Special Operations Veteran, Elite Athlete Patty Collins on Life After Losing Her Leg
Vets
By Natalie Gross | March 22, 2020
For many soldiers and athletes, losing a leg would be the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to them.
But retired Army Colonel Patty Collins chooses to look on the bright side.
After all, it didn’t stop her from jumping out of airplanes and deploying with her unit to Afghanistan. And if she hadn’t gotten hit by a car while riding her bicycle to work in July 2006, fractured her leg and had it amputated a short time later, she would never have competed as a triathlete in the 2016 Summer Paralympics or gone mountain biking in Texas with a group of injured veterans led by President George W. Bush.
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Lt. Col. Angelia Holbrook, the commander of 4th Special Troops Battalion in the 4th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) (right), poses for a photo with her friend and one-time battalion commander Col. Patty Collins, after racing in the Austin Muddy Buddy Series during the spring of 2012. Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense.
“There’s tons of blessings that came from that,†she said.
Collins, 50, recounted these experiences during a recent interview at her home in Alexandria, Virginia, where her work-from-home civilian job, 13-year-old son, and three big rescue dogs are keeping her busy in her post-military retirement days.
She also coaches adaptive sports for veterans and volunteers as a sighted guide on tandem bikes for people with visual impairments.
“I think one of the other positive things that came from becoming someone with a disability is now your eyes are open to other people with disabilities and how can you help them have the same opportunities that you have,†she said.
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