Getting accepted into the Leadville 100 lottery

Last week I was accepted into the Leadville 100 MTB Race. I submitted this story with my submission and thought I’d share it with you all:

11 years ago, I had brain surgery to remove a tumor from my speech lobe. I had no idea what to expect during surgery or recovery. I was knocked out for six hours and when I finally came to in the ICU, the doctor apparently held out a pen and asked me what it was. Sarcastically, I replied, “…a pen” as if it was a ridiculous question to ask while I laid in the recovery bed, a titanium plate screwed into my skull, staples keeping sliced skin together, and my head wrapped in so much gauze it looked like a turban.

10 years ago I was a passenger in a really bad car accident. I had a Stage 3 concussion, cracked both sides of my skull, and temporarily severed nerves in the left side of my face. I had to wear an eyepatch because I was seeing double.

When they rushed me to the hospital, after I finally came to, I kept asking, “What happened?” The paramedics would say, “You were in a car crash.” Then I’d ask, “Who was driving?” And it continued every few minutes because I couldn’t remember.

Everyone thought I was going to be Drew Barrymore from 50 First Dates.