close
close

Shea Foster inspires others at Paralympics after horrific car crash

Shea Foster took a deep breath and considered the significance of the question before answering.

To what extent did the accident affect his life?

He smiled, revealing a mindset that was the opposite of most.

“Adversity is something that gives you the opportunity to overcome it,” Foster told the Post.

Shea Foster will take part in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. Courtesy of Shea Foster

This feeling was not always easy to bear.

Foster, 27, will compete for Team USA in the men's T-38 1500m at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, where he set the American record this summer. He recently starred in the Netflix reality TV series “Surviving Paradise” and found new fame.

But at some point it seemed unlikely that he would ever be able to walk again.

In June 2021, just before he was scheduled to report to Oklahoma State University, where he had committed to the cross-country team as a graduate student, Foster – traveling in Louisiana in his white 2012 Jeep – was struck by an out-of-control semi-trailer truck.

After the accident, Foster was in a coma for 48 hours and temporarily paralyzed from the waist down for two weeks. He fractured his spine and required 50 staples on both sides of his body after a 360-degree spinal fusion. Surgeons used screws and rods to fix the broken parts of his spine back together. Foster also had to undergo knee surgery.

At first, doctors told him it would be a “miracle” if he could walk again, let alone run competitively again.

He relied on his family – especially his grandmother and aunt – to do almost everything for him, even bathing him.

“I would describe the pain as demoralizing,” Foster said. “It takes away the gift, or at least the gift that you thought you had, that the population or other runners or other people that made you different or special don't have. I really realized that my identity is not in running, it's in controlling what you can control. But it was very demoralizing.”

Foster, who ran for Lamar and Southeastern Louisiana before joining Oklahoma State, had his life completely turned upside down.

“Everyone's first thought is, 'Oh, you're just not going to be able to walk anymore,' but mentally it really gets to you and it affects the silliest things,” he said. “The way you react to people, the way you write an email, the way you go to the grocery store, the music you listen to – it changes the whole dynamic.”

But Foster, who grew up in Houston, was determined to exceed his doctors' predictions.

Foster had long since become accustomed to adversity.

Shea Foster was in a coma for 48 hours after the crash and was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down for two weeks. Instagram @shea_foster

Foster's adoptive father, the only boy with four sisters, committed suicide when he was in fifth grade. And he had previously been in another accident in which he injured his knee and back while studying at SLU in 2019.

Difficulties were nothing new to Foster. They had shaped his personality.

“It was always, 'That's not possible, you can't do that.' I had to do everything on my own from a very young age and learn through experience,” Foster said. “I think my sisters always looked up to me to figure things out as well. It wasn't perfect by any means, but I think being there every day and being there for them in that moment really had a positive impact on athletic and academic performance and it helped me develop a monster that never gives up.

“It showed me that you can become who you want to be and you can choose your own path. I know I don't have any extra resources or anything. And it made me realize that if you want something, you have to go after it. It was just a constant trend from one adversity to the next.”

Doctors told Shea Foster it would be a “miracle” if he could walk again. Instagram @shea_foster

He criticized the lack of data on the recovery of 24-year-old athletes after spinal surgery and emphasized that he himself could start running again.

Just a few weeks after surgery, he was able to walk a mile. Two months after surgery, Foster was running long distances again. When an MRI scan showed that his spine was intact and his bones had fused together, his doctors were amazed to give him the go-ahead to start racing again.

In November, Foster ran for Oklahoma State. He was named an All-American and placed 27th at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Nationals.

“It's changed my perspective on life to a whole different extent,” Foster said. “When someone starts complaining, they're like, 'Oh my God, I just spilled something on myself,' and I'm like, 'Imagine if you didn't have food.' It's crazy, but I do that a lot now and with everything. 'Oh, my phone is dead.' 'Oh, I'll get you a charger, that's great, we can charge it. Imagine if you didn't have a phone.'”

Shea Foster will compete in the men's 1500m race in the T-38 class at the 2024 Paralympics. Courtesy of Shea Foster

However, Foster was still disappointed.

Despite his miraculous return, it was clear that he would not qualify for the Olympic team.

The Paralympics had appealed to him, but he wasn't particularly interested. He had dreamed of the Olympics and it was “devastating” when reality caught up with him.

Then Foster's perspective changed again.

“Basically, I couldn't contain my pride and my ego,” Foster said. “I think what really made me angry was that my younger sister has spina bifida and is in a wheelchair. She's in eighth grade and will be the first high school student next fall. She wears a diaper and has a shunt in her head. Right after the surgery, the first thing she said to me was, 'We have the same scars now. We're the same.'

“She said, 'I can't play sports, I can't do anything,' and I said, 'Yes you can.' It's hard to say that from afar, but I think she really made me realize that I have to swallow my pride because this isn't just about me and achieving my goals, but also about giving a little bit of thought or inspiration or hope to other people who may not have recovered in the same way.”

Shea Foster starred in Netflix’s reality TV series “Surviving Paradise.” Instagram @shea_foster

Foster now goes into the Paralympics as the favorite to win a medal in the men's 1500m race in the T-38 category. The T-38 group is for athletes who have mildly impaired movement and coordination in the lower trunk and leg area.

This came amid unexpected television fame. “Surviving Paradise” – where contestants try to escape from the wilderness into a luxury villa to win a $100,000 sweepstakes – was in Netflix's top ten in America this year, and Foster is starting to gain public attention.

“I've always wanted to do this, but it was never the right time,” Foster said. “It was just so random, but the timing was perfect – it was in the summer, it was my last year of high school, there were no obstacles, it just made sense. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into and I didn't know if I was going to like it or not, but I asked myself, 'Shea, if you don't do this, are you going to regret it?' And the answer was yes. I'm glad I went. It was an incredible experience.”

Shea Foster set the American record in the T-38 men's 1500 meter race this summer. Courtesy of Shea Foster

Paralympics, reality TV and others inspire.

Foster is just getting started.

“Looking back, the story is not over yet,” he said.

You may also like...