“I’m honored to have the opportunity to tell my story if it helps someone understand the road to their own recovery from brain injury.”

Racing Ace Emily Rodger Stays Ahead by Slowing Down

Emily Rodger’s story is working on a happy ending. But that was never the goal, anyway. Perhaps an explanation is due.

Along with three sisters, Emily was raised in New Brunswick, Canada by her mother. Despite being athletic, she was also quite shy and wasn’t involved in organized sports. In fact, she spoke so little that she was referred for speech therapy. This reinforced a lack of confidence and self-perception that she wasn’t smart.

After graduating high school, she was a dental hygienist for eight years. At 27, a friend gave her a road bike as a way of adding to her routine as a fitness instructor.

Emily immediately took to the bike, riding every day. One year into her new passion, she decided to enter a 100-mile race and finished as one of the top riders. She was hooked. “I was actually pretty good at this,” she recalls. “It was a cool experience riding at an event. At that moment, I realized this was something I wanted to pursue.”

With her confidence higher than ever before, she continued to train. A few days after this race, she was out riding in Scottsdale, Arizona. Seemingly out of nowhere, an 83-year-old driver ran a stop sign and T-boned her. She was airlifted to a trauma hospital where she was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), broken jaw, and lost teeth.

In a single moment, her life was on a different path.

Four months later, she tried to return to her job as a dental hygienist; however, she was in denial of what she had been through and was unaware of how she had changed as a person. One look in the mirror, though, and the sight of her missing teeth reflected what she was feeling inside.

Another short four months later, Emily decided to take charge of her life. Initially, getting back on her bike was incredibly hard. It took weeks for her to even get to the point where she could ride to the end of her driveway. Eventually, though, she felt in control and proceeded to train for competitive racing.

“My self-esteem was low. I had PTSD and wanted to avoid speaking with people. I would speak with my doctor but found I couldn’t always use the right words. I had no patience, was agitated and anxious, and got dizzy and nauseous,” she explains.

“Racing helped me through all of this, especially how I felt about myself.”

During the ensuing years, Emily surprised even herself by winning a number of championships, including 17 podiums, 14 first-place finishes, a National master, a World master title in Time Trial, and racing in the professional peloton. She even took on triathlons.

However, despite all her accomplishments, she didn’t recognize herself as a person anymore. “I called my mom and told her I needed help,” she shares. “Working with a psychologist, I began to understand and accept my PTSD and the need to focus on my mental health as well as physical training.”

Eight years after her brain injury, she was in France, poised to win the World Championship again. After claiming that title for second time, Emily competed in a stage race the following week. She was riding downhill when a vehicle intruded on the course and hit her. “I knew I had broken bones and stumbled to find my bike,” she remembers. “I wanted to continue the race as a way to pretend like it never happened, but I couldn’t.”

Emily remained in a ditch for 90 minutes until an ambulance brought her to a hospital, where she spent eight days. “I was reliving the trauma and fear,” she says. “It almost felt worse than the first time, because it was like, ‘here we go again.’”

Within four months, her collarbone had healed, and she was ready to prove to the world that she was ready to climb back on the proverbial (and literal) bike.

Three months into her return to racing, something clicked within Emily. “I took a month off to go fly fishing. It was so quiet and peaceful, giving me a chance to reflect on my life and the world,” she tells.

“That’s when I realized I was no longer racing for recovery; I was competing for others and not growing as a person. So, I stopped racing, just as suddenly as I had started.”

Emily now goes fly fishing as often as possible, which she balances with her new careers as an executive health and lifestyle coach and public speaker. “It took a while, but I’m now happy with who I am; I’m much more grounded,” she affirms.

“I had been giving off a false perception that was hindering my growth. I’m honored to have the opportunity to tell my story if it helps someone understand the road to their own recovery from brain injury.”

Carrie Collins-Fadell, CEO of the Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona, believes what Emily has gone through is not unusual. “Although each brain injury is unique, Emily’s experience of creating a new version of oneself is common,” Carrie attests. “Her ascension to elite cyclist is impressive, but her ability to come to terms with her injury and adapting to her new reality is nothing short of inspiring.”

Two years ago, filmmakers in Canada began a documentary on Emily’s life. While back in Scottsdale to shoot the reenactment of her first accident, she was nearly hit by a motorist in the same spot. “All these emotions came flooding through me,” she says. “Shortly after [I was hit], I had to get more dental work; unfortunately, due to excessive bone loss, I lost another tooth,” she recounts. Because this required a new bone graft, she them had to wait 6 months for an implant.

“I suddenly felt so much anger toward the woman who had collided with me years ago,” expresses Emily. “I looked in the rearview mirror and broke into tears as I was reminded of my missing front teeth and all I had been through during that accident and since.”

Soon thereafter, Emily visited her sister and her two nieces (13 and 9 years old), who were thrilled to see her, welcoming her with a joyous “Auntie Emma!” That was a watershed moment for her.

“Right then and there, I realized they love me for who I am and that a missing tooth doesn’t define me. I knew everything was going to be okay.”​

ABOUT BRAIN INJURY ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA

The Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona (BIAAZ) is the only statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of adults and children with all types of brain injuries through prevention, advocacy, awareness and education. BIAAZ also houses the Arizona Brain Health Resource Center, a collection of educational information and neuro-specific resources for brain injury survivors, caregivers, family members and professionals.

What began in 1983 as a grassroots effort has grown into a strong statewide presence, providing valuable life-long resources and community support for individuals with all types of brain trauma at no charge.

The Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona:

• Works with Congressional Brain Injury Task Force
• Houses Arizona Brain Health Resource Center
• Hosts Statewide Opioid Use Disorder & Cognitive Impairment Workgroup
• Has Statewide Opioid Use Disorder & Cognitive Impairment Response team with peer support, training, and family wraparound services
• Facilitates Brain Health Advisory Council
• Manages statewide Neuro Info-Line: 888-500-9165