MITCHELL Cassie

Classification
T51, F51 (IPC, 19 Feb 2021)

Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries, Vision impairment (cassie-mitchell.com, 23 Jun 2015)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (cassie-mitchell.com, 23 Jun 2015)

Impairment Details
She has quadriplegia and a vision impairment after developing neuromyelitis optica [Devic's disease] following an allergic reaction at her high school graduation at age 18. She is completely paralysed from the chest down, has an impairment to her arms, wrists and hands, and has permanent double vision. (nique.net, 14 Oct 2016; cassie-mitchell.com, 23 Jun 2015)

General
LEUKAEMIA
In 2016 she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, a form of bone marrow cancer. She still went on to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where she won two medals. "I am hoping that it will be an inspiration to other people whatever your obstacles are that if you have faith, you can persevere and overcome." (SportsDeskOnline, 23 Oct 2019; dailymail.co.uk, 14 Sep 2016; news.emory.edu, 07 Sep 2016)

LONDON RESILIENCE
She made the US Para athletics team for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London after she was not selected for the Para cycling team. "In 2011 I was the [Para cycling] world champion in my division, the first quadriplegic female to be a world champion. I thought everything was on track to do cycling in London, but when it came to actually select the team I was not named. I don't really know why. So, five days later, I went and qualified for the track team. I went to London in what I considered to be my B sport." (newsok.com, 13 Jul 2013)

OCCUPATION
She works as an assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, United States of America. (bme.gatech.edu, 13 Sep 2019)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She studied medicine at graduate school at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University's joint facility in Atlanta, United States of America. She has also completed a doctorate in neuroengineering. (cassie-mitchell.com, 23 Jun 2015)