Five years after brutal attack severed her spine, Tracy Otto proudly calls herself a Paralympian

PARIS (AP) — Five years after losing an eye and having her spinal cord severed while being attacked, Tracy Otto smiles as she proudly calls herself a Paralympian.

Otto is competing for the United States in archery and is supported by her boyfriend, Ricky Riessle. They were both violently attacked in bed at Otto's home in Florida by her ex-boyfriend in October 2019. He shot Otto through her left eye with a high-powered pellet gun, punched her repeatedly and knifed the back of her neck. Riessle was also seriously injured.

“I never thought that my life would rise from the ashes as it has. To be on the world stage is such an amazing experience,” the 28-year-old Otto said on Thursday after competing in the women’s individual ranking round as Paralympic events got underway. “I’m just so happy to be here and to be considered a Paralympian.”

Otto took up archery two years after the attack, which she openly talks about because she wants victims of violence to know they are not alone.

“You honestly have to love yourself through it ... and keep going,” Otto said. “Your circumstances don’t define you. You can do anything you set your heart out to do.”

Riessle sat beside Otto as she fired arrows, releasing them through a special device attached to her mouth.

“I have a traditional wrist release, and it has a camera shutter staple that’s connected to it that goes up and around through my hat and drops down in front of my face," she explained. "There’s a close pin apparatus that I bite down on that releases the arrow.”

Morning temperatures in Paris hovered around 21 degrees (70 F) and that made it tougher. Because of her injuries, heat is a major issue and Otto could not sit through all of Wednesday's four-hour opening ceremony.

“I was stabbed in the back and in the neck and it severed my spinal cord and it causes me not to be able to thermal regulate," Otto explained. “I can’t regulate my body temperature at all anymore. Sitting in the sun, my internal temperature goes up and I can’t sweat, so I can’t cool down. When I get too cold I shiver, but my body doesn’t warm up.”

Riessle shielded her with an umbrella and sprayed her face with cool water afterward. Otto has bowel and bladder complications and her brain also does not communicate properly with her body. A minor scratch can trigger off an excessive reaction in her body, increasing blood pressure and leaving her vulnerable to a heart attack.

Riessle's companionship is priceless.

“He is my light. He’s my everything. Without him, I wouldn’t be here. Obviously, my body doesn’t function the way that it used to. After the attack happened and I did a little bit of rehab, I was left at a nursing home (in Chicago) by my family.”

Riessle went to Chicago and took her back to Florida.

“He helps me, not only physically with things that I have to do throughout life, but mentally and emotionally. His support means the absolute world.”

Otto has post-traumatic stress therapy but sport helps.

“Archery is a big outlet for me, it helps me through that a big amount. Just finding ways to cope and surrounding myself with people that love and care about me.”

At a Paris café on Wednesday, she read dozens of cards and letters of support.

“The amount of positivity and love and kindness that everyone was giving can be overwhelming,” she said. "But it was so heart-warming and it really motivated me.”

Riessle saw Otto's motivation when she was lying in hospital.

“She had a smile on her face the second the tubes came out. Just her determination and drive was amazing,” he explained. “She’s my everything.”

He also needs her support.

Riessle was shot twice in the face and stabbed in the back, causing one of his lungs to collapse. He walks freely but has hearing loss in his left ear and night times are difficult.

“I still don’t like to fall asleep, especially in new places," he said. "So I haven’t been sleeping the greatest here. Anytime we travel I’m always on high alert."

Otto’s ex-boyfriend was sentenced to 40 years in jail, and Riessle vividly remembers what happened.

“Being woken up by what I thought was a real gun straight to my face and then to get attacked the way we did ..." Riessle said. "For him to tell us, ‘I’m going to kill you both and then either kill myself or call the police.’

“I say that I’m fine, but I have people tell me that I’m not, that I still need to go to therapy," he added. “If I didn’t walk out of that attack there’s no way I would be here right now.”

On Saturday when Otto competes again, Riessle will be right by her side. ___

AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press