Anna Hackenberg will race in Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon after paralyzing accident

Anna Hackenberg suffered punctured lungs, fractured ribs, a broken collarbone and broken leg. She developed pneumonia in the hospital. Her spinal cord was severed, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. Lying in the hospital bed, Hackenberg couldn’t feel her legs when she awoke. She was surrounded by her mother, father, brother and sister. But they didn’t want to deliver the devastating news. A doctor friend, Erin King, was also in the room. “Am I ever going to walk again?” Hackenberg asked King. King summarized the freak accident, then said, “No, you’ll never walk again.” “Well then,” Hackenberg said, “I will be a great swimmer.” Hackenberg, 31, was training for the Synchrony Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon when the accident occurred on April 13, 2017. Since then, she has swum, tried surfing, snow skied, practiced yoga, and hit golf balls. On Sunday, her arms cranking a hand-cycle wheelchair, Hackenberg will attend to unfinished business, racing in the 21st Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon. At first, she planned to tackle the event’s half marathon. Asked why she would double the challenge, Hackenberg, sitting in her Little Italy apartment, her 13-pound rescue dog Max perched on her lap, smiled and said, “Why not?”

posted Friday June 1st