remind myself constantly like am I going to trust my perspective or am I going to trust the perspective of God who sits like way way higher and sees the beginning from the end in like all of time.

So yeah, that is both the draw and the warning for people. You know, God will move in in big ways. And so it's exciting, but you know, be be ready. >> That is great advice. Be ready because God can move in big and unexpected ways as we've heard happen in Steph's life and for greater purposes and outcomes than we could ever imagine which is also Steph's story.

We are grateful to Steph Reid for joining us on this episode. She's a retired parolympian sprinter and long jumper who now works as an inspirational speaker, sports broadcaster, and high performance coach. She lives in the United Kingdom with her husband Brent who also happens to be a parolympian.

If you'd like to see more from Steph, you can watch her commentating on the Winter Parolympic Games on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation or CBC from March 6th to March 15th. And if you want to hear more faithfilled stories like this one, subscribe to GPS on YouTube or your favorite podcast app.

In the middle of life, GPS is here in the middle of the week ((music playing)) every other Wednesday. I'm Jim Kirkland and this is GPS, God People's Stories, ((music playing)) an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Hey, Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing))