When a speeding driver T-boned her vehicle, medical professionals gave Judy Godsey little chance of making it through the night. The collision triggered a traumatic brain injury that robbed her of coordination and left her muscles dangerously weak. A close friend pointed her toward a personal trainer, and that decision changed everything. Today, the 57-year-old credits weightlifting and dedicated fitness work with saving her existence. She trains daily and has built up to a remarkable 244-pound deadlift.
"My loss of muscle strength was behind my unsteady balance. Someone close to me pushed me to hire a personal trainer, and honestly, it turned out to be the smartest move I ever made," Judy explains. "Anyone recovering from a TBI has to reclaim control over parts of their world. Picking targets and hitting them gives you real power."
"Working out is a powerful tool for handling fear, sadness, and feeling cut off from others."
Her initial fitness coach, Betsy Maner, points to Judy's determination as the engine behind her gains. "Judy built a toned, powerful physique along with steadier balance and self-assurance that touched every corner of her life. Willpower carried her through, plain and simple," Maner notes. "The way she throws herself into challenges should inspire everyone."
The Charlotte, North Carolina resident and mother of three was heading to the grocery store in March 2001 when the crash occurred. She sustained an open skull wound, and physicians classified her traumatic brain injury as moderate to severe. Her pelvis fractured in three separate locations. Judy slipped into a coma lasting seven days and remained hospitalized for six weeks. For an entire month following the wreck, her left side refused to cooperate. She had to relearn walking, speaking, and even swallowing, initially managing only puréed meals.
Remarkably, the brain injury left her thinking and memory fully intact. Within twelve months, Judy was back in the classroom teaching English at the University of North Carolina. "The moment my medical team signed off, I pushed forward and never stopped. I refused to dwell on the TBI. I didn't want that label defining who I was," she states.
"Teaching meant the world to me. I was skilled at it, though my speech wasn't quite right. At the start of each term, I'd offer a quick explanation about my TBI," Judy recalls. "Grading papers took longer than before, and my fine motor control suffered. My handwriting remains illegible to this day, so I shifted to typing feedback and attaching it to each assignment. That ate up enormous amounts of time."
"Watching Judy's progress has been genuinely astonishing," remarks her current coach, Paul Sklar.
Friends continue to express astonishment at how completely she has stitched her life back together, as if the wreck never occurred, according to Judy. "I leaned on an incredible circle of people who pulled me through every gloomy stretch, and there were plenty of those moments," she reflects. She offers a simple piece of guidance to anyone facing hardship. "If I could share one thing with others: absolutely never quit," Judy concludes.
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