At age five, after 15 corrective operations to address popliteal pterygium syndrome, Rudy Garcia-Tolson told his parents he wanted to become a double amputee so he could walk with prosthetics. He rapidly excelled in sports, declaring at age 8 that he would swim in the 2004 Paralympic Games – which he did, bringing home the gold! Rudy is now a 5x Paralympic medalist, a touring motivational speaker, and Programs Manager for CAF after being one of our first athlete ambassadors.

Roderick had both legs amputated before his second birthday due to severe deformities that prevented him from walking. Roderick became homeless before discovering CAF at age 8, where friends including Rudy Garcia-Tolson led him to a love of sports. Roderick is now a motivational speaker, an Ironman Championship Finisher, a Paralympic athlete representing Team USA, and a CAF Ambassador.

After retiring from competitive swimming, 6-time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken Rouen’s life took a devastating turn when she was paralyzed from the waist down in an ATV accident. CAF granted Amy with an awesome Lasher Sport off-road e-handcycle so she could get back out and hit the trails around Las Vegas. It was love at first ride! Amy is now a motivational speaker, talk show host, and philanthropist.

A native of New York State, Sam joined the National Guard after 9/11. While serving as a sergeant on a year-long combat tour in Iraq, an IED blast just outside of the Green Zone in Baghdad left him with limited left arm mobility and no use of his left hand, which was eventually amputated.
“After becoming injured I felt lost. Being a part of Operation Rebound makes me feel a part of a team again,” Sam says. He has completed numerous triathlons including completing the Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI.

Mack Johnson became paralyzed from the waist down after an accident in college. By chance, he ran into Bill Walton – Basketball Hall of Famer and CAF supporter – who insisted that Mack drive straight to CAF to get involved.

CAF was able to provide Mack with a high-end competitive basketball wheelchair, and Mack went on to attend Auburn University and play on their Division 1 Wheelchair Basketball team. He credits basketball with saving his life and offering him priceless experiences and the opportunity to meet amazing people.

Jamie started competitive swimming at the young age of 5, then turned to running in high school, which earned her a scholarship to California State University, Northridge. At the end of 2001, Jamie turned pro in both Mountain Biking and Xterra. Jamie held 37 Championship wins (more than any other female or male at that time), 6 U.S. Championship Titles, and 1 World Title. In 2008 Jamie was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Spindle Cell Sarcoma, which was wrapped around her sciatic nerve that resulted in the loss of use of most of her left leg with a condition called “drop foot.” After three years and twin boys, Jamie returned to competition. Jamie has won 11 World Titles and set 2 world records in the 500TT and the 3K pursuit.  Jamie was nominated and won an ESPY for Best Female Athlete With A Disability.

After graduating from high school, Will Cotter suffered a serious spinal cord injury and was paralyzed below the waist while diving off a dock with friends. His family had actually been long-time volunteers with CAF, which helped him cling to hope with the knowledge that the sky’s the limit when it comes to adaptive sports. Will received a CAF grant for a Top End Hand Cycle and continues to defy the limits of what is possible with a traumatic spinal cord injury. 

Sarah Reinertsen is a former Paralympic track athlete and the world’s first female amputee to complete the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona. Sarah has won accolades for the USOC and ESPN Best Female Athlete with a Disability (in 1991 and 2006 respectively). In 2009, GPP Life published her book, “In A Single Bound”, which isa touching, honest, humorous, and inspiring memoir of her life growing up as an amputee.

Beyond being an author, athlete, advocate, international motivational speaker, and Ironman trailblazer, Sarah has served as motivation for countless athletes by demonstrating what she could accomplish in spite of being born with a bone growth disorder.

Varsity Quarterback/linebacker at Linfield Christian High School in Temecula, CA, Alex Ruiz, tore an artery during a tackle in his 2017 season. Alex was told to choose between keeping his leg but limping for the rest of his life or becoming an amputee and having the opportunity to return to sport with a running prosthetic.

In May of 2018, Alex was surprised by his quarterback hero, Drew Brees, who presented him with a new prosthetic leg. Alex returned to the field and completed his first touchdown pass as an amputee.

Parker Byrd received a 2022 scholarship to play baseball at East Carolina University but last July he was in a tragic boating accident and lost his left leg below the knee. Parker’s coach met the medical helicopter as it landed after the emergency and supported the long rehabilitation process during which Parker continued to make it to team meetings and watch his teammates practice. Thanks to a grant for an Össur prosthetic from CAF, Parker is defying the odds and has continued to work towards his goal of playing baseball at ECU. He plans to be the first NCAA baseball player with a prosthesis. 

