LAKEWOOD — When a devastating sledding crash took away Leeandra Natotschi’s ability to walk, the Platte Valley athlete chose hope and happiness.
It wasn’t an outlook that came immediately to Natotschi, a junior at Platte Valley in Kersey, when she was paralyzed from the mid-chest down in January 2024. But by the time her three-month hospital stint ended, she made a decision: She was going to live her new life in a wheelchair to the fullest.
This school year, she became the manager for Broncos’ softball and basketball teams, sports she played before her spinal cord injury. Then came a leap of faith this spring, when she started throwing shot put and discus for the Broncos’ track team — a new endeavor that culminated at the CHSAA state track and field meet at Jeffco Stadium on Friday.
“The thing that sticks out to me is her resilience,” Platte Valley athletic director Travis Stinar said. “She could’ve just folded, and decided that she didn’t want to be involved in anything. She could’ve pulled back, pulled away from things she loves and the community.
“But she’s taken everything in stride. For a young woman to be able to have the perspective that she has, and to be dealt that challenge, she hasn’t let that define her. She’s defined herself, and she’s become a role model for everybody in our school.”
Natotschi, 16, threw 11 feet, 5 inches in the mixed Special Olympic/Paralympic shot put around midday on Friday, then threw 21 feet, 2 inches in the late afternoon in the mixed Special Olympic/Paralympic discus. Those marks placed her second among female athletes in the shot put and first in the discus amid an overall state meet performance that underscored Natotschi’s refusal to dwell on the snow-day accident that changed her life.
Natotschi was riding an inner tube being towed by an off-road vehicle when she slammed into a wooden post that day. The crash split open her skull, leaving a scar that runs from her left eyebrow up to the back of her head after doctors used 26 staples to mend it back together. She also suffered four fractures in her spine, four fractured ribs and a broken nose.
With those injuries now healed, her focus on Friday was the equipment in her hand, and, as she emphasized, her family cheering her on.
“About the third month in the hospital, I started to be more positive about my situation, thinking that it could’ve been worse and there are people that have it worse than I do,” Natotschi said. “You always have to look for the positives in what you do have, rather than what you don’t have.
“As long as I still have my family in my corner, I have pretty much everything. And I’m still able to do things I love and appreciate, just now in a different way. And maybe, by showing people that I won’t let being in a wheelchair stop me, I’ll influence others who might be in a (similar) situation.”
Natotschi’s peers, coaches and teachers say she’s been doing just that since the day she returned to school last spring.
Her throwing teammate, senior Amalia Ikenouye, said Natotschi’s ever-increasing personal records throughout the season “made athletes around her more motivated to do better for themselves.” The Broncos’ track coach, Julie Thomas, pointed out how the junior “brings an element of optimism” to each practice and meet.
And Natotschi’s PE teacher Shelbi Wagner, who taught her in weight class both semesters this year, recalled the awe she struck into her classmates when she pumped out 111 consecutive push-ups and did multiple one-armed pull-ups at a time.
“I’ve watched her show other kids (those feats), and other kids then try to do what she can do,” Wagner said. “That’s been a really amazing thing, because I don’t know if she thought she could do that — inspire people like she has.”
But Natotschi didn’t achieve that status, or get to Jeffco Stadium, alone.
After her accident, the community of Kersey rallied around her, providing both emotional and financial support.
Platte Valley held a poker night and silent auction to help her family with medical bills. There were contests to raise cash at halftime of basketball games, and the school’s National Honor Society chapter held numerous fundraising events.
The WIN Foundation and the Moser Benefit also funded remodels of the house where she lives with her aunt and uncle. Between the two entities, the house had an elevator installed, an accessible bathroom created and ramp added to the front door, and the basement finished so Natotschi could have her own space.
With the community behind her, Natotschi left the fear of her new life behind.
“In a way, she has a whole different personality from before the accident, and it’s made her stronger,” explained her aunt Roberta Dill. “To see her smile, helps us as her family smile. There’s still days that it’s tough, because you’re thinking, ‘Why did this happen to her?’ But as long as she’s smiling, it gives us the strength to keep going and pushing her as well.”
As a senior next year, Natotschi plans on managing again for the softball and basketball teams and also returning to the track. Further down the road, she’s dreaming bigger, with the career goal of going into criminology or forensics, or possibly becoming a teacher.
Whatever road she takes, it’ll be one filled with determination.
“I’m going to continue to stay positive, keep moving forward and keep surrounding myself with a good support group,” Natotschi said. “I’ll keep looking for the best in things. And if there’s an obstacle, I’ll find another way around it.”
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