At 27-0 and ranked No. 2 in Rhode Island, West Warwick High School wrestler Leo had his sights set on a state championship and a future as a Division I athlete.

Then, one bad step during practice changed everything.

Leo suffered a catastrophic knee injury, dislocating his knee and tearing his LCL, ACL, PCL, and peroneal nerve. The damage was so extensive that his surgeries had to be performed in stages.

“I knew it was over. I knew I couldn’t compete again,” Leo recalled.

He went from being one of the best wrestlers in the state to being bedridden for six months. His recovery also came during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him isolated from friends and family and unable to work out. He gained 75 pounds.

Then, he met University Orthopedics Physical Therapist **Terry Moreno Toste**.

Becoming an Athlete Again

When his doctor asked if he wanted to begin physical therapy that day, Leo didn’t hesitate.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

That determination would define his recovery.

For two-and-a-half years, Leo came to physical therapy four days a week, with Terry pushing him to regain his strength and mobility. He lost the 75 pounds he had gained and progressed from stretching to running, jogging, jumping, and eventually competing in martial arts.

“I genuinely felt like I was becoming an athlete again,” Leo said.

His recovery wasn’t without another setback. After returning to competitive martial arts, Leo tore the ACL in his opposite knee during a jiu-jitsu tournament, requiring another year of rehabilitation.

Once again, he kept going.

A New Goal: The University Orthopedics 5K

After everything Leo had been through, he and Terry wanted a way to mark just how far he had come.

Leo had never run a 5K.

When he asked Terry if she knew of any races in Rhode Island, she told him about the annual Mark Palumbo Memorial University Orthopedics 5K —and offered to run it with him.

“Let’s go. Sign me up,” Leo responded.

Terry gave him a Couch to 5K training plan, and Leo got to work.

Running a 5K would be a significant accomplishment. Leo continues to live with drop foot as a result of the nerve damage from his original injury and cannot physically lift his foot on his own. He ran wearing a knee brace, ankle brace, and AFO.

But that didn’t stop him from setting a goal: finish the race in under 40 minutes.

He beat it by six.

Leo and Terry crossed the finish line together.

“To do it with Terry means a lot,” Leo said. “It brings me back to this place where I feel like I’m an athlete again, and she’s pushing me as if she was my coach.”

For Terry, it was the culmination of years of work.

“Probably haven’t had a patient that’s worked as hard as him in a long time,” she said. “He just deserved that kind of reward at the end.”

More Than a Finish Line

Today, Leo has completed four years at the University of Rhode Island earning his Bachelor’s Degree in kinesiology, and has landed a job at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

His wrestling career may have ended before he was ready, but his identity as an athlete didn’t.

And he credits Terry with helping him discover what he was still capable of accomplishing.

“If it wasn’t for Terry, I don’t know where I’d be today,” Leo said. “She made me into someone that I didn’t think I would be again.”

His message to the physical therapist who helped him get there says it all:

“You’re my hero. You’re absolutely my rock.”