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Bodybuilding is a sport that celebrates the human body, which is why so many people with spinal cord injuries are drawn to it. But for Shannon Chisholm, she was in love with bodybuilding before her injury. She already knew how awesome it was.
Her journey into bodybuilding began when she decided to change her lifestyle after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. The bodybuilding and healthy diet helped, and she was a successful amateur bodybuilder for several years. But her world changed in 2011 while riding her bicycle to the gym.
Read on for the awesome story of mother, wife and paralyzed bodybuilder, Shannon Chisholm.
Why She’s Fearless
Shannon grew up in Western North Carolina, where she still lives today. She was living a great life pre-injury – she was a physical therapist assistant and married to her husband and high school sweetheart Ray and had two kids. She was also an amateur bodybuilder, but while riding her bicycle to the gym in 2011, a car hit her from behind, paralyzing her.
Shannon fortunately was wearing a helmet, but still sustained an incomplete T11 injury. Since Shannon was a bodybuilder before her injury, she was able to fly through rehab faster than most people. She was able to master all her transfers (from bed to floor from car to wheelchair; all of them), in just one week.
Shannon was determined to return to bodybuilding even though she could no longer compete in the same category. Nine months post-injury, she was back at her first competition as a paraplegic, and won first place.
Shannon has also been a guest poser at able-bodied competitions, including the Carolina Supernatural Bodybuilding Championship, and has posed at several competition winning many trophies a long way in the wheelchair category.
What’s Next?
After returning to her life, and her job as a PT-assistant, a few years passed, and in 20015, Shannon was approached to run for Ms. Wheelchair North Carolina. Although she wasn’t a girly girl, once realizing it was a disability advocacy organization, she was in. She won the title, and she enjoyed working with the organization so much that in 2019, she decided to became the State Coordinator and President of the Board of Ms. Wheelchair North Carolina.
Shannon also regained the ability to use her left leg in 2017, and minimally walk, after taking part in the Bioness study, a nerve stimulation device. It an amazing moment in her life 6 years post-injury. And although she has slowed down her bodybuilding over the years, she now takes part in Spartan endurance races, a world that is perfectly-suited for the badass woman that Shannon continues to be.
— Watch Shannon walk after the study
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