'Living her dream': Adeline Albert recovers from traumatic brain injury, returns to luge
Less than a year after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a luge training accident, Thomas Worthington junior Adeline Albert again is competing in the sport she loves.
There were moments when she wasn’t sure this would be possible.
Albert was injured Feb. 7 in Seoul, South Korea, and spent nearly a month in a hospital in Pyeongchang, undergoing surgeries to stop the bleeding, relieve pressure on her brain and to repair an area of her skull. She returned home in early March, received clearance from physicians in August to return to luge and got back on a sled this fall.
“When I was in the hospital, I couldn’t even think about the fact that I wasn’t able to do luge again because my physical health was the first priority, but there was a point where I was scared that I wasn’t going to be able to do luge again,” Albert said. “I fully expected my neurosurgeon in Columbus to say, 'You’re done with this sport,' but he didn’t. As a miracle that the recovery was, on top of that, him saying I could return to the sport was incredible.”
In hopes of training on a sled for the first time since her injury, Albert was at the USA Luge training center in Lake Placid, New York, in late October and early November, but poor track conditions limited her workouts.
Albert left Nov. 13 for Germany, where she trained and competed for the U.S. national team before flying home last Sunday. While in Germany, Albert qualified for all four finals in the FIL Youth A Worldcup in singles, with 27th being her best finish.
She was training with her two-man partner, Maggie Richardson, at the time of accident in Seoul. Richardson, who is from Mount Vernon, was not injured.
Albert, 16, expects to continue in singles. She said qualifying for all four finals was a key in her return.
“I think about the accident once in a while, especially when I get frustrated with how I’m performing in a race,” she said. “I have to remember you can’t be where you necessarily want to be within 10 months of this happening, but for the most part, I’m trying to focus on what’s ahead and not necessarily behind because I can’t change what already happened.”
Along with needing the approval of physicians to return to the sport, Albert also sought approval from her parents, Rob and Renee.
“When my neurosurgeon in Columbus told me there could be a possibility of going back to the luge, I looked at my parents and said, 'If either of you do not agree with this, I’m not going to do it,' ” Adeline said. “I meant that wholeheartedly because I couldn’t do this without both of them. They’re everything to me.”
Her parents are impressed, but not surprised, by their daughter’s resiliency.
“I’m amazed and humbled,” said Rob, who spent nearly a month with his daughter while she underwent treatment in South Korea. “We were concerned, but she’s always loved the sport. Her whole disposition changes when she gets on the sled. There’s no pressure from us. She’s determined.”
According to the official Olympics website, lugers can average speeds between 74 and 90 mph as they ride a flat sled through a course face up and feet first.
Adeline was introduced to the sport in 2017 during a local search for participants by USA Luge. She was named to the USA national training youth program in May 2019.
Renee was relieved to learn her daughter could return to competition.
“We couldn’t believe what we were hearing,” Renee said. “It meant that she had come so far. She’s living her dream.”
Upon returning from Germany, Adeline worked to complete schoolwork from her time away. She has a 4.3 GPA in the first semester and has taken college courses since her freshman year.
“My academics are something I’ve worked really hard on,” she said. “Even with doing my dream (of competing in the luge), school is what I find very important.”
Her next training and competition will take place in early January in Lake Placid. Rob and Renee are planning to attend; it will be the first time they watch their daughter compete in person.
Adeline played junior varsity field hockey at Thomas her first two years of high school but sat out this past season after physicians recommended that she give up one sport. She remained a non-participating member of team and was part of the celebration when the Cardinals beat New Albany 2-1 in overtime in the state championship game Nov. 4, earning their second consecutive title.
“I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I did, but it was so nice to be able to coach the practices and still be a part of the team for the games,” Adeline said. “Having to give up that sport to be able to go back to luge, I would have taken that any day.”
Thomas field hockey coach Terri Simonetti Frost said “resilience and perseverance” helped Adeline return to luge.
“I’m not surprised that Addie is doing luge again because that’s her passion and love, plus she’s a very determined individual,” Simonetti Frost said.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio high school junior recovers from brain injury, returns to luge
