Veteran Kirstie Ennis is one of the best Paralympian snowboarders in the world, and she’s also eying the seven great summits, recently climbing 19,341-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and 16,024-foot Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. On one leg.
As a Marine Corps sergeant. in Afghanistan—a helicopter door gunner—she wrecked a leg when the helicopter she was in crashed. That leg was amputated above the knee in 2015.
Her jaw was destroyed, she lost teeth, she injured discs in her spine, and she suffered facial lacerations, traumatic brain injury, and PTSD.
In the process of undergoing more than 40 surgeries, she came to a realization, acquiring a come-to-terms toughness and wisdom that would help motivate her to train as a snowboarder for the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang County, in the Gangwon region of South Korea.
And to attempt to conquer the tallest peaks on all seven continents.
Countless times a day, she repeats one of her mantras: Stop worrying about what you lost. Look at what you’ve got. Or: What counts is what’s behind your rib cage and six inches between your ears.
She’s only 26, but her near-death experience offered an invaluable lesson on how precious time is.
“I go full throttle,” she said. “I come up with obnoxious goals and I go after them.”
It’s hard to believe that this fifth-gear athlete chasing Paralympian goals—and literally ascending historic heights for an above-the-knee-amputee mountain climber—spent months in hospital beds, nearly lifeless, filled with doubt, enveloped in depression. She wondered how she’d ever get around, go on. What would she do? Would she ever wear a dress again? Would anyone ever be attracted to her?
Idle time can be a wounded warrior’s worst enemy. Fathers can be their best friends.
“Dad said, ‘People in the Middle East couldn’t kill you, and now you’re going to collapse?’” she recalls. “The light went on and I said, ‘I made it home. Nobody owes me a damn thing.’”
Ennis had to mine for the toughness that is at her core, but her sense of humor? That comes effortlessly.
The same year her leg was amputated, she participated in the Walking with the Wounded event, in which wounded warriors trek 1,000 miles, ending at Buckingham Palace in London. Ennis left dozens of dog tags bearing the names of fallen comrades along the way. She also met Prince Harry, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
Prince Harry, not one to shirk his duties, logged many miles during the event. At one point, he turned to Ennis and complained that his knee ached.
“I looked over and was like, ‘That’s (expletive) cute, really,’” Ennis said. Prince Harry cracked up.
Ennis and Prince Harry became fast friends. At the conclusion of her walk, she presented the final dog tag to him.
Their embrace was photographed and zoomed across the wires, making her a celebrity in a matter of minutes.
For her service to the country, Ennis has earned the NATO Medal, Combat Action Wings with three gold stars, National Defense Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Air Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan National Campaign Medal, two Letters of Appreciation, Certificate of Commendation, and a Certificate of Appreciation.
