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Former Olympic athlete Andrew Lewis was at the top of his game when an accident changed his life forever.
Lewis, who represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Rio, London and Tokyo Olympic Games in 2016, 2012 and 2020 respectively, said the accident was something no one saw coming.
“December 2015 in Brazil…training at the location, coming home from dinner one night, forgot the house keys, decided I was going to jump over the wall to get inside the property…and while jumping over the wall…the top of the wall fell off and came down with me."
Lewis said although there was CCTV footage they were not sure how the wall, with over 500 pounds of concrete, fell on him.
Lewis said he suffered several injuries including a broken left leg, a punctured lung, and a damaged facial structure that had been broken from his skull.
“It’s a mystery but at the same time a blessing that I had that much injuries.”
Lewis said he spent two months in hospital and underwent several surgeries to fix his facial structure and jaw.
“It was two weeks of semi-reconstruction. Eventually I got home…unfortunately I had to come out of that plane into another ambulance to go straight to the hospital…to make sure nothing happened during the flight. It was…a weird experience.”
Lewis asked his physicians how he could begin training again, and was told he had to monitor his body and determine the difference between pain and soreness.
Three and half weeks after the accident, he was back at it.
“I pulled down my spin bike probably about three and a half weeks after the accident and I just hopped onto my spin bike…and just turned with no resistance…just to get it moving and see what happens.
“But the mentality was not to go sailing again, not to go to the Olympics, the mentality was I want to breathe properly again, I want to eat again…and I wanted to walk again.”
He said his wife also pushed him toward recovery.
“She took time off work and took care of me like a baby, she inspired me and pushed me hard, she was a very key attribute to this process.”
He said he began to be able to walk again and eat regularly, and began thinking about sailing.
He also thanked his physiotherapist Orlando Griffith for his invaluable assistance and support.
Lewis said the key is a combination of belief and hard work.
“That’s what it takes, one level is belief and the second level is hard work.”
He wondered if he would be able to make it to the Olympics.
“I knew if Mother Nature was gentle with me, I could blow it out of the pond. But if she was to breathe hard again, it was going to be hard. I said, God, what are we doing here right now? It was the test of my life.”
He said he was fortunate to have that milestone to work towards to aid in propelling his recovery.
He also commented on the views of some who saw his recovery as a miracle.
“I’m no miracle, I’m not more special than you, I just had a very well-designed team around me with a very high level of focus and discipline that was believed achievable. And with that in anyone’s life that is just on the edge of believable and unbelievable is a nice place to be than can make you work hard…to redesign, re-believe.”
Lewis said sport is an important vessel for improving one’s self.
“Sport is an important vessel for you to get better at yourself and while doing that, achieve certain things. No matter how coordinated or good you are, everyone can play a sport and be good at it in your own way, and let sport be the reason why you would move more than you normally would and take care of your body more than you normally would, and that you could showcase your talents in a form that could give you confidence and also give you a place to connect in a healthy environment.”
Lewis represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the 2012 London Olympic Games and 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
In 2022 he announced his retirement and began his position as a coach for the Canadian National Team.
Look out for the next episode of The Athlete’s Record, sponsored by Powerade.
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