THROUGH THE YEARS… AN EXCLUSIVE PHOTO JOURNAL OF MALLORY’S JOURNEY

REDEFINE LIMITATIONS February 12, 2008

As the days pass my heart feels as if it is in a perpetual state of tug-of-war, on one end I feel numb as if I am just looking to the world around me but cannot seem to comprehend what happened,

yet on the other I feel the all-encompassing awareness that three weeks ago everything I knew changed. I find myself holding onto the bible verse that is engraved on the bracelet my mom gave me, it is Isaiah 41:13 and reads, “I will forever hold you in the palms of my hand.” Those words remind me I am not alone.

Yes, today was hard – I left the hospital on a pass with my dad

and went to the mall to get a pair of shoes for PT. While we were there I felt so alone, it was as if I was invisible to the world, yet everyone stared which made me feel over exposed. It felt like people turned the attention to look at me, but didn’t see me as a person, but rather an object as they looked through me. I have known this is going to be hard, nothing about it has been easy, but today it showed me what life outside the walls of the hospital is going to be and it has left me feeling terrified for what is to come.

As I lay in bed tonight, I look around my room holding those words dear to my heart and I know, in my heart of hearts that despite how lonely the path may feel at times, I am never truly alone. The wall at the foot of my hospital bed is covered in photos, reminders that I have my parents, my sisters and our collective community. So, for now, I hold onto the memories each of those photos carry. Those images don’t just fill my heart with memories, they bring color to my life in a way that remind me that while I will have plenty of days before me that will challenge me, somewhere in all this, I will realize that everything happens for a reason. My sisters, Christin and Jessica, and I as we moved my oldest sister, Christin into her college dorm. I am so grateful to have two amazing older sisters.

My Sisters

At work with my mom, who is a nurse, in middle school for bring your daughter to work day.

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day With my dad at our campsite on our families annual camping trips. Each year our journey varied a little, but it always consisted of weeks on the road camping the five of us.

Camping

My dad, sisters and I at Lake Louise in Canada on one of our family camping adventures. Our favorite place that our trips took us over the years was the Canadian Rockies.

Family Camping Trip Me during swim lessons as a little kid. I jumped in the pool as a toddler and never looked back. Swimming has shaped who I am as a person in every way possible.

Swimming As Child

My senior year of high school I served as co-captain of the Eagan Wildcats swim team. This was one of my favorite traditions prior to the start of our meets, leading the team cheers with my fellow captain. High School Swimming Heading off for one of my yearly backpacking trips with my dad on the Lake Superior Hiking Trail in Northern Minnesota.

Backpacking with Dad

My best friend Katie and I before I left for my senior year homecoming dance. We met through swimming as kids and have been best friends for over half of our lives at this point. Katie and I Scuba diving in the Cayman Islands with my dad. In middle school I got scuba certified which allowed me to join my dad and sister Jessica on scuba diving adventures on our family vacations.

Scuba Diving with my Dad

With my mom and sister Christin at my high swimming school section meet my senior year. This was my last meet I competed in before my paralysis. High School Swimming April 8, 2010

Two years ago, I took my leap of faith. Following my paralysis while I was in the hospital my medical team thought it would be a good idea to try water therapy. At first, I was excited, but then I realized just how different the water was now that I was paralyzed. I remember those first few sessions, trying to connect with the water the way I remembered it to be, but so much had changed it seemed to stem fear and anxiety rather than the comfort and peace I was used to. In all honesty, I never thought I would go back, in fact at one point I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t.

But on April 8, 2008 something felt different and despite being terrified I allowed myself to lean in to that fear for no other reason than because I knew it was what I needed to do. As if a greater force pushed me in that direction.

In the time since that day not only has the water brought me back to life, it saved me. I still have dark days and honestly, I think I always will, regardless of how much time passes. But today, I sit in my little studio apartment and I look at all that has come into my life as a result of that day. For me my swimming has been about so much more than the physical act, it is what allowed me to begin to heal and find my path forward.

Over the past two years I have not only fought my way back to life, but I have thrived. I found the courage to go away to college, swimming for an NCAA Division I program. I made the US National Team just under a year later following my return. I went on to break

countless American and World records. I became a 5-time World Champion this fall and am currently training for my second World Championships as a member of Team USA.

My life looks different than I ever imagined possible and I know that my healing will never end, because I will forever carry that day with me. But today, today I am grateful that two years ago I took a chance and leaned in, because it brought me back to life and taught me what living truly looks like. My parents, sisters and I at the going away party my family threw for me before I moved to North Carolina to go to school and swim at Gardner-Webb University. I had been paralyzed for just under a year when I made my move to the other side of the country.

