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Morgan Stickney: An unshakeable Paralympic swimmer with strong determination
(Courtesy: @morganstickney/Instagram)

Morgan Stickney: An unshakeable Paralympic swimmer with strong determination

BEDFORD, Nova Scotia — It’s hard to believe the story of a person who can overcome two succeeding amputations of both legs and grab remarkable achievements at a younger age.

Morgan Stickney, a 24-year-old swimmer from Nova Scotia’s Bedford, medaled with two golds in the 400-meter freestyle and 4×100 medley relay in the Paralympics Games held in Tokyo. She finished the tight competition in the 400-meter with a time of 4:42.39 by defeating Jessica Long, a fellow American swimmer, by more than a second (4:43.41), who won gold in the 200-meter as her fourth consecutive medal.

Stickney was the first person in the world who underwent Ewing Amputation surgery on both her legs. Her sufferings started in 2013 when she had a minor injury, a broken sesamoid bone, in one of her left toes at the age of 15. Stickney’s pain was sustained for a long time.

Even though the unending pain didn’t treat her well, she got a place in the list of top-20 American freestyle swimmers. Stickney was a member of Executive Swim Club in Manchester during that time.

In 2016, during her college life, the second broken sesamoid bone was figured out. But the pain didn’t leave her alone even after removing the second broken sesamoid bone. The overdose of painkillers had stolen all her energy and dulled her personality. Following the injury, she had developed a staph infection in the same foot in 2017.

Stickney decided to end her pain by making a difficult decision to have a novel surgery called Ewing Amputation surgery under Dr. Carty’s leadership at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.

However, she never gave up her dreams and continued her hard work. She was very lively in the pool a few weeks after her amputation surgery, and she was invited to the training program of the U.S Paralympic team.

Unfortunately, a similar condition had infected her right foot and her right leg was amputated in 2019. Severe pain had compelled her to amputate both legs. The reason behind this unending pain had been diagnosed as a rare cardiovascular disease.

“I never thought I’d survive one amputation, never mind two,” Stickney said recently. But here I am: not only surviving, but thriving. So no matter what you endure in life, don’t let it knock you down.”

She had to learn how to walk again in her life. Her father Tony was a great support throughout her sufferings.

Morgan is stronger in her real life and her strength definitely inspires the whole world.

Steel Partners, a company headquartered in New York, has announced its partnership with Morgan to enrich youth with determination and reach their goals through sports.

“Morgan’s life is a series of extraordinary achievements,” Warren Lichtenstein, executive chairman of Steel Partners, said during the partnership announcement. “She is an inspiration to children of all abilities and embodies our core values of teamwork, respect, integrity, and commitment. Steel Partners and Steel Sports are proud to support Morgan in her paralympic journey.”

Now, Morgan is dreaming of the Paralympic Games in 2024.

“I’m excited to move on with my life,” Morgan had said previously after her amputations. “I’d like to try for the 2024 Paralympic games and that will just be amazing to return to the pool and hopefully back to the training center.”

Morgan presently lives in Cary, North Carolina, with her family. She wants to become a pediatric oncologist in her life as well as a great inspiration for children with disabilities and their parents.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.