Scout is a 2-time World Championship bronze medalist in the 100 meters and long jump, a 2016 Paralympian, and a CAF ambassador. Born in Nanjing China, Scout suffered the loss of her right leg due to a chemical fire and spent her early childhood in a government orphanage. She was adopted at the age of 7 by an American family and brought to the United States.

Being assimilated to American culture, she participated in all types of sports including basketball, tennis, softball, and golf before exploring her potential in track and field. She was introduced to CAF when she was 13 years old and received a grant for a running prosthetic. This would start her career as an elite sprinter, triathlete, Paralympian, and UCLA graduate.

Haven Shepherd is a bubbly energetic 9-year-old who loves to run and play with her friends and six brothers and sisters.  Haven, originally from Vietnam, was adopted by the Shepherd family when she was just 19 months old. Haven’s parents were having an affair and she was born out of wedlock. They were so ashamed of their sin when Haven was just over a year old they strapped bombs to themselves and held each other with their baby girl in their arms, killing themselves. Haven survived the blasts but lost both her legs below the knees. In 2011 the Challenged Athletes Foundation granted Haven her first pair of running legs and she attended the CA Össur Running and Mobility Clinic and even completed her first race at the San Diego Triathlon Challenge Kids Run. 

On January 1, 2005, while stationed in Al Qaim, Iraq, on his second tour, Evan’s vehicle was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The 21- year-old U.S. Marine Corporal was the only one injured by the blast. As a result, Evan lost his right leg above the knee, his left leg below the knee, and his sight in one eye. He spent three months at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. He was then transferred to the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, TX, as an outpatient. Evan began to flourish while at BAMC. Shortly after arriving, he began walking using Össur’s Rheo-Knee and married the “love of his life” Jillian. He was active prior to the injury, but now activity became a necessary part of his life. “You can’t change the past,” said Evan, “so you do what you can with what you’ve been given.” In 2006, Evan did the swim portion of the San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC), and in 2008 and 2009 he completed the Ironman 70.3 California. He hopes that by being active himself, he can be a positive influence and engage others to live active lifestyles. To top his list of accomplishments, Evan recently became a father with the birth of a beautiful baby girl.

David Rozelle, a below-knee amputee, is an icon, resource, and inspirational figure for American service members injured in recent conflicts. While in Iraq, commanding 140 troops of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Dave lost part of his right leg when a landmine exploded under his Humvee. When Dave was evacuated home, he began a year-long rehabilitation process. Within eight months he participated in his first triathlon, completing the CAF San Diego Triathlon Challenge in 2004, and became a proud CAF supporter. A year to the day after his injury, Dave once again assumed command of his unit and deployed to Iraq, becoming the first service member to return to a combat command in modern times. Dave was the inspiration behind CAF Operation Rebound and serves as a role model and mentor for the program. He represented CAF at the Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene and was recognized with the Ford Ironman Everyday Hero Award. Afterward, Dave was driven to conquer the 2006 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona. In Hawaii he improved his time by more than an hour, finishing in 12:46:26. Dave remains on active duty and continues to inspire other injured service members to find and use the healing power of sports.

Anthony Smith was born in Columbus, Mississippi on August 30, 1966. He attended Alcorn State University in Mississippi and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army on June 12, 1990. After four years of active-duty service, Anthony transferred to the Arkansas National Guard. While with the National Guard, Anthony joined the Joiner Police Department in Joiner, Arkansas, and rose to the rank of Chief of Police. On October 12, 2003, Anthony’s National Guard unit was mobilized to deploy to Iraq. In April 2004 Anthony took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade. The missile went through his hip and stomach before it exploded, throwing him against a brick wall. Shrapnel took his arm. The enemy fired several rounds at his maimed body. He was put in a body bag before a nurse noticed air bubbles oozing through the blood. Anthony was in a coma for 62 days and only recently regained most of his memory. He lost his right arm below the elbow and walked with the aid of crutches. He underwent dozens of surgeries and learned to write and throw a ball to his child with his left hand. In July 2008, Anthony joined the CAF Operation Rebound team with the goal of competing in triathlon and long-distance cycling. Since that time, he competed in a number of sprint and half-distance triathlons and has twice completed a 620-mile bike ride down the California coast. Anthony is also a martial arts black belt and has opened his own martial arts studio.

