Soaring Past Limits
- Written by Beautifully Flawed Foundation
- May 6, 2025
Soaring past limits, Brooke Walker, 2x Beautifully Flawed Retreat attendee, has shown the world that nothing is impossible with God! When tragedy unexpectedly struck, it was her unrelenting zeal, competitive spirit, and unmovable faith in Jesus that would push her to achieve more than she could have imagined, defying all odds!
After starting in the 4th grade, cheering quickly became Brooke’s world. She fell in love with all aspects of the sport, from the tumbling, to the performance, to flipping through air feeling so alive, to the competitive environment. With Brooke’s drive and commitment as an athlete, the future was promising.
Then, one day after a huge cheer competition in high school, Brooke realized something was wrong. She had been dealing with continual, unusual pain in her left leg and decided to go to the hospital to get it assessed. In doing so, they discovered blood clots were blocking the blood flow to her foot, causing the pain. After trying everything to save her leg, the decision was made to amputate it below the knee. As a 17 year old athlete, passionate about her sport but then unexpectedly experiencing limb loss, fear began to creep in: “No one goes through limb loss without doubt that they’ll never be able to do the things they love again,” Brooke shared.
“It is important to remember that the only limits you have are the ones you give yourself. You are capable of everything.”
“When I was looking for a physical therapist, my mom and I went to visit this guy. He told me that I would never be able to tumble again.” And yet despite all this, Brooke clung to her faith in Jesus, relied on the support of her family, and tapped into her competitive spirit to push herself onward. She found the strength and the fight to tackle each challenge that came her way in the healing journey, learning to adapt, putting in the hard work, and ultimately, proving the odds wrong as she’s now cheering competitively again as an amputee.
“It is important to remember that the only limits you have are the ones you give yourself. You are capable of everything. Don’t let people tell you, you can’t do something. You can do whatever you set your mind to. [It’s] safe to say I never went back to that guy [again] and today I am flipping through the air and doing skills people with two feet can’t do. It was definitely a struggle to return to the sport I loved, but I was determined. I have spent endless hours at the gym working out and tumbling to regain my strength. I still have goals to reach and I plan on meeting every one of them.”
And she is doing just that. Brooke is currently attending the University of Texas at Austin, pursuing a degree in Public Relations, all the while taking her cheer skills and tumbling to the next level and inspiring others with her story of hope, strength, and faith.
“Throughout my healing journey, the thing that has helped me the most is my trust in God’s plan for me. I fully believed everything happened for His purpose and the loss of my leg has allowed me to share my faith with a broader audience.”
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