Woman who couldn’t walk last summer runs Lincoln Half Marathon with therapist

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Less than a year after being unable to walk, a former Division I athlete ran the Lincoln Half Marathon on Sunday — with her occupational therapist by her side.

Maddie Rott is a junior at the University of Tennessee. She was competing for a nationally ranked rowing team studying nutrition.

Last summer, she suffered a rare side effect from a prescribed medication that tightened her muscles, eventually leading to the point where she couldn’t walk or talk.

Once her family heard about her state, they flew out to Tennessee to drive her back to California. Throughout the ride, Rott’s condition slowly worsened.

She was in extreme pain and nearly immobile, so they decided that she needed medical attention while traveling through Nebraska.

She was quickly taken by helicopter to Bryan West Medical Center in Lincoln.

Three weeks into her stay, Rott walked for the first time since the incident. She had to relearn simple tasks from scratch.

Finally, after 11 weeks of hard work, Rott was discharged.

Riley Johnson, her occupational therapist at Bryan West, made a promise to Rott that they would run a half-marathon together one day. Sunday was that day.

Rott and her family flew from San Diego to run in the Lincoln Half Marathon with Riley, and they completed it.

Rott now plans to go to nursing school and hopes to work at Bryan West in the future.