Photo c/o Siale Langi

Siale Langi has devoted his life to serving others. Not even a horrendous life-changing accident could alter his plans. The 30-year-old former BYU discus thrower was hit by a car on the shoulder of a freeway in 2011.

“A 16-year-old lost control of his car and hit me going 75 MPH while I was outside my vehicle,” Langi said.

The hit itself should have instantly killed Langi. He had bleeding in the brain, a broken C1, C2 and C3 vertebrae, a fractured L4, L5 and L6 vertebrae, a shattered pelvis, a crushed tibia and fibula and a calf muscle so demolished that had to be removed.

Photo c/o Siale Langi

Within the first six months after the accident, Langi endured 23 surgeries, including an artery graft that salvaged his right leg. He still can’t feel anything below his knees, but he’s back to both throwing the discuss and helping others by easing their pain.

In fact, he returned to school to study gerontology, so he could open his own franchise in Dallas for senior care.

“It’s because I spent so much time in a skilled nursing facility that things like end-of-life care and hospice interested me.”

Now his world is expanding, as a mental health crisis worker — a position the requires a level head and someone as strong as Langi to shoulder portions of other people’s burdens.

Learning in NYC

Langi’s parents immigrated from Tonga in the 1970s. His father joined the military upon coming to the U.S., so Langi had many childhood homes. However, the one thing that stayed consistent was his interest in sports.

He played played basketball and baseball in high school, but his bread and butter was throwing the discuss and shot put.

He walked-on at BYU in Provo, Utah, to throw discuss and hammer. After a couple years of school, he took a break to enter the Mormon Missionary Program. He served in New York City, where getting someone to sit down to eat a slice of pizza is near impossible, much less convincing someone to pause to talk about his or her faith.

But, that experience helped Langi in his lengthy recovery after the accident.

“Those habits I formed out in New York City kinda helped drive me through my recovery,” he said. “There, I learned how to set small goals, stick to it little-by-little and work through everything. I used the same strategy as I was rehabilitating.”

Life Beyond the Hospital

Photo c/o Siale Langi

Following the devastating accident, Langi was in the ICU for about two months and remained in the hospital or under skilled nursing care for a full year.

Despite being bound to medical supervision, he was looking at life beyond hospital walls.

“While I was in the hospital in 2012 watching the Summer Olympics, I knew I wanted to get back to throwing. Originally, I was planning on just doing seated throws, but once I was discharged, I realized I could probably do more.”

Langi began training on his own, but once he moved from Salt Lake City to Dallas to open the senior care service with his wife, he found the Adaptive Training Foundation (ATF), captained by former NFL linebacker David Vobora.

ATF is inherently designed to get people back on their feet, literally and figuratively. The gym welcomes those who have suffered devastating injuries or illnesses, so they have a place to train like the athletes they are.

Langi found his place right away in ATF’s Reignite Program, which is tailored to train adaptive athletes at the elite level, whether they’re goal is the Paralymic Games or summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro.

‘An Invincible Summer’

Today, Langi competes as an F43 athlete, meaning he has bilateral lower limb impairments and takes on other athletes who fall into the same category.

In fact, he’s the American record-holder in discus and shot put for his Paralympic classification. He also spends time coaching other adaptive throwers.

Photo c/o Siale Langi

As for life outside of sports, Langi, as a crisis worker, is committed to helping others overcome their pain. He’d eventually like to get his masters degree in social work.

“I certainly draw on the mental pain I went through to help me sympathize and understand what other people are going through,” he said.

Then, there’s his deep-seated belief that we all can feel better, no matter our circumstances.

“I think one of the biggest things that has helped me is I came across a quote from Albert Camus, who said, ‘In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.’ I think that idea that whatever circumstances we’re in, there’s something within us always wanting to move forward, get better and progress,” Langi said. “It’s working on silencing everything else around you and giving our desire to feel better more power; letting it grow each and every day.”

Spoken like a true warrior, and a difference maker in the mental health care field.