This Canadian army corporal's Invictus training inspired her to revisit old dreams

Kelly Scanlanhad always planned for a lifetime of service.

"I have police officers in my family, I have firefighters in my family and I kind of wanted to follow in that tradition when I was done with the military," the 26-year-old corporal with the Canadian infantrytold CBC News Friday.

But an injury during pre-deployment training derailedthose dreams for Scanlan, whowill represent Canada in wheelchair tennis, cycling and swimming during the InvictusGames in Toronto.

"I ended up tearing something in my leg," the Milton womanexplained.

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Doctors initially assumed it was a simple injury but the physical challenge of being an infantry soldier inAfghanistan exacerbated the damage, she says. And that ended her dream of working as a first responder after leaving the military.

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"They told me that wasn't an option any more," Scanlantold CBC Toronto.

"I had to get surgery and then do months of rehab and physio and seeing osteopaths," she said, explaining how she became very aware of her physical limitations. Scanlansays she also had to cope with mental health issues after the injury. She took time offand took on modified duty afterwards.

It was only whenshe saw a post on her Facebook timeline about the InvictusGames, something she had never heard of before, that she began revisiting those dreams.

The InvictusGames are a Paralympic-style event for wounded, injured andsick soldiers and former armed services personnelfrom 17 countries. The gamesconsist of 12 adaptive sports, including swimming, wheelchair basketball cycling and sitting volleyball.

The slogan for the games reads: "I am the master of myfate."

Scanlan spoke with Team Canada organizers and decided she wanted to compete.

"When I started training for the InvictusGames, I started noticing that, all these limits I had, I was able to push past them and then I started looking back on all these old goals that I left behind."

So when a posting opened up for a firefighter's jobin Milton, she took a chance.

'Competing against the me that was struggling'

"I jumped on it thinking, 'Maybe I can actually do that,'" she said.

Scanlan is now arecruit-in-training to be a Milton firefighter and is in the process of leaving the military.

"Training for the InvictusGames is absolutely what's preparing me for the physical challenge of a job like that."

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The games, organized by Prince Harry, will run from Sept. 23to Sept. 30in Toronto.

"I'm not really competing against other teams, I'm competing against the me of one year ago. I'm competing against the me that was struggling," Scanlan said.

She says she's determined to defeat the person she once was.

"I look forward to kicking her butt," she said.