College Going Away

With my mom and dad at my college conference meet in Atlanta, GA. That meet served as a powerful symbol of moving forward with life following loss. Swim Parents (College) In May of 2009, just a few months after being named to the US National team I broke my first American Record in the 100-yard Butterfly. My family decorated my parents driveway as a surprise for when I returned home.

First American Record

Competing at my college conference meet for Gardner-Webb University in the spring of 2009.

College Swimming In August of 2010 I raced in the Can Am Championships in Edmonton, Canada – this was taken moments before I raced in the 400-meter Freestyle.

Racing

In August of 2010 as my parents and I appeared on the Today Show. It was my first To d a y S h o w time to New York City. At the Can Am Championships in August of 2010 moments after finishing my 400-meter Freestyle and realizing I had just broken a nine-year-old World Record.

World Record

Allowing myself to attempt to take a few strokes as I floated around the therapy pool for water therapy while I was in the hospital in February of 2008.

Water Therapy With my parents and coach, Jimbo in Rio de Janeiro for the 2009 World Championships. This was my first-time representing Team USA internationally.

Parents and Jimbo

Proudly donning gold medals from 2009 World Championships where I became a 5-time World Champion.

World Championships January 21, 2013

Just like that, it has been five years since my paralysis – each year I have made the conscious decision to celebrate all that life has

brought since that day, rather than grieve the loss associated with

it. I will admit, it isn’t always easy - last year was one of the most

challenging years I have faced since 2008. It started with trying to find the words to use as I released my anger and choose

forgiveness for those involved in my paralysis.

As the year went on I faced the excoriating heartbreak that comes with realizing the life you had planned for yourself isn’t

necessarily the direction life takes you. Writing those words,

I feel silly, because obviously I know that – I learned it in the

most real way possible in 2008 on that fateful day. But this year,

it felt different – I watched as my engagement came to an end

and struggled to keep my passion for swimming alive.

Yes, this was the year that I became a Paralympic champion, but all that transpired in London challenged me in ways I never knew

possible. Although, despite it all – somewhere within I was reminded

of everything I have learned these past 5 years and today I sit

here and celebrate, surrounded by my parents and the most

unexpected joy that I have ever known, Jay.

As I sat atop the mountain today before our last run, I felt alive. I looked to the vastness before me and found the beauty that

comes with skiing, the chance to create your own path as you

move down the mountain. In that moment, I was reminded that

everything happens for a reason in this lifetime. My heart will always carry the scars of January 21, 2008 – but that day doesn’t define me. Today I am filled with love, knowing that everything I have traversed has lead me to this moment and for that I am grateful.

At Mammoth Mountain in January of 2013 where I celebrated the 5-year anniversary of my paralysis with Jay and my parents.

Jay and I Relaxing at the Slopes

Jay and I out skiing at Mammoth Mountain on January 21, 2013 (the five- year anniversary of my paralysis).

Jay and I Skiing Winning GOLD in London

Moments after becoming a Paralympic Champion in the 50m Freestyle at the London 2012 Games. My dad was able to catch a quick picture of me before I went into the media tunnel. Pure and utter joy as I realized I choose to not allow the day I was paralyzed to define me, but rather take me to heights I never dreamed possible. Moments after Winning With my parents and sisters after I won Paralympic Gold in the 50m Freestyle at the London 2012 Games. A moment of immense celebration after a journey that started due to unimaginable loss.

Family in London 2012

The image that is still burned into my head as I celebrate how far my world has come following my paralysis. Me, just weeks after becoming paralyzed, when I was still in the hospital and overwhelmed by the uncertainty before me.

Post Paralysis Jay and I when we were working together and just dear friends. I look to this picture and am reminded how life continued to bring us together.

Jay and I

Reflecting at the top of the mountain in Mammoth before taking my final run down on my five- year anniversary of my paralysis. The moment I found the freedom that exists in the ability to carve our own path.

Mountain-Top Skiing September 21, 2015

For years I questioned whether or not I would ever find someone to share this life with. I struggled with the idea that I would ever fully be able to love myself following my injury, let alone find someone else who would truly, unconditionally love me for all I am. With Jay, I have learned that love isn’t despite of, it is all encompassing.

