From Devastation To Motivation, Then Inspiration: Noelle Lambert (Transcript)

Here is the full transcript of Noelle Lambert’s talk titled “From Devastation To Motivation, Then Inspiration” at TEDxAmoskeagMillyard conference.

In this talk, Noelle Lambert recounts her journey of overcoming adversity after losing her leg in a moped accident. She emphasizes the importance of resilience, detailing her struggle and eventual success in adapting to life as an amputee, including learning to walk and run with prosthetics. Lambert shares how she channeled her self-doubt into motivation, leading to her remarkable return to collegiate lacrosse as the first above-knee amputee player.

Her journey didn’t stop there; she also became an American record holder in the 100-meter dash for the U.S. Paralympic track and field team and competed in the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Lambert’s participation in the reality TV show “Survivor” as the first above-knee amputee contestant further showcased her determination to challenge stereotypes and inspire others.

She highlights the crucial role of her support system, including family, coaches, and fellow amputees, in her journey. Finally, Lambert discusses founding the Born to Run Foundation, aimed at helping other amputees lead fulfilling, active lives, thus turning her personal tragedy into a source of widespread inspiration and support for others.

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

Overcoming Adversity Through Lessons Learned

I have been dealt with a lot of adversity in my life, and how I’ve been able to overcome that adversity, I have narrowed it down to three simple lessons. Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable, experiencing self-doubt and using it as motivation, and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right team.

The date is July 30th, 2016, the weather is clear, sunny blue skies, 80 degrees in Martha’s Vineyard. It was my first time driving a moped. One minute I’m on the main road headed to the beach on this beautiful Saturday morning, and the next minute I see a dump truck heading in the opposite lane of me. Because of the weight distribution, I lost control of the moped. I veered left, side-swiping the dump truck, and the next thing I remember is laying on the pavement, lifting up my legs and realizing that my left leg was completely gone, it was completely severed on the team.

I had just finished my freshman year playing division one lacrosse. “Is this all over now?” One thought came to mind: “I am never going to walk again.” Because I was on the main road, there were tons of people rushing towards me, and the man that was actually driving behind me took his shirt off to create a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, which is one of the only reasons why I’m still breathing today. He saved my life.

The Challenge of Recovery

I looked over at this other woman who is hysterically crying, and I was lucid enough to give her my parents’ phone number and I begged her to just call my parents and let them know what was happening. I was completely in shock, the adrenaline was kicking in so I wasn’t feeling any pain. I see her dialing the phone number, and the next thing I hear is her saying the words, “You need to get to Martha’s Vineyard immediately, I don’t think your daughter is going to make it.” Imagine getting that type of phone call.

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From the second I could walk, I was active. Growing up with three older brothers, I had to be. I was never the girly girl my mother so desperately wanted. Instead, I was always outside, wrestling with my brothers in the dirt, showing them who the real boss of the family was.

And that’s really what drew me to fall in love with being an athlete. It was the only thing that came naturally to me. Being a three-sport varsity athlete in high school to a division one lacrosse player in college, “Is this all over now?” After days of being in the hospital and physical therapy, and feeling sorry for myself, I realized something.

Finding Strength and Motivation

I am still alive. “Do I really want to let this one accident dictate the rest of my life?” I knew the journey to returning to the lacrosse field was going to be extremely difficult, but I was up for that challenge. I didn’t want to let me becoming an amputee limit me from living the life that I wanted to live.

I was basically starting over. I had to learn how to walk and run again on top of figuring out how to maneuver my different prosthetic legs. Walking was extremely challenging because my everyday walking prosthetic has a microchip inside of it, which basically means I have to put the correct amount of weight on it in order for it to bend. Running was the exact opposite.

I had to apply force with my running blade so that I could run, and to be able to do that, I needed to build hip strength and I needed to build muscle in the limb that I had left. The first time I ever put my running prosthetic on, I was in my physical therapist’s office, and I was harnessed on a treadmill, and I could not run for more than 10 seconds at a time because it was so unstable, so uncomfortable, and I was completely out of shape. “If I can’t even run in a straight line, how can I return playing at one of the highest levels that you can play in for collegiate lacrosse?” Returning to practice was a nightmare.

Overcoming Challenges in Sports

I could not catch a pass if my life depended on it, and I fell a countless amount of times in those first few weeks of practice. Every single day, I would question, “Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I here? Should I just quit?”

