{"id":794405,"date":"2019-04-01T21:28:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T03:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/glenwood-springs-gymnast-says-sport-has-saved-her-sanity-and-maybe-her-life\/"},"modified":"2019-04-01T21:28:01","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T03:28:01","slug":"glenwood-springs-gymnast-says-sport-has-saved-her-sanity-and-maybe-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/glenwood-springs-gymnast-says-sport-has-saved-her-sanity-and-maybe-her-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenwood Springs gymnast says sport has saved her sanity, and maybe her life"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.6684881602914\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-363872-351\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Eddie Campos | Juliet Mills of Glenwood Springs competes on the uneven parallel bars during a gymnastics meet at the Gypsum Recreation Center last weekend. It was her home gym comeback, a year after receiving a leukemia diagnosis.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"7.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2.jpg\" alt=\"Juliet Mills of Glenwood Springs competes on the uneven parallel bars during a gymnastics meet at the Gypsum Recreation Center last weekend. It was her home gym comeback, a year after receiving a leukemia diagnosis.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Juliet Mills of Glenwood Springs competes on the uneven parallel bars during a gymnastics meet at the Gypsum Recreation Center last weekend. It was her home gym comeback, a year after receiving a leukemia diagnosis.<\/strong><br \/>Eddie Campos<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Special to The Daily | Juliet Mills launches into her vault during a March 23 home meet. The 17-year-old Glenwood Springs girl trains in Gypsum because it's the closest Excel program at her skill level.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"7\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Juliet Mills launches into her vault during a March 23 home meet. The 17-year-old Glenwood Springs girl trains in Gypsum because it's the closest Excel program at her skill level.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Juliet Mills launches into her vault during a March 23 home meet. The 17-year-old Glenwood Springs girl trains in Gypsum because it&#8217;s the closest Excel program at her skill level.<\/strong><br \/>Special to The Daily<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Special to The Daily | Juliet Mills attacks her balence beam routine in competition last week.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/MtnRecGymnast-VDN-032919-2-2.jpg\" alt=\"Juliet Mills attacks her balence beam routine in competition last week.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Juliet Mills attacks her balence beam routine in competition last week.<\/strong><br \/>Special to The Daily<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/glenwood-springs-gymnast-says-sport-has-saved-her-sanity-and-maybe-her-life\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/glenwood-springs-gymnast-says-sport-has-saved-her-sanity-and-maybe-her-life\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Ever since she found the sport at age 4, gymnastics has been a sanity savior for Juliet McGill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But last year, gymnastics may have actually helped save the 17-year-old Glenwood Springs girl\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI started gymnastics when I was little and I just fell in love with it. I haven\u2019t ever really stopped,\u201d said the Glenwood High School junior. \u201cGymnastics has always been an escape from the real world for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But the real world came crashing into the Gypsum Recreation Center last spring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Becky Johnson, the gymnastics manager for Mountain Recreation, has been coaching McGill for about four years. In the spring of 2018, both athlete and coach noticed something was off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cShe had these bruises that didn\u2019t really go away,\u201d said Johnson, \u201cand it seemed to affect her energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">McGill and her parents decided to have a doctor take a look at the injuries. On April 3, 2018, she was diagnosed with leukemia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe day before I was diagnosed, I came to practice,\u201d McGill said. \u201cThen I spent the whole month of April in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The news came as a huge shock at the gym.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cJuliet texted me and all she said was she wasn\u2019t going to be able to compete for the rest of the season,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThen her next text was that she was at Children\u2019s Hospital and she had been diagnosed with leukemia. I couldn\u2019t believe it. She had just competed a couple of weeks prior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Comeback kid<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For nine months, McGill underwent a course of treatment that concluded in November of last year. During her treatment, Johnson and McGill\u2019s teammates visited and kept in touch. As she grew stronger, McGill would stop by the gym to say \u201chi.\u201d She counted the days until she could return to training.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI am about three or four months into remission now,\u201d McGill said. She knew that she would really feel she had reclaimed her life until she returned to the gym.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIf I don\u2019t go to gymnastics, it just messes with my whole groove,\u201d she said. \u201cI just wanted to exercise and be back with all my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Her doctors didn\u2019t object and her parents supported her decision. Shortly before Christmas, McGill began a comeback that continues to this day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cShe didn\u2019t even think twice. She was like \u2018I want to do this,\u2019\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI tried to make her ease into it and she was good at listening to her body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But Johnson noted that gymnastics is a sport that requires constant training. After losing nine months of training time, getting back to competition fitness was a battle for McGill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt was really hard at first, coming back. I had lost a lot of weight and muscle mass that I had before,\u201d McGill said. \u201cEven some of the basic skills were hard and challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But she gradually built up her stamina and at her first, post-diagnosis meet in Denver two weeks ago, she took first place in vault.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI feel like, not even before long, she was doing the skills she was doing before she was diagnosed,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat was pretty impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Truly committed<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Last weekend marked another big step in her journey when McGill competed in her first home meet since she was diagnosed last spring. McGill is a proud member of the Gypsum Recreation Center\u2019s Excel program Diamond squad. The team took second-place honors at the March 23 competition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While she didn\u2019t place as well in individual events last weekend in Gypsum, McGill said the meet was great nonetheless.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe had a whole cheering section and we got really pumped and had a lot of fun,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Gymnastics is already a tough sport, but in McGill\u2019s case, even simple logistics are a challenge. The Gypsum Recreation Center program is the closest competitive gymnastics option for her, which means she has to travel from her Glenwood Springs home to train.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">McGill demonstrates her gymnastics dedication by traveling to Gypsum to train two to three days a week and then making the trip a fourth day each week to help coach younger gymnasts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cShe is kind of athlete that every team wants,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cJuliet has an amazing leadership ability that she takes on without even thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Now that she is back in the gym, McGill has a clear goal in mind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI am hoping to learn a bunch of new skills over the summer so I can compete at a higher level next year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ultimately, she would like to earn a college gymnastics scholarship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThat girl, when she puts her mind to something, she really works hard at it,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIf that\u2019s her goal, I can see her reaching it. She is a pretty remarkable young woman. I just can\u2019t say enough about her. She is definitely one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/glenwood-springs-gymnast-says-sport-has-saved-her-sanity-and-maybe-her-life\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Juliet Mills of Glenwood Springs competes on the uneven parallel bars during a gymnastics meet at the Gypsum Recreation Center last weekend. It was her home gym comeback, a year after receiving a leukemia diagnosis.Eddie Campos Juliet Mills launches into her vault during a March 23 home meet. The 17-year-old Glenwood Springs girl trains in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-794405","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 06:18:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}