Ten years ago, UNMC College of Nursing student Christi Lehman didn’t know if she would ever walk again.
The 12-year-old gymnast, who was scheduled to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center the next week, lay in a hospital bed with a broken back.
Today, the award-winning athlete is one of the regional nominees for the Wilma Rudolph Student Athlete Achievement Award, which honors student athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics.
Lehman, who grew up in Newton, Kan., just north of Wichita, was helping her father cut down a tree in their yard when the tree fell on her back, beginning the painful and long process of surgeries and rehabilitation.
During an 8 1/2 hour emergency surgery, surgeons took bone from her hip and fused three or four vertebrae together and stabilized the spine with two steel rods.
“It was a waiting game,” Lehman said. “After about a week in the hospital in Wichita, I was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital for a month. I had a great PT (physical therapist) who specialized in spinal injuries.”
For the first time in her life, Lehman said, she felt helpless.
“I was feeling angry, frustrated and depressed,” Lehman said. “I went from being an active child to nothing, not knowing if I could ever walk. I lost control of my bowel and bladder, I couldn’t even roll over, bathe myself, dress or anything. It was a really hard time. My dad had a lot of guilt. It was difficult on our whole family.
“When I went back to school in seventh grade, I was in a wheelchair and felt everyone was looking at me. I was 12 and it’s a tough age anyway.”
Talking about her experience still brings tears to her eyes.
Physicians told her and her family she had a 50/50 chance of being able to walk again. At first she was in a wheelchair, then amazingly, graduated to a walker then braces, and finally a cane. Within six months, she was walking again by herself. Shortly after that, she began participating in sports and within a year after the accident could do everything she could before the accident.
“The Lord has truly blessed me,” Lehman said. “I know I had so much support from my church family. They continued to pray for me. I put in the time and effort but I believe it was all God.”
Lehman was an award-winning pole-vaulter at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In indoor pole vault, her personal best is 13-5-1/4 and in outdoor, 13-4. Last year, she was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American in Indoor Pole Vault. Her many honors include: Big 12 Champion Pole Vault 2003 (indoor); Academic All-Big 12 First Team (2003, 2004); NCAA Midwest Regional Pole Vault Champion, 2003 (outdoor); NCAA Division I Track Coaches Association All-Academic Team (2003, 2004); and Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (Fall 2002, Spring 2003, Fall 2004, Spring 2004).
“I’ve had some great experiences,” she said about being in track and nursing. “It’s challenging. I give a lot of credit to my professors and coaches for being flexible with me. I’m going to look back and be glad I did it. I have had some great opportunities.”
Most recently, Lehman was one of two nominees from UNL who will compete against other regional nominees for the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics N4A Wilma Rudolph Student Athlete Achievement Award. One winner from each of the country’s five regions will be announced at the June convention.
One of her academic athletic advisors, Keith Zimmer, said Lehman exemplifies the term “student-athlete.”
“She is a dedicated student, tremendous athlete and even better person,” Zimmer said. “I admire her resolve and persistence. She will no doubt excel in all future aspirations.”
One of Lehman’s nursing professors, Shirley Wiggins, Ph.D., UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division, wrote a letter of support for her nomination. “I didn’t know anything about Christi’s accident until she asked me for a reference, but during the entire time she was on the floor in pediatrics last semester, she did exceptional work with children and their families. Her selection from this campus was an honor in itself. I consider her a winner as the nominee,” Dr. Wiggins said. “Christi has a special way she relates with the children she cares for. I’m very proud of her – this is a neat honor for a very hard working student.”
Lehman said the challenges of her accident enable her to better relate to patients. “I’ve been on the other side,” she said. “I know how my family reacted, and I can truly understand what they are going through.”