Help Christy Gardner Achieve Her Paralympic Dream!
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Christy Gardner, Team USA Hopeful, 2020 Summer Paralympic Games
Christy Gardner is many things: inspirational, humble, giving, motivated, determined, driven and hard-working, just to name a few. She’s also an Army veteran, inspiring wounded warrior, champion para-athlete, passionate volunteer, Paralympic Games hopeful, and someone deserving of your support.
Christy will move to California in February 2020 to begin training with coaches at the Olympic/Paralympic Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista. There, Christy will train daily and have the opportunity to meet with high-performance coaches, a skilled nutrition staff, and others who will help to position her perform at her absolute best.
See WMTW Coverage here.
Army Veteran and Inspiring Wounded Warrior
Christy Gardner is a retired U.S. Army Sergeant who sustained serious injuries in 2006 during an overseas mission. She lost feeling in both legs below the knee. Two fingers on her left hand were gone. Her skull had been fractured in two places, and the resulting brain trauma wiped out most of her memories. She lost her ability to speak and the hearing in her left ear. She had to re-learn words, spelling, grammar, and math from the third-grade level up. She had frequent, intense seizures. Doctors told her she would never be able to live on her own again.
Christy spent more than a year in rehab learning how to walk and live independently. She returned home to Maine and set out to live as normal a life as she could. But it wasn’t without struggles. Like many wounded warriors, Christy dealt with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression. The turning point was when she got Moxie, her Golden Retriever service dog. Christy credits Moxie with being her hero and actually saving her life when she struggled to adapt to her new reality.
Champion Para-Athlete
At one point after nearly four years of rehabilitation during a meeting with her medical polytrauma team, she met another patient, Neal Williams, a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran, who pestered her to join him at recreational events. There Christy and other disabled vets were introduced to adaptive activities such as kayaking and water skiing. Competitive since birth, Christy, who had been a scholarship athlete in lacrosse and field hockey, was drawn back to the sports world in a new way. She met other veterans who did adaptive sports and began playing wheelchair lacrosse and snowboarding. At a snowboard clinic, Christy was introduced to the sport of sled hockey.
Since that time, Christy has thrived as a para-athlete. By 2011, she had begun playing for the United States sled hockey team, flying to games in Europe and Canada and traveling across the country with her teammates, always accompanied by Moxie. As team captain, she has led the team to two world championships. In 2013, she was selected as USA Hockey's Disabled Athlete of the Year. With her doctor’s encouragement, Christy knew she could have more independence and be more active if she amputated her legs and got prosthetics. So, she did just that. Her left leg was amputated in May 2015 and the right in February 2016.
Passionate Volunteer
Recognizing the impact that others like Williams have had on her life, Christy is constantly giving back to others and impacting lives in her own way. When she’s not working, training, or competing she spends time visiting veterans’ homes in Maine, speaking at schools or businesses about overcoming challenges in life, and volunteering for veterans’ organizations. She recently gained national headlines when she decided to recognize the impact that Moxie has had on her life by paying it forward and adopting a puppy born with missing wrist bones. After a successful amputation surgery for the pup, Christy worked with a local school to get the dog certified as a therapy dog, becoming the first therapy dog in the district and setting the stage for others to follow. She is also playing a key role in growing the adoption of youth adaptive sports in Maine. All of this is what led to Christy being recognized with the Disabled American Veterans Victories for Veterans award in 2019.
Paralympic Hopeful
Never one to sit still for long, Christy has moved on to her next dream—becoming a part of Team USA’s track and field team for the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo. She first started throwing shot put and discus in May 2016 and placed first in the United States in shot put and discus at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Trials, but being so new to it she missed the paperwork deadline to participate. Since then, Christy has won three national championships for para-athletes in the shot put and discus. She’s been first in the U.S. in both events every year and has placed first in those two events at meets in Italy and France as well. She is currently ranked fifth in the world in shot put and 11th in discus.
How You Can Support Christy (and Moxie)
For more than three years Gardner has trained and competed all over the world chasing her dream to represent the United States in the Paralympics. Now comes the next step in the pursuit of her dream.
Christy will move to California in February 2020 to begin training with coaches at the Olympic/Paralympic Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista. There, Christy will train daily and have the opportunity to meet with high-performance coaches, a skilled nutrition staff, and others who will help to position her perform at her absolute best.
This training opportunity doesn’t come without some sacrifices. Packing up her life (and Moxie’s) to move across the country and leaving her multiple jobs behind will mean both a significant financial investment at the same time as a loss in income. Thus, we are seeking support for her travel to California, housing, and living expenses, and expenses for Moxie. It is estimated the pursuit of her dreams will end up costing her about $20,000. Whatever we can raise will make it that much easier for Christy and Moxie!
FMI
Christy’s story of overcoming adversity and finding success in life has been shared by ESPN, ABC News, CBS Evening News, Rachael Ray, Today.com, and Woman’s Day among others.
ESPN: A Warrior’s Way: The Fighting Spirit of Christy Gardner
ESPN: Weekend Warriors: The Sport That Saved Christy Gardner's Life
ABC NEWS: Double Amputee Retired Soldier Finds Her Way Back To Sports With Help From Fellow Veteran
CBS NEWS: A Disabled Puppy is Training for a Special Task Thanks to a Veteran Paying it Forward
Christy Gardner is many things: inspirational, humble, giving, motivated, determined, driven and hard-working, just to name a few. She’s also an Army veteran, inspiring wounded warrior, champion para-athlete, passionate volunteer, Paralympic Games hopeful, and someone deserving of your support.