On April 15, 20013 Celeste Corcoran lined the famous Boylston Street with her husband and daughter as she waited for her sister to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon. What happened next would leave the world in shock and forever change Celeste’s life. When the first bomb went off, Celeste was thrown to the ground. Her husband quickly stripped off his own belt and grabbed one from a bystander to apply tourniquets to her legs. As they were rushed to the hospital, they had no idea where they would be reunited with their daughter Sydney who suffered an almost mortal wound just yards away. After many surgeries Sydney would recover, however, Celeste lost both of her legs, one below and one through the knee. Just six weeks after the bombings, Celeste and her family joined CAF and some of the other Boston survivors at the 2013 Celebration of Heroes, Heart, and Hope where they were honored as the “Heroes of Boston” and officially welcomed to the CAF family. Over the next few months, Celeste proved, as she says, “You can hurt us, but you can’t stop us.” Then in January, Celeste received her first pair of Össur Flex Run Feet from a CAF grant. At the 2014 Boston Marathon Celeste joined her sister once again at the finish line, this time running through the finish to the cheers of her family, friends, CAF supporters, and thousands in the crowd. 

CAF and Olympic snowboarding legend Shaun White orchestrated a special surprise for Zach Sherman, a triple amputee from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The five-time Olympic snowboarding legend met his biggest fan at Woodward Park City for his new lifestyle brand, Whitespace. Shaun surprised Zach for a snowboard session together and then presented him with a CAF grant for coaching, travel, and training expenses so he can pursue his dream of competing in adaptive snowboard competitions. Zach Sherman, the 35-year-old, red-haired adaptive snowboarder, lost both legs and an arm after a life-threatening motorcycle accident in 2010. Zach has been an avid snowboarder since the late 90s and claims the sport has been an integral part of his life from a young age. After several years of developing a set of feet with binding attachments, he has relearned how to snowboard and has been able to improve on the prostheses to become a better adaptive snowboarder.

Paralympian Lera Doederlein was born with a condition in both her legs that made it so that she could not walk. Her adoptive parents brought her to the US from a small town in Russia, getting her orthotics and physical therapy. Double amputation was later recommended, and she eventually found freedom in her new prosthetics and untold joy in sled hockey!

Stanford University freshman Sydney Barta is studying sports medicine, on the USA Paralympic Track & Field team, and dreams one day of being an orthopedic surgeon, specializing in amputation. At just 6 years old, metal scaffolding crashed onto Sydney’s left foot causing her to lose all her toes, one at a time. After a septic infection and 21 surgeries later, Sydney considers her experience a blip on the radar of her athletic life. Sydney joined CAF at a Para-Triathlon Camp in 2018 that jumpstarted her love for the sport. Soon after, CAF granted her an Össur running foot to help her excel. She recently volunteered at a CAF+ Össur Running & Mobility Clinic, showing others with limb differences how movement has the power to heal the mind, body, and soul. “The communities built through sport are so important and we can’t let people with disabilities be excluded from those. It is too important to the development of identity, sense of self and confidence.” – Sydney

In 1980, a construction accident resulted in Willie’s arm being ripped out of the socket. Because of rush hour traffic, Willie ran a mile on foot to the hospital while trying to hold his left bicep muscles in with his remaining arm.

The former all-state wrestler showed his enduring grit by competing in a host of endurance and extreme sports following his accident.  Willie captained the Washington Rugby Football Club a few short years after losing his arm and turned that experience into a catalyst that launched him into the world of endurance sports.

Willie’s impressive sport resume includes winning the Catalina Marathon overall, completing the Ironman and Xterra world championships, and a Paralympic medal in cross country skiing. Willie is also a 15-time Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon finisher and current course record holder, two-time finisher of the grueling HURT 100 mile run in Honolulu, Hawaii, the first challenged athlete to complete the Leadville 100 Ultramarathon race series, and has kayaked the Grand Canyon with one arm. In 2020, Willie was one of the legendary riders of CAF Idaho’s grueling Smoke ‘n Fire 400 bike race team. He is also a four time Ironman finisher.

Liv Stone grew up living an active lifestyle and was involved in various sports as a child in Lancaster, PA. She excelled in soccer, a sport where she used her muscle strength in her legs out on the field. She joined her high school rifle team, where she had certain adaptations to help her hold, aim and shoot the gun from a prone position. By the age of 14 she still hadn’t found her passion, but then she was introduced to surfing through Bethany Hamilton at her retreat. She was invited by CAF to the BroAm surf clinic the summer of 2018 and has never looked back!

