Woman who woke up day before being taken off life support completed Boston Marathon five months later
A restaurant owner from the US truly demonstrated the strength of the human body by completing a marathon just five months after being on life support.
Rachel Foster, 35, has described how she 'died' in November 2022 when she fell off an electric scooter and suffered a traumatic brain injury:
She also experienced multiple broken bones and was in a coma for 10 days. In the hospital in Oklahoma, things weren't looking good.
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Rachel's husband, John, told KFOR: "They basically said a severely catastrophic brain injury, which I later found in medical literature, is a term for pretty much the worst type of brain injury, where there’s not really a chance of coming back."
Rachel was just one day away from having her life support machine switched off when, all of a sudden, she woke up.
She was alive, but Rachel still had a long journey ahead of her to recovery. It wasn't until 22 January that she was able to walk again, but she had an impressive goal in mind: the Boston Marathon.
Rachel had qualified for the marathon in 2022 after competing in the OKC Memorial Marathon, and told Boston 25 News: "My goal to get through all of the therapy, in the back of my head it was always 'Boston's coming up, Boston's coming up'."
The chef underwent surgery at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta and spent months in rehab, and on Monday (17 April), her goal was finally within reach.
“I’ve been so excited for this day," she said. "It literally helped me walk again. I know that sounds crazy but the thought of doing this, and being here, helped me first walk, then jog, and then run."
“I know it might sound a little bit crazy, but I am there mentally and I’m getting there physically, so I’m getting geared up for it,” Rachel added to KFOR.
Together with her running partner Tim Altendorf, Rachel took on the marathon and managed to complete it in 5 hours and 44 minutes.
It was her second time running the Boston Marathon, and her 10th marathon overall.
Altendorf commented: “She did great for somebody who probably shouldn’t have been out there. But her determination and her resolve, I don’t know anybody like Rachel. I really don’t.”
Rachel, who owns Moni’s Pasta and Pizza in Edmond, described the achievement as a 'miracle', adding: "I should not be alive right now and I definitely should not be running marathons."
And yet here she is, across the finish line and with a medal in hand.
Emily Brown