FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Cancer may have taken her ability to run, but Capt. Kelly
Elmlinger refused to let that slow her down.
Instead, the Army nurse traded running for wheelchair racing
and sped her way to multiple medals at the Warrior and Invictus Games and a
spot in next spring’s Boston Marathon.
“Cancer was really tough, but it opened up a world of
opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” said Elmlinger, who serves at San
Antonio Military Medical Center on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.
“I’m still a productive member of society, still celebrating successes in
life.”
The Cleveland, Ohio, native developed a passion for both
sports and the military at an early age. Elmlinger recalls being glued to the
television during Operation Desert Storm, and set her sights on joining the
Army her senior year.
However, the versatile athlete became conflicted after
earning college scholarships for cross country, track and basketball.
“I got cold feet about joining the service,” she said. “I
couldn’t see myself giving up sports just yet.”
Elmlinger devoted herself to college, but the military
beckoned again her sophomore year. This time she trusted her gut and enlisted
as an Army medic on Veterans Day in 1998. Over the next decade, she served with
Fort Bragg’s 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, attended U.S. Army Airborne School,
was deployed twice and had a two-year stint with a special missions unit.
In 2011, Elmlinger applied for the Army Enlisted
Commissioning Program and University of North Carolina’s nursing school and got
accepted to both. She spent the next two years at school and caring for her
then-4 month old daughter, Jayden.
The newly graduated nurse requested an assignment at San
Antonio Military Medical Center.
“My key reason is I wanted to take care of wounded
warriors,” she said. “I cared for warriors at the point of injury during
deployments and wanted the opportunity to close the loop, care for them as they
move forward in their recovery.”
Elmlinger arrived at SAMMC in the summer of 2011 and was
assigned to a unit focused on warrior care. It was here she decided to
readdress a health issue that had been nagging her for more than a decade –
tenderness and pain in her left leg. Her doctors found what appeared to be a
collection of blood vessels and performed a procedure, but in six weeks she was
back and in even more pain.
This time, her doctor suggested a biopsy and diagnosed
Elmlinger with synovial sarcoma.
“I knew the term, but it took a while for it to click: it
was cancer,” she said. “I knew from then on my life would be different.”
Synovial sarcoma is a rare form of soft tissue cancer with
removal as the primary treatment option. Elmlinger weighed her options: remove
the tumor or take the extra step of removing the leg. She opted for limb
salvage, undergoing the first of three surgeries in June 2013.
A turning point came in January 2014, when Elmlinger was
given the green light to rehabilitate at the Center for the Intrepid on
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.
The avid athlete was eager to dive back into sports, but due
to the bone and tissue removal from her leg, was unable to run. Fortunately,
someone suggested wheelchair racing.
“It was not love at first sight,” she said. “But I agreed to
try it.”
The sport clicked with Elmlinger, who trained for hours each
week to gain speed. Faster than ever, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream
of racing in the Boston Marathon. She qualified by 10 minutes and will
participate in the elite race in April 2016.
Just a year after starting the sport, the versatile athlete
went on to earn eight medals at national and international competitions – not
just for wheelchair racing, but also track and field, cycling and swimming.
Elmlinger, who continues to train for future events, said
the games have come to represent much more than sports to her. “I look at these
sporting events as more of a celebration of life,” she said. “I may be having a
bad day, but I look around and see how other people are overcoming challenges …
and they inspire me.”
Along with sports, Elmlinger was deemed fit to return to her
other passion, military nursing. This month marks her fifth back at work in
SAMMC. “Some days are tough, but I’m fortunate and grateful to have the
opportunity to still serve,” she said.
While she holds the Army in high esteem, Elmlinger said
she’s most grateful for her daughter, who is now 7 years old, and for reaching
the milestone of two years cancer free.
“I am so thankful for my doctors, the CFI and for the
technology that enabled me to keep my leg,” she said. “It was a tough road, but
it’s what led to amazing opportunities. I’ve traveled around the world, met
amazing people. I feel very fortunate.”