{"id":92527,"date":"2013-10-24T10:28:57","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T15:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=92527"},"modified":"2013-10-24T10:36:56","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T15:36:56","slug":"when-a-bionic-leg-is-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-you-one-runners-race-to-four-marathon-finish-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/10\/when-a-bionic-leg-is-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-you-one-runners-race-to-four-marathon-finish-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"When a Bionic Leg is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You: One Runner’s Race to Four Marathon Finish Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"

You might be able to relate to Angela Van Buskirk\u2019s early years. She describes her fitness regimen as one full of excuses<\/a><\/strong>, stating she always had a reason why she couldn\u2019t participate in gym class, or explaining how she found ways to weave her way into the back of the line to avoid any physical activity. Angela even recalls being the reason the whole class had to do an extra lap, simply because she wouldn\u2019t \u201cgo!\u201d when the teacher called out the command. This was the theme of her active life for many years. But a tragic turn of events would change all of that, leave her with one leg, and four marathon finisher medals.<\/p>\n

\"angela<\/a><\/p>\n

After doing nothing more than bowling as exercise, Angela found herself a 5\u20196\u201d woman weighing in at 272 pounds by the year 2000. This number stirred her to a first step toward fitness. She hired a trainer and lost a lot of weight, using the elliptical and treadmill for cardio<\/a><\/strong>. The activity and weight loss made her feel incredible.<\/p>\n

With the success of winning the battle of her weight fresh, Angela\u2019s life took a tremendous turn when she and her family were involved in a terrible car accident in the summer of 2001. Her entire family was rushed to the hospital, her husband was airlifted in fact. They all suffered pretty awful injuries, but remarkably Angela refers to this tragedy as a turning point in her life.<\/p>\n

Angela\u2019s injuries required x-rays that revealed what the doctors said were, \u201csome sort of lesion.\u201d Upon further testing, it was discovered that Angela\u2019s entire left femur was filled with an aggressive desmoplastic fibroma. Her entire left femur had been eaten by the \u201clesion\u201d and was extending into her hip. Amazingly, this aggressive force was benign and Angela found a doctor who was able to save her leg, replacing the bone with a rod. While the car accident was horrible, Angela calls it a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea what was in [my leg], or that it was even in there, and I had no idea how that set of x-rays would change my life and how something so horrible would turn into the best thing that ever happened to me,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

Her left leg is now bionic and the road to recovery was long. She was in a wheelchair, a walker, and unable to bear weight<\/a> <\/strong>for six full months. During recovery, Angela put on 100 pounds, putting her at 285 pounds, heavier than she\u2019d ever been. The small amount of exercise she\u2019d done before was impossible, she couldn\u2019t walk a block in her condition. \u201cI was so heavy and dejected…I felt absolutely defeated,\u201d she remembers.<\/p>\n

Defeated, but alive. There was a fighter inside her still trying to get out. While the weight had come on, Angela knew there was still muscle under the layers that she’d worked hard to build before the accident. Despite tremendous pain, she started walking. Calling her pace slow was an understatement, but on every walk she went just a little further. With growing determination, Angela and her \u201clittle leg that could\u201d made the decision to do a race.<\/p>\n

Angela Van Buskirk completed her first 5K in November 2026. It took her more than an hour, but with that finish, came the quest that still drives this survivor today.<\/p>\n

Since her first 5K, Angela has completed an impressive four half marathons, a 10K, and numerous 5ks. Furthermore, she\u2019s lost 90 pounds and says the running keeps her making good food choices, as good food equals good fuel. She describes running as an \u201cactivity that feels like air to me.\u201d She says she craves it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Angela is a grandmother now. She’s staying fit and healthy so they can run together one day.<\/p>\n

Overweight, debilitating car wreck, tumors that ate her bones, major surgery, and extra weight once more – these were several good reasons not to run. Thankfully Angela didn’t listen to any of them and she ran, long and hard, instead.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What does she say to those who are scared to start?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mantra, and what I revolve everything in my life around: \u2018She believed she could, so she did.\u2019 It truly is that easy. Believe you can, and take a step. Lace up your shoes. Walk outside and breathe in that air. Now just go. \u201c<\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thriving Breast Cancer Survivor Credits Exercise and CrossFit for Her Recovery<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Maria Kang’s “What’s Your Excuse” Controversy Didn’t Bully You<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Get More from Your Long Runs to Really Go the Distance<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Photos by Angela Van Buskirk<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You might be able to relate to Angela Van Buskirk\u2019s early years. She describes her fitness regimen as one full of excuses, stating she always had a reason why she couldn\u2019t participate in gym class, or explaining how she found … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,58],"tags":[1842,8440,3476,211],"class_list":["post-92527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness","category-womens-health","tag-bone-health","tag-homepage","tag-marathons","tag-running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92527"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92529,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92527\/revisions\/92529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}