Andrew Powell was running in New Orleans on April 11, 2014. He and his brother-in-law were training last-minute for the New Orleans Half Ironman on April 19.
Then he wasn’t running anymore.
A car rammed the two from behind, breaking Powell’s back, hip and ankle, and killing his brother-in-law. He was paralyzed from the waist down and doctors couldn’t promise he would walk again.
He spent two weeks at an interim hospital in New Orleans and two months at the Shepherd Center, a spinal-cord and brain-injury rehabilitation center in Atlanta.
A native of Kennesaw, Powell had been involved with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race since 1998, either as a runner or volunteer. He sat on a wheelchair and watched from the Shepherd Center last year.
“Last year we weren’t really sure where things were going to be at,” Powell said. “But I knew that I was going do the (Peachtree Road Race) race next year, even if I was in a wheelchair.”
He did.
Donning a yellow and blue Shepherd Center running shirt, Powell beamed as he finished the 2015 Peachtree on his two feet.
But the finish line wasn’t his favorite part.
“(Running by the Shepherd Center) was the one thing I was really looking forward to,” he said. “Getting to the Shepherd Center, shaking people’s hands and saying, ‘Hey I was where you were last year. So don’t give up, you’d be surprised what you can do.’”
Hard to believe this guy was told he was paralyzed a year ago, and Powell gave a lot of credit for his quick rehab to the Shepherd Center.
“Once we started to be able to run a little bit they would say, ‘Well what’s your goal?’ And I’d say, ‘If you can get me to run a little bit, I can run a lot. So just get me started,’” he said. “They did a wonderful job with that.”
Powell said he hopes to run again next year.
