Meet Lisa.

Meet Lisa. Mother of two, grandmother of five, international business owner, and lifelong athlete.

But what you may not know is that Lisa has lived with interstitial lung disease, acute bronchiectasis, and scoliosis all her life. Fortunately, this was manageable and she didn’t let it get in the way of doing the activities she loves.

“I was a weak and sickly child with a back brace, but as I grew older, aware of my limitations, I became intensely competitive. I ran track in high school and started a track team at Mount Holyoke College as well as a rowing team. I was also a coxswain at Dartmouth and lettered in track in 1976, the first year Dartmouth had a women's track team. I was pretty driven, always up for a challenge (to prove others wrong), so with some good coaching and hard work, I gained the confidence and ability to succeed.”

That is–until she turned 60 and things started to change more drastically in her body.

“Once I turned 60, it seemed like my body started to let me down more with more frequent battles with arthritis, osteoporosis, Barretts esophagus, a hip replacement,  pneumonia hospitalizations, pik lines in my arm to administer medication myself, different nebulizers…then a close call with 2 near heart attacks and subsequent stents really took me down and made me pause.”

Lisa adapted her expectations of her body and the lifestyle she built for herself in response to her body’s changing needs.

“I have to take all my activities down a notch. I haven’t skied in years for fear of falling. I sold my motorcycle and am playing less golf than I'd like. I spend more time in PT now but being in classes with all the young people really energizes me. It gives me hope and I worry less about when the next shoe will fall. When I really get in a rut, I think of my husband and others who persevere with even greater disabilities, and watch how they cope…we all should consider ourselves extremely lucky.”

Lisa, you are a badass for all you’ve achieved with GRIT + GRACE that even you, at times–let alone the medical community–didn’t think was possible. Watch Lisa’s story and comment below if you can relate to her journey.  We welcome community dialogue and reflection.

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This is one profile from a series of badass female athlete profiles. To learn more about the rest of the women and the series, visit the series home page here.