Continuous StrengthContinuous Strength
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu Robinson talks with athlete Selena Armitage about growing up with a club foot, developing an opiate addiction, choosing amputation, and finding new strength in running, faith and the Addict II Athlete community. The conversation reflects on pain, self-worth, spiritual nudges and learning to stop settling for less than a healthy life.
1:02:55•14 Jun 2021
Continuous Strength: Selena Armitage’s Grit, Faith and Recovery
Episode Overview
- Chronic pain and repeated surgeries can quietly lead into prescription opiate addiction, especially when emotional pain is left unaddressed.
- Spiritual promptings, or moments of unexpected support, can act as life-saving turning points if someone is willing to respond to them.
- Setting a clear, specific goal – such as completing a 5k – helps build confidence and structure in early recovery, even if it takes years to achieve.
- Learning to advocate for oneself in medical and personal situations is crucial; accepting poor treatment or dismissive answers can prolong suffering.
- Community groups like Addict II Athlete can feel like family, offering rapid support in dark moments and modelling that no one is too old or too broken to start again.
“I walked into his office and said, I want you to amputate my leg so that I can get clean.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol, drugs, and pain? This episode of Addict II Athlete spotlights team member Selena Armitage, whose story blends disability, addiction, faith and sheer stubborn grit into one powerful journey. Born with a severe club foot, Selena spent her childhood in and out of surgery, missing out on sports and feeling like the kid left behind.
As an adult, chronic pain, 25-plus operations and an eventual amputation fed into a ten–year struggle with prescription opiates. She admits, “I loathed myself because of the things I had done,” and explains how painkillers became her way to stay numb inside an unhealthy marriage and emotional turmoil.
Coach Blu Robinson gently steers the conversation as Selena talks about hitting rock bottom with homelessness, begging for somewhere to stay, and being told by rehab staff that without counselling she’d stay stuck in the same cycle.
A pivotal moment comes when her counsellor phones her, unprompted, while she’s sitting in a bar and says, “Wherever you are right now, you’re heading for a really bad situation, so I want you to get in your car and go home.” Selena frames this as a spiritual rescue that pushed her towards change.
She also shares the bold decision to request an elective amputation to break the pain–addiction loop, the terror of going into surgery, and the calm she felt waking up and seeing her leg gone. Later, she finds her voice again by challenging years of medical mistakes with her prosthetic and refusing to “settle” for less than she deserves. Now, at 56, she runs, hikes, supports other amputees and leans on the Addict II Athlete team as her “family”.
For anyone juggling pain, disability, trauma and addiction, her message is simple: set one realistic goal, keep moving forward, and stop putting yourself last. What would your first small step be?
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