Dana Shealey Overcomes Odds

Create: 05/27/2009 - 09:14

Author: Staff

With a slew of great individual performances at this year's SPF Powerlifting and Bench Press National Championships, it might be hard to pick just one as the most impressive. Dana Shealey's squat of 365 pounds and deadlift of 315 pounds is one of those that surely should be in the discussion. You see, Shealey had her foot severed in an automobile accident several years ago. Last year, she had her left leg amputated. In addition, she recently had back surgery. Oh yeah, and Shealey is a cancer survivor. The videos which follow show Shealey's remarkable and inspiring performance. Squat:

Deadlift:

Comments

Amazing.

I wish I could post this at

I wish I could post this at my gym. I am sick of pussy ass guys bitching about why they won't squat. Nice lifting!!

Deutsch wrote:I wish I could

[quote=Deutsch]I wish I could post this at my gym. I am sick of pussy ass guys bitching about why they won't squat. Nice lifting!![/quote] Gotta agree with ya' on that one.

That is motivation! I won't

That is motivation! I won't ever complain about being sore again! Congrats on your lifts!

It was nice meeting an

It was nice meeting an talking to you after the meet on sunday. Good luck at your next meet in a couple weeks. Michael Schultze

I am humbled. Dana is truly

I am humbled. Dana is truly inspirational.

And all I have is arthritis

And all I have is arthritis and 3 left ankle reconstructions. I'm gonna go sit on the STFU couch with my ibuprofin and aleve. THIS lady, is in inspiration. Keep on liftin'.

there is not even good words

there is not even good words to say to describe how awesome and motivational that is,keep up the good work and may God continue to be with you and bless your efforts,this is a perfect example of good coming from bad,you will be an inspiration to many even outside the powerlifting world.God bless,good liftin

That is inspirational

That is inspirational stuff..

wow. incredible

there goes my excuse for not

there goes my excuse for not squatting tonight. Great to see someone not feeling sorry for her lot, but kicking misfortune squarely in the nutsack!

Speechless.. Truly

Speechless.. Truly inspirational stuff. What a strong individual in every sense. This wins!!! Hands down! Al Caslow

Absolutely

Absolutely fabulous. Willpower and determination. What a Superstar.

Makes me want to go and do

Makes me want to go and do squats right now. congrats Dana truly inspirational,God bless you

WOW! i am defo gonna squat

WOW! i am defo gonna squat good tonight...... that is inspirational

Great job!Never give up.

Yep, she's one tough strong

Yep, she's one tough strong chick! Now go kill that bench Dana!

it truely is remarkable

it truely is remarkable considering what she has gone through and to lift that way , she puts alot of peroplr to shame , the ones that truely arnt dedicated to this sport. that is by far the most inspirational lifting i have seen in a very long time , god bless and keep on showing your perserverance and dedication

the polarbear wrote:it

[quote=the polarbear]it truely is remarkable considering what she has gone through and to lift that way , she puts alot of people to shame , the ones that truely arnt dedicated to this sport. that is by far the most inspirational lifting i have seen in a very long time , god bless and keep on showing your perserverance and dedication [/quote]

WOW!I wish I would have went

WOW!I wish I would have went now to the meet. That is truly inspirational. Putt Houston.... now with Ridiculous BCWW

The Putt Houston

She's a great gal to

She's a great gal to boot! Of course, congrats on the lifting but, I'm more impressed with the person you are. Sponsored by APT BMF Sports & Titan

I will mention this to any

I will mention this to any one that will ever say he has back, or knee or what ever problem so they dont squat or deadlift. You rock,,, you are my new hero.

You think you are strong

You think you are strong until you see someone who makes your best achievements look very ordinary.One of the best posts on this forum since it started. I hope someone will keep us informed as how she is doing down the road.

Kinda makes u wonder about

Kinda makes u wonder about all the lazy bench only fags LOL.. Dana is truly inspiring:)

WOW sums it up!

I was honored to be her back

I was honored to be her back spotter. I was announcing and stopped for her squats. I've known Dana now for about three years. She keeps her head up and is a funny crazy chick. Her insurance wont pay for a advanced prosthesis, and she is pushing the weight limits on this type by squatting and pulling. I hope soon a prosthesis company sponsors her and gets her what she needs. www.myspace.com/squat_angel

Melissa, what a fabulous

Melissa, what a fabulous idea ! Now that WOULD be well worth their while. They'll never have a better advert than this. Truly inspirational - for anyone and everyone.

Great job Dana! I've known

Great job Dana! I've known Dana for a few years now and she's ALWAYS got a smile on her face and encouragement in her voice. Amazing woman!

Amazing!!! This is what

Amazing!!! This is what lifting is all about, the love for sumthin and getting it done no matter what. www.bigirongym.com http://www.youtube.com/BigIronGym

Dana is a seriously

Dana is a seriously incredible woman. She is so insperational and I'm so glad we finally got to meet and hang out this weekend. Nothing can stop this girl!!!

