Anneliese Williams participates in a CrossFit session at PUSH 511 in Canton, MD. Her coach, Kevin Carlson, is always thinking of new ways to challenge her during solo and group sessions. He fondly remarks that he can not seem to slow her down.
Sports had always provided a community for Williams, but finding adaptive sports back home is a challenge that has kept her from this feeling of community in recent years. Group sessions twice a week at PUSH 511 has given her a new community in MD she wants to return to when she finishes school.
Williams fills her pill organizer for the week with her morning pills. It can take a lot to manage the symptoms of a rare disease but Williams uses pill organizers to simplify the everyday tasks. This helps her care for both her mental and physical health.
Navigating a world that is frequently not accessible constantly introduces additional challenges for Williams. One incident at an airline caused extensive damage to her wheelchair and after months of waiting and using a loner Williams finally has her new chair delivered to her home in Maryland.
Williams and her friend Annie Brandicourt take their dogs for a walk at the park. Williams always has had a love for the outdoors, but finding places that are designed to be wheelchair accessible poses as a barrier for her to be able to easily enjoy these experiences.
Williams is wheeled through John Hopkins hospital on Orleans St. to undergo an EMG test. During her summer in MD she was in a routine of adaptive CrossFit and trying new adaptive sports but it was interrupted when she started experiencing breathing issues and muscle weakness in her face. After days of waiting for the test doctors hope it will provide answers to William's recent symptoms.
Brandicourt runs down the hospital halls pushing Williams in what has become a sort of tradition for her visits to Williams in the hospital. “It brings a lot of joy because its exhilarating,” Williams says. The joy is not only felt by Brandicourt and Williams but all the onlooking nurses who smile seeing the way in which joy is being created during a challenging time.
Williams family was hundreds of miles away and her friends were out of town for multiple days during her recent hospital stay. She navigated the confusing time on her own with friends providing support from a distance. As she endured many sleepless nights she sought comfort in her stuffed rabbit she lovingly calls Flop.
Williams returns home riding on Brandicourt’s back. During Williams hospital stay she missed all her pets from back home and felt relieved to be back in a comforting place.
Williams tries out her new basketball wheelchair she received through a scholarship. Wheelchair basketball was the first adaptive sport Williams was exposed to and from day one could not get enough of it. The new chair had arrived when she was in the hospital and she was excited to have the chance to try it out after being released.
Kevin Carlson holds Williams steady as she pushes herself during her final CrossFit session in MD for the summer.
Williams dreams up new ways she hopes to utilize the PUSH 511 space to continue challenging herself in her CrossFit journey during a break between sets. PUSH 511 offered a space for community and growth and Williams hopes to return to the gym when she returns to MD.
Williams cooks herself lunch with the company of her cat Neville. Williams has learned to adapt how she approaches daily tasks differently since she started using a wheelchair full-time. It is uncertain if GBS will keep her in a wheelchair the rest of her life but regardless she has learned to adapt and maintain a lot of independence.
Williams and Brandicourt finish packing up the car in the early hours of the morning for Williams departure from MD for the summer. As they say their goodbyes they make promises to see eachother at Christmas and hope Williams will return back to MD permenantly.