As he kneeled before me yesterday, he shared not only his hopes and desires for our future, but his deep-rooted love for me – one that is all encompassing. In the moments following as we sat on the beach in each other’s arms I found myself thinking back on everything that brought us to that moment, and I realized it was serendipity. The truth is, I never thought that existed until all the sudden, a force larger than myself or Jay, kept bringing our worlds together. ´ e, donning a beautiful engagement This morning, I woke as his fianc

ring and a heart filled with more love than I ever thought possible. Our worlds collided because of a force larger than ourselves, our love grew in throughout the depths of heartbreak and somewhere along the way we realized that all along, here we were. No love is perfect, but I do believe in true love and I know that regardless of what the days ahead bring, together we will withstand, because we have each other. The Proposal

Jay’s proposal in Hilton Head, NC in September of 2015. As we were on vacation with friends, we had planned on doing photos the two of us. What I didn’t know was that Jay had planned a proposal. This was moments after I looked down after seeing the plane flying overhead and found him on one knee before me.

Saying “Yes” The Engagement Begins

Jay planned the entire day, from the photo shoot that we had planned on doing, to the surprise engagement that he planned down to every little detail. It was a day surrounded by so much love as we celebrated a love that had entered our life not by chance, but fate.

Jay and I Seeing my Family

If a surprise proposal wasn’t enough for one day, Jay surprised me by arranging to have my parents come from Minnesota to Hilton Head and following his proposal they surprised me on the beach. It was so fun to share the news with my parents (which they obviously already knew) and show off the beautiful ring that Jay had custom-made.

Sharing with Parents Surrounded by my parents and some of our dearest friends we celebrated with champagne and fireworks on the beach.

Ce le b rati n g To g et h e r

That day, I felt a piece of my heart heal as I found myself wrapped in the love of a man that is more than I could have ever dreamed of.

The Man of My Dreams

June 15, 2020

And just like that, with the click of a button, the full manuscript of LIMITLESS has been submitted to my publisher. This process began with a desire to give January 21, 2008 meaning, to find a greater purpose in a day that caused so much pain and most of all, to honor my eighteen-year-old self.

We all deserve to know we matter, that regardless of what our lifetime brings we aren’t alone, and above all to find the courage to

believe that we are superior to circumstance. As I clicked “send” on my email I felt the depths of years of heartache surface and now here I sit and all I want to do is hug “her” – the version of myself a decade ago that couldn’t seem to find a path forward.

LIMITLESS isn’t about becoming an author, it is about honoring my journey in a way that hopefully allows others to find their truth

within. As I poured my heart into the pages of my manuscript the past handful of months, I buried myself in the pages of my journals – reliving the journey, somedays were therapeutic, others grueling, but above all I found that admits it all, regardless of which way the tides turn, we find our way forward. Today, our world is still filled with uncertainty, pain and heartbreak – but as I read the pages within my journals I was reminded, that within we still have the ability to simultaneously experience joy and love.

In a matter of months, the pages that I sent out to my publisher today, will be shared with the world between two covers. It is my

greatest hope that somewhere within, someone, even if just one person will find the hope they have been searching for and the strength to honor their own journey as they, too, find their own limitless potential within. Sitting in the family room of my home as I turn to what I know best, the black lines within my journal. My husband took this photo in March of 2020 – I was trying to find a way to process everything that was going on in our world as I searched to find the words to continue to write at a time when the world was filled with so much uncertainty.

Writing

Due to COVID we weren’t able to do the cover photoshoot in a studio, so my husband turned our garage into one and my dad took the photo for the cover of LIMITLESS. It was different than how I thought it would be, but that photo is beyond meaningful and carries the Photo Shoot in our Garage heart of what my journey has taught me, the importance of surrounding ourselves with love. As a child my dad told me, “You are the best, you can make a difference and you can change the world.” As a teenager he walked with me into the procedure room the day I was paralyzed, holding my hand throughout the procedure. And in May of 2020 he took the photo for the cover of my book. My husband and I in the comfort of our home as we celebrated this dream coming to life. Sometimes the best moments are the simplest ones – on the couch in our sweats celebrating a journey that started with unimageable heartbreak but brought me here, to the life I am living now. This is a reminder that we are all superior to circumstance and we have a choice in what our future holds.

At Home Together

Writing LIMITLESS meant stopping where inspiration struck, somedays that was in the office, while others it was in the comfort of our bed snuggled up with our dog Sam. This photo was taken as I was finding the courage to put Chapter One together – which was actually one of the last chapters I wrote.

Writing Chapter One Last In the final days before submitting the manuscript I wheeled around the house reading out loud making edits by hand. Our dog, Sam, was always passing alongside me. Throughout the entire process, anytime I wrote he laid right next to me regardless of the time of day.

Final Reviews

When I submitted LIMITLESS to my publisher I facetimed with my co-writer and her young daughter counted me down to hit send as I sat in tears knowing a piece of my heart was going out into this world. I am so grateful my husband captured this moment on video and beyond grateful for Tiffany and all of her unwavering support throughout this process.

H tti in g “S e n d ”