I would look at my teammates, and I would think to myself, “I am doing this for them.” I would think about every single person who helped me through those tough moments, and I would tell myself, “I need to do this for the people that believe in me the most.” They were the ones that were giving me motivation when I wasn’t even believing in myself.

“But how can I do this?”

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“How can I return playing lacrosse?” One simple answer, and that is, if you show up every single day and if you put the time, the work, and the energy into something, you will see results. I started working with my coach before and after practice every single day, working through all the blood, sweat, and tears, killing myself to get back on that lacrosse field. In 2019, after graduating college, I was given an incredible opportunity.

Embracing New Opportunities

Someone from the U.S. Paralympic track and field world reached out to me, asking if I’ve ever thought about competing. I hated running and everything to do with it. I never considered myself a great runner, but I thought to myself, “You know, this would be an incredible opportunity to represent my country.”

“Why can’t I do this?” I was always growing up a part of team sports. I had never participated in an individual sport before, so already, I was in a very uncomfortable position. The odds were stacked against me.

I had one goal in mind, and that was to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. In 2021, I received a direct message on social media from the head casting director of a little TV show called Survivor, and he simply asked me if I’ve ever thought about applying. I was petrified. I told myself, “There is no way possible that I’m going to be able to do this show.”

Overcoming Obstacles on Survivor

Prosthetic legs do not mesh well with salt water and sand. I would have to live in these conditions. You get zero food when you are out there, so you are basically starving to death. When I lose weight, that means my leg loses weight.

So, how am I going to be able to maintain keeping my prosthetic legs suctioned onto my body while doing all these physically grueling challenges, on top of maintaining a perfect social game? “There’s never been an above-knee amputee on that show before. There must be a reason for that, right?” I then thought to myself, “If I do not do this, then who is going to?”

“Who is going to show that positive representation for the disabled community?” This is my chance to show the world what amputees are capable of. Just 18 months after my accident, I was able to return to the lacrosse field, becoming the first above-knee amputee to ever play collegiate lacrosse. I am now the American record holder for the 100-meter dash for the US Paralympic track and field team, and I placed sixth in the world at the US Paralympic Games, or the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Achievements and Gratitude

I was the first above-knee amputee to ever compete on the reality television show Survivor. Looking back on all my incredible adventures thus far, one thing always stands out to me, and that is my support system. I can never look back on any of my accomplishments and say I did it alone. From the second my accident happened to me and waking up the next day in the hospital, I had a community of people behind me.

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I had a lot of the Boston Marathon survivors reaching out to me, offering their help and their wisdom of becoming an amputee through tragedy, and they were the first people to tell me I’d be able to play lacrosse again. I would be able to live the active lifestyle that I wanted to live. Every single coach, mentor, teammate, strength coach, physical therapist I’ve ever had, never treated me like somebody with a disability, and they never let me use my amputation as an excuse or reason to quit. I had three different nonprofit organizations donate three different specialized prosthetics to me, and seeing the work that those foundations do for other amputees really resonated with me and it made me realize this is something I needed to do.

Born to Run Foundation

I needed to give back all the support and helping hands that I received and portray an image out to the world that if I can go through something like I went through and still live the life that I want, then a hundred percent, so can you all. With the help of my incredible family, I was able to start the Born to Run Foundation, and the foundation focuses on donating specialized prosthetics to amputees that just want to live a fun and fulfilling life. Whether it be returning to the lacrosse field, competing in track and field, or playing the game of Survivor, there was a common theme. I doubted myself before every single one of them, and how did I get over that self-doubt?

I would use it as motivation. I would light a fire inside of myself, telling myself I needed to do this. “If I don’t believe in myself, then why should everybody else?” Every single person in this world goes through difficult moments, but it’s those difficult times that make you into the person that you will become.

The Power of Support and Self-Belief

I personally have tried to get through tough times on my own because I hated being a burden to other people. I never wanted the pity, and I never wanted people to look at me as though I was broken, but what I realized along the way is asking for help and expressing how you feel does not make you weak. Surrounding yourself with positive people and confiding in others can only set yourself up for success. I look back on my accident now and I view it as such a positive, and I view it as something to be grateful for because not only did it change the type of athlete I was, but it has made me a better person, and it has made me realize what is important in life.