A single blow to the head was all it took to end Kellie Fairbanks’ dream of a 2012 Olympic medal. But as a nationally ranked Taekwondo competitor, Fairbanks is used to this.
“Our goal is to kick each other in the head,” she said, “that’s what you want to do and do well.”
What started as an after school activity quickly became a passion. Fairbanks started practicing taekwondo at age 9, and soon earned a reputation for her excellence and commitment. A member of the 2012 U.S. National Taekwondo Team, Fairbanks was also a 2012 U.S. National Collegiate Team Member, Collegiate National Champion, two time National Medalist, Midwest Taekwondo Athlete of the Year, and has earned multiple other state and regional titles.
Taekwondo is a full contact physical sport, so injuries are common. Head injuries are especially common, with 57% of all Taekwondo athletes experiencing some form of one.
Fairbanks had sustained multiple concussions throughout her career (an estimated eight total), but had always managed to recover.
This changed Jan. 13, when she was competing at the 2012 National Taekwondo Team trials.
“I fell from waist height backwards onto my head, knocking myself out briefly,” Fairbanks said.
Still stunned from that blow, she was then kicked in the head less than 15 minutes later by a competitor when she responded slowly during the competition.
Between the double impact in a short time period, and the addition of multiple previous injuries, Fairbanks was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. PCS, historically called shell-shock, encompasses the symptoms a person may experience after a traumatic brain injury; it can last up to a year or longer.
Doctors forbade her from ever reentering the sport, and after a brief period at Hillsdale, she found herself unable to study and made the choice to drop out.
“Being forced to drop out completely was devastating,” Fairbanks said. “Mentally I was a mess. Not only had I lost the sport that I loved so much, but I also struggled with things like simple math, reading, memory loss, emotional instability, and spatial problems.”
Fairbanks had constant headaches every day for four months, and was not allowed to exert herself at all. While visual therapy and work with a neurologist from the University of Michigan are helping her learn to manage better, Fairbanks still feels the repercussions of what happened every day.
However, she remains grateful for what her experiences have taught her: to love others, and empathize with their experiences.
“Everyone has a story,” she said. “People are always suffering more than you think. Listen to them. I feel much more aware of that now, having gone through my own trials.”
Looking back, Fairbanks is grateful for the love and support shown, especially by her mother.
“She never quit on me, she held me accountable and showed me things I could control,” Fairbanks said. “Unconditional love is a humbling thing.”
The post-injury time was equally challenging for Fairbanks’ mother.
“As a parent it was very difficult,” Lisa Fairbanks said. “We saw her grieve deeply; we saw her with the loss of her two main dreams- graduate from Hillsdale and compete at a world level in taekwondo. To have her watch life as she knew it fall away was saddening.”
Both Fairbanks’ parents were heavily involved in her recovery, getting her to various doctor appointments and helping her make daily decisions.
“A large part, too, was helping her through the grieving process: being a listening ear,” Lisa said. “Sometimes it was being tough and reminding her that things could be worse. That was not fun, but it was so important to try to have a good perspective on things. I very much admire her for how she has dealt with all of this.”
As she continues to recover, Kellie Fairbanks has returned to Hillsdale as a part-time student, where she is currently taking one credit in Intro to Firearms. In addition, she is attending Jackson Community College, where she hopes to major in business.
Fairbanks also owns and operates a small grass-fed beef and poultry farm, Weathered Silos, in Hanover, Mich. After graduating, she hopes to expand the farm.
However, despite her new aspirations, Fairbanks’ love for her old sport has not wavered. She does not doubt that she would be trying to compete in the 2016 Olympic games if she could.
“I love to kick people,” she said, “so it’s only natural.”
