When Rome Leykin awoke in a hospital bed in Brooklyn without legs, one of his first thoughts was to reverse time like Dr. Strange from the Avengers.
If Leykin could find a method to turn back time, he would not have had a seizure on a subway station, been struck by a train, sustained a catastrophic brain injury, and had his legs amputated.
In New York City, he would still be a 31-year-old software engineer with a “wonderful existence.”
So, when Leykin, high on powerful painkillers, observed the doorknob in his hospital room, he thought, “This is a joke.” “Yes! This item!”
“I sat there for a while, rotating it back and forth, until I realized that nothing was occurring. Time cannot be turned back,’ “He said to Insider. “Acceptable It is now time to regroup.”
Less than five years later, Leykin has accomplished far more than simply regrouping. He has become an athlete who has competed in marathons and obstacle-course competitions, and his roughly 200,000 TikTok followers find him to be an inspiration. The nickname “Mr. L Train” refers to the subway line on which he was run over in 2018.
On November 6, Leykin will compete in his second New York City marathon, where he wants to qualify for the Boston Marathon by hand-cycling in less than two hours.
Leykin stated, “Last year I was pumping one of my fists in the air while looking directly back at the crowd with tears flowing down my eyes.” While he will be considering the audience this year, he stated, “My hands will be on the wheel and my eyes will be focused.”
Leykin stated that his mental and emotional recuperation was more difficult than his physical.
As a teen, Leykin was diagnosed with epilepsy. The february 2018 seizure he experienced while waiting for the train was his first in years.
Leykin does not recall falling onto the train tracks or being struck. He recalls commuting from Brooklyn to Manhattan as if it were any other day.
Leykin was waiting on the platform about 9:30 a.m. when he “collapsed and fell onto the tracks just as the train was entering the station,” according to a New York Post article from the time. According to the Post, emergency services extracted him from under the train and transported him to a Brooklyn hospital where he was “in severe condition.”
“I didn’t need the doctor to come in and tell me, ‘You don’t have any legs,'” Leykin said when he awoke in the hospital. I knew immediately.
Leykin underwent approximately one year in inpatient rehabilitation and utilized a wheelchair until 2021. According to the Stamford Advocate, he subsequently decided to walk with short prosthesis. Initially, he “fell immediately,” according to Leykin.
“I got up immediately. And I fell. And I immediately stood up. And I fell. Within fifteen to twenty minutes, I was walking without holding onto anything. Yes, I was shorter, but the ability to move freely gave me the ability to live freely.”
A tweet from Rome Leykin (@theninrome).
Leykin told Insider that his recovery from a catastrophic brain injury was more challenging and required more time than adjusting to life as a double amputee.
The damage to his frontal brain, which regulates his emotions, shortened his fuse. “I was quite angry at the people closest to me,” he added. Hormone-balancing medications, such as dopamine and serotonin, have been beneficial.
“Now I feel unstoppable,” Leykin added.
He stated that it took him almost a year to relearn how to read and write, and he still cannot code as effectively as before.
Leykin, who currently resides in Stamford, Connecticut with his family and is on long-term disability, stated, “I have to pivot.” By sharing his story on social media, he is already on the route to becoming a motivational speaker.
“I may not be here in 50 or 100 years, but the inspiration I can bring can be my eternal legacy,” he remarked.
After his mishap, Leykin is embracing his athletic potential.
Leykin currently walks with longer prosthesis and utilizes a wheelchair for certain sports, such as basketball, in addition to his short prostheses. As he did in the previous year’s marathon, he will be hand-cycling in this year’s event. Hand-cycles are primarily three-wheeled, arm-powered bicycles, making them accessible to individuals with little or no leg function.
Before his injury, Leykin stated that he occasionally went to the gym, ran, and participated in a work basketball league, but “not at this level.”
Leykin, on the right, at the 4-mile Achilles Hope & Possibility ride.
Thanks to Roman Leykin
Now, Leykin is sponsored by Achilles International, an organization that links and supports disabled athletes. Through it, Leykin hand-cycles 20 to 30 miles twice each week in locations such as Central Park and has participated in other activities such as the Donut Ride, a three-borough bike tour with stops at doughnut businesses.
Training, he claimed, is “wonderful” because of his adaptive athlete community training partners. “In addition, when riding alone, I experience the rush of speed once more. I enjoy speed.”
Leykin stated that he hopes to compete in all six of the world’s most prestigious marathons, including New York, London, and Tokyo, and earn the Six Star finisher award. Moreover, he may not be riding a bicycle for some of the remaining individuals.
He stated, “Pretty soon I’ll be jogging.” That will be an exciting voyage to follow.