Christy will move to California in February 2020 to begin training with coaches at the Olympic/Paralympic Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista. There, Christy will train daily and have the opportunity to meet with high-performance coaches, a skilled nutrition staff, and others who will help to position her perform at her absolute best.
See WMTW Coverage here.
Army Veteran and Inspiring Wounded Warrior
Christy Gardner is a retired U.S. Army Sergeant who sustained serious injuries in 2006 during an overseas mission. She lost feeling in both legs below the knee. Two fingers on her left hand were gone. Her skull had been fractured in two places, and the resulting brain trauma wiped out most of her memories. She lost her ability to speak and the hearing in her left ear. She had to re-learn words, spelling, grammar, and math from the third-grade level up. She had frequent, intense seizures. Doctors told her she would never be able to live on her own again.
Christy spent more than a year in rehab learning how to walk and live independently. She returned home to Maine and set out to live as normal a life as she could. But it wasn’t without struggles. Like many wounded warriors, Christy dealt with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression. The turning point was when she got Moxie, her Golden Retriever service dog. Christy credits Moxie with being her hero and actually saving her life when she struggled to adapt to her new reality.
Champion Para-Athlete
At one point after nearly four years of rehabilitation during a meeting with her medical polytrauma team, she met another patient, Neal Williams, a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran, who pestered her to join him at recreational events. There Christy and other disabled vets were introduced to adaptive activities such as kayaking and water skiing. Competitive since birth, Christy, who had been a scholarship athlete in lacrosse and field hockey, was drawn back to the sports world in a new way. She met other veterans who did adaptive sports and began playing wheelchair lacrosse and snowboarding. At a snowboard clinic, Christy was introduced to the sport of sled hockey.
Since that time, Christy has thrived as a para-athlete. By 2011, she had begun playing for the United States sled hockey team, flying to games in Europe and Canada and traveling across the country with her teammates, always accompanied by Moxie. As team captain, she has led the team to two world championships. In 2013, she was selected as USA Hockey's Disabled Athlete of the Year. With her doctor’s encouragement, Christy knew she could have more independence and be more active if she amputated her legs and got prosthetics. So, she did just that. Her left leg was amputated in May 2015 and the right in February 2016.
Passionate Volunteer
Recognizing the impact that others like Williams have had on her life, Christy is constantly giving back to others and impacting lives in her own way. When she’s not working, training, or competing she spends time visiting veterans’ homes in Maine, speaking at schools or businesses about overcoming challenges in life, and volunteering for veterans’ organizations. She recently gained national headlines when she decided to recognize the impact that Moxie has had on her life by paying it forward and adopting a puppy born with missing wrist bones. After a successful amputation surgery for the pup, Christy worked with a local school to get the dog certified as a therapy dog, becoming the first therapy dog in the district and setting the stage for others to follow. She is also playing a key role in growing the adoption of youth adaptive sports in Maine. All of this is what led to Christy being recognized with the Disabled American Veterans Victories for Veterans award in 2019.
Paralympic Hopeful
Never one to sit still for long, Christy has moved on to her next dream—becoming a part of Team USA’s track and field team for the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo. She first started throwing shot put and discus in May 2016 and placed first in the United States in shot put and discus at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Trials, but being so new to it she missed the paperwork deadline to participate. Since then, Christy has won three national championships for para-athletes in the shot put and discus. She’s been first in the U.S. in both events every year and has placed first in those two events at meets in Italy and France as well. She is currently ranked fifth in the world in shot put and 11th in discus.
How You Can Support Christy (and Moxie)
For more than three years Gardner has trained and competed all over the world chasing her dream to represent the United States in the Paralympics. Now comes the next step in the pursuit of her dream.
Christy will move to California in February 2020 to begin training with coaches at the Olympic/Paralympic Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista. There, Christy will train daily and have the opportunity to meet with high-performance coaches, a skilled nutrition staff, and others who will help to position her perform at her absolute best.
This training opportunity doesn’t come without some sacrifices. Packing up her life (and Moxie’s) to move across the country and leaving her multiple jobs behind will mean both a significant financial investment at the same time as a loss in income. Thus, we are seeking support for her travel to California, housing, and living expenses, and expenses for Moxie. It is estimated the pursuit of her dreams will end up costing her about $20,000. Whatever we can raise will make it that much easier for Christy and Moxie!
FMI
Christy’s story of overcoming adversity and finding success in life has been shared by ESPN, ABC News, CBS Evening News, Rachael Ray, Today.com, and Woman’s Day among others.
ESPN: A Warrior’s Way: The Fighting Spirit of Christy Gardner
ESPN: Weekend Warriors: The Sport That Saved Christy Gardner's Life
ABC NEWS: Double Amputee Retired Soldier Finds Her Way Back To Sports With Help From Fellow Veteran
CBS NEWS: A Disabled Puppy is Training for a Special Task Thanks to a Veteran Paying it Forward
Organizer and beneficiary
Katie Greenlaw
Organizer
Lewiston, ME
Christina Gardner
Beneficiary
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