All of us @ East End Barbell

All of us @ East End Barbell have had the honor of training with Dana up to this meet and she is an absolute blessing..she represents whats great about this sport and the awesome perseverance the human spirit can have against any odds we all love you @ east end barbell Dana so proud of you!!! Godbless StrengthFromAbove

A women of great will and

A women of great will and determination. She should be a rolemodel for all of us.

Looks like she could have

Looks like she could have done 10 reps with that deadlift.

Hank wrote:Looks like she

[quote=Hank]Looks like she could have done 10 reps with that deadlift.[/quote] That deadlift was light for her. She had back surgery last winter and tweaked her back a couple of months ago as she was training for this meet. In this case, it was lifting smart, not pushing it to the physical limit. There will be another time and place for that.

Dana and I started talking

Dana and I started talking about her squatting about 5 months ago because of some of the amputation and prosthesis work I've done with some of my animal patients. She was havig no luck on the human side of medicine in finding a prosthesis that she knew was strong enough for her to squat in and initially we were hoping we could find something that had been used on the veterinary side that would work. We finally ended up using her regular prosthesis. Finding a prosthesis and a human prosthetic company willing to sponser a powerlifter isn't very easy. Dana has impressive numbers in her bench and deadlift from before and after her leg was amputated (check the lifter rankings here, she's in the top 10 in the bench and deadlift), so for me, it was an honor to be asked to help her out. She has logged hours and hours on the road including driving down from New Jersey to rural Alabama where I live so we could work on squat form and plan out how to do this and she's made weekly trips out to lift with John Bernor and his crew. We've spent many an evening talking about her training, what equipment to use, where to put her feet, how to set up, trying to get everything just right. That time has now paid off. Dana squatted 365 lbs in a single ply suit and belt! There has never been any doubt in my mind that she was going to achieve this goal. I also had the honor of calling depth from the side for her at Nationals. Her prosthesis gives her a slight difference in height from the left to the right side, so she had no choice but to take these squats as deep as she possibly could. Both her second and 3rd attempt were 3 white lights from the judges. Unfortunately she had some shirt problems with her bench, but we now know what went wrong. She's got another meet coming up where, as far as we know, is going to become the first female amputee in history to lift in full powerlifting meet. I'm also predicting a very solid assault on a 500 lb bench press over the next year. For all the people out there making excuses not to train.... SHUT UP AND GET UNDER THE BAR!. GOOD JOB DANA!!!!

Thank you so much guys. I

Thank you so much guys. I couldn't of done all this with out the East End Barbell crew and the support from family,friends. Words honestly can't say enough thank yous. I just know that with a little faith in God, and having a thick head, anything is possible! (along with CT's belt and Domingos' shoes lol)

Sore Foot wrote:Thank you so

[quote=Sore Foot]Thank you so much guys. I couldn't of done all this with out the East End Barbell crew and the support from family,friends. Words honestly can't say enough thank yous. I just know that with a little faith in God, and having a thick head, anything is possible! (along with CT's belt and Domingos' shoes lol)[/quote] Dana, at no time has any of us thought that you couldn't do this. Your combination of a little faith in God, some hardcore bullheadedness, and an iron will makes you one of the toughest women I've ever met. Thank you for being an inspiration to all of us. GOOD JOB!!!!!!

Very impressive!!!!! I am

Very impressive!!!!! I am truly amazed what dedication and determination can do to overcome tremendous challenges. I have been to numerous national and international meets and what Dana has done is top of my list!!! David Ricks

That is awsome and is what

That is awsome and is what sport is all about. Very impressive what an inspiring performance. Ken Ufford

Absolutely incredible

Absolutely incredible Dana!!! Kathy and I are very proud of you and we know you are in good care in the hands of John Bernor, Chris Taylor and crew. I am having my left shoulder rebuilt tomorrow and you my dear have truly inspired me and given me enormous amounts of motivation, for this I thank you. Thank you to to the men and women whom have handled you in your prep for this and upcoming meets. May God be with you and your crew at East End Barbell. Thank you again and God Bless...Bobby Fields

This is a shining example of

This is a shining example of true strength: not letting anything stop you and having the will to persevere despite all of life's setbacks. Dana, you are a true inspiration and I wish you continued success in the future! And to all those people who have a million excuses for why they can't squat or deadlift or compete...you have no excuse left.

That is one of the most

That is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! Congrats!

Dana is truly an

Dana is truly an inspiration! It was a pleasure to meet you and to watch you lift! Amazing! Congratulations!!

This was one of the best

This was one of the best videos placed on this forum in a long time. Truly inspirational...Thanks,

Praise GOD!! That was

Praise GOD!! That was awesome Dana, congratulations!

Dana is amazing!! She comes

Dana is amazing!! She comes in to train, works hard, never has an excuse and she has no fear!! I have been being a total sissy with my squat volume lately because I have some knee pain and here she comes rolling in to train with us and just gets under the bar time and time again and gets it done! Very inspirational! Congrats on the SQ/DL Dana, I can't wait to see you put a total together at the next meet!

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