Keeping it real: Rylee’s story

October 25, 2024
Published by Phonak Team

Rylee Foster never expected to walk again, let alone return to the top women’s professional football (soccer) league in England. The Canadian goalkeeper admits that her long recovery from a near-fatal car accident three years ago was “unheard of” – yet here she is, back on the pitch, one step closer to pursuing a law degree, and more honest than ever about her challenges and choices. Because that’s the only way she knows how to be.

Rylee grew up in a communicative, close-knit family. She also grew up hearing-impaired, though has been spared the severe hearing loss affecting her mother and sister. Still, she watched her mother push herself to thrive in a career that depended on her ability to connect with people. As Rylee finds her own ways to make impact, she credits her grit to her upbringing, the accident and a city close to her heart.

In a conversation with Team Phonak, Rylee delved into her experiences and the lessons she believes have helped her – and can help others – keep moving forward. Our exchange has been edited for clarity and length.

Stay true.

I don’t think I will ever waver from who I am as a person. I've always been the kind of character who says it how it is. I was taught from the get-go that being authentic and not hiding anything is probably the best way to go – and I've learned that it can have a positive effect on others. After the accident, I was in the public eye all the time. At first, I didn't know how to handle it. But there was an element of wanting to regain some control and tell my own story. I knew that I had been given an opportunity to change the direction of my life and embrace the moment. Because I literally saw how fast life can be taken away from you.

It's a choice to embrace the true, authentic version of yourself. There are going to be hard days. You're going to face battles, and sometimes you’re going to fail. In my realm, there will be games I want to play, when I think I should play, but I won’t be able to. Yeah, I'm going to be knocked down a bit, but I’m not going to let that affect my performance at training. I'm still a team player, and I have to do my job and turn it into an opportunity. Use that fire to try to prove the coaches wrong – and show myself that I am good enough to be here.

Keep going.

While everyone says that I’m always so positive and happy, that’s not true. But I think there is a choice we make every single day. I choose to say: It's a new day. Whatever happened yesterday, I can't fix it. I can't go back and rewrite history. I can't control the fact that I got in a car accident. But what I can control is my perspective on my recovery, what I'm going to do with what happened – positive, negative, neutral – and what I do to move forward. I don't think I've ever really hidden from the realities of my accident, my mental health or my hearing.

You know, I grew up not understanding everything being said, and people would make comments. I didn’t feel like I could say anything back. But after the accident, I was like, I went through a windshield and survived. Now I’m more open about my hearing because it makes me who I am. I've been able to cope with it quite well, but that’s because I spend every day focusing on reading lips and really narrowing in on the conversation. And then I go home completely knackered! So I try to be transparent about my experiences and what I'm going through – on all fronts – to help other people not feel as alone. And no matter how I’m feeling, I'm not going to deflect that onto other people because it’s not someone else's battle. The battle is my own.

Find community.

I used to be quite introverted, which I think was due to my hearing and being less able to really embrace a connection with people. But I took myself out of my comfort zone when I moved to Liverpool and stayed there during my recovery. My first professional opportunity was in Liverpool, where my late grandparents were born and raised. They spoke so highly of the people, the architecture and the clubs. So as a little girl in Canada, I dreamed about being in Liverpool. I had Liverpool FC bedding and things on the wall – I was that kid! And I knew I wanted to experience what my grandparents had.

When I stayed in Liverpool after the accident, I think I felt an obligation to support my team and give back to the people who had supported me every weekend. It was hard being away from family. But being part of that community was so helpful, just having that physical connection with the people who have had so much influence on my life. And sometimes, I will meet a person