Liv got to where she is today because of the encouragement and support from her loving family. She considers CAF her second family because of how they created amazing opportunities for her and welcomed her with open arms. She competed at the ISA World Championships for Team USA in 2018 and convinced her parents to move to Southern California for 6 months. Her family decided to make the move permanent because her surfing career had gone so well! In March of 2020 she competed once again with Team USA at the ISA World Championships where she battled through her heats and took gold in her division, a moment she will never forget! She defended her title consecutively in 2021 and 2022 to make her a three time Para Surf World Champion. Her goal is to someday compete at the Paralympic level,

Breezy Bochenek was featured at the 2013 CAF “A Celebration of Heroes, Heart and Hope” gala in New York City on June 12, 2013. At just 11 years of age, Brianne “Breezy” Bochenek has marshaled more strength and maturity than most adults do during their lifetime. The youngest of five children, Breezy’s tight-knit family was devastated when what seemed like a sports injury was diagnosed as an aggressive form of bone cancer. With inspiration and mentoring from CAF’s Sarah Reinertsen, Breezy endured chemotherapy and then made the tough decision to amputate her leg. Breezy’s positive attitude and resilience left her family breathless. “If this had to happen to one of us, I’m glad it was me, cause I know I can handle it,” says Breezy. “I’m thinking about all the kids in the world who are dying because they have no food and water, and it makes me realize what I am going through isn’t that big of a deal.” CAF promised Breezy a running foot when she was ready, and now that promise has been kept. Armed with her Össur Flex Run Jr. she is determined to be a role model for other kids and adults who are battling cancer. She also has bigger goals: “Sarah was the first above-knee woman to finish Ironman. I want to be the youngest.”

Noah and Lucas Aldrich are young brothers from Idaho – and best friends. At three months of age, doctors discovered that Lucas suffers from a rare brain condition called Lissencephaly (literally “smooth brain”) leaving him unable to walk, talk or feed himself. Instead of shutting Lucas off from the world, the family chose to live each day they have left together to the fullest. Their latest adventure is triathlon, with 9-year-old Noah and 7-year-old Lucas working as a team during the swim, bike and run. The boys, and Lucas’ smile, have inspired millions around the world.

Chele Teabout was a corrections officer for the Albany County Sheriff’s Department. Her accident happened in ‘97 when she was hit by 500+ lb. food kart. After her accident, Chele lived in constant pain due to nerve damage and endured 29 surgeries, but none of them were successful in helping ease her constant pain. Finally, doctors decided to amputate her leg to end her chronic pain. After her amputation, Chele struggled to adapt to her new life. After being introduced to CAF, Chele has overcome severe depression and extreme weight loss of over 170 lbs to become the athlete she is today. She also has 11 triathlons under her belt. CAF has helped Chele rededicate herself to getting back in shape and helping others.

Chase has an amazing infectious laugh that can light up a room! When you hear it, you can’t help but laugh along with him! He loves running track, playing soccer, baseball, video games, watching his beloved Philadelphia Eagles, and has recently taken up sled hockey.

Chase has always had a love of sports. There isn’t a sport that Chase won’t try. However, at the young age of 3 rather than being on a soccer field Chase was in the ICU fighting for his life. He was stricken with a near-deadly strand of the flu virus which quickly sent him into septic shock. The medications that helped protect his vital organs stopped the blood flow to his extremities. This led to the development of necrosis in his hands and feet, which resulted in amputations.

However, the loss of his limbs has not slowed Chase down one bit. Since his amputations, Chase has returned to playing sports even stronger than before. With the help of CAF Chase has been able to compete in track and field all over the country. Chase is an inspiration to everyone he meets.

Will Groulx served in the United States Navy from 1995-2001 before a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. Seven months after the accident, Groulx discovered wheelchair rugby and was immediately interested. His Paralympic career began with wheelchair rugby, making three U.S. Paralympic Teams (2004, 2008, 2012) before switching to handcycling. As a paracyclist, Will won gold and two silver medals at the Rio Games in 2016.

Prior to his injury, he served as a nuclear-trained electrician’s mate and diver on a fast-track submarine. He was nominated for an ESPY in the Best Male Athlete with a Disability category in 2009 and named the U.S. Quad Rugby Association Athlete of the Year in 2010.