Saturday, September 7, 2024
AZLE — Just a few years ago, Azle High School graduate Tiffany Clark worried she might never walk again. Today, she’s found renewed purpose as an athlete.
Clark ran again for the first time at the Navy Wounded Warriors’ Intro Adaptive Sports camp in January 2024 and last month, she achieved more physical feats at the Department of Defense Warrior Games. Her problems first began after she suffered a torn ACL twice — once in 2016 and again in 2021 — during Navy physical training. The second injury, which Clark described as significantly worse, was compounded by a blood clot that prolonged her recovery.
“I was on crutches for almost a year leading up to that. This time, I cried because I did it,” Clark said. “I never thought I would walk again, much less run. I was depressed when I couldn’t do normal mom things with my son, like taking him to the park. … On the way to one of my medical appointments, I once saw someone going for a run in my neighborhood. I burst into tears thinking I’d never be able to do that again. I used to run 5Ks. I gave up doing things that I loved because I was scared I would reinjure myself.”
Born in Wichita Falls, Clark moved to Azle during her freshman year of high school. After college didn’t work out, Clark joined the Navy for stability and pay. She has not forgotten her high school and recently returned to Azle for a 10-year class reunion. Her schoolmates knew her by the maiden-name Tucker.
After surgeries for her injury, Clark’s thigh atrophied. She was not hopeful about regaining her mobility until hearing Operations Specialist Petty Officer First Class Travis Wyatt speak at a program for wounded soldiers at Naval Medical Center San Diego. Wyatt was a part of the Navy Wounded Warriors’ adaptive sports program or Team Navy, and his talk gave Clark the hope she needed to join its training camp at the beginning of the next year. Without the program and her teammates, Clark said she didn’t know where she’d be.
“I heard him talk about the connections he had with his teammates and how they helped him overcome his struggles with mental health,” Clark said. “He found a community of people who understood and supported him,” Clark said. “These are things I desperately needed, as I also struggle with my mental health and PTSD, in addition to my physical injuries.”
Soon Clark wasn’t just running again, she was competing. Along with more than 250 other ill and injured current and former service members, Clark went on to play at the 2024 Warrior Games in Orlando, Florida. The annual event lasted nine days starting June 21 and Clark competed in field, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, where her team qualified for the bronze medal round, track and swimming, where she would win the bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke.
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Warrior Games,” Clark said. “Going into it, my expectations were to do my best, complete every event injury-free, and learn something new about my limitations while I’m here. … This year, we’re together as teammates on Team Navy at the Warrior Games. This sense of family is the biggest takeaway I have from this experience. I also felt like I belonged somewhere for the first time since I was injured three years ago. I competed in the last event at Games, sitting volleyball, and you could feel the energy. Every win or loss was all of ours, on the court or in the stands. Even though we finished in fourth place, we still smiled because we knew we’d done our best and it was amazing to play and cheer like a family.”
Clark and the Navy Team competed against wounded warriors from other branches of the military from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marines, Special Operations Command and even service members representing Australia. She said the Navy’s adaptive sports program ultimately changed her outlook on her own limitations and physical health.
“(Now) I don’t see myself as someone who will never be able to do something, but as someone who just needs to figure out a new way to do it or adapt it to my needs,” Clark said. “I gained a whole new family of people to contact when I’m struggling or to share in my successes.”
Clark currently lives at Operation Homefront’s Veterans Village in San Antonio which she said has been instrumental in helping her manage her home life, find a job and support her son. She hopes to soon be in a position to buy a house and live more independently. With the help of the transitional program, Clark said she had more time to spend training for the Warrior Games and working on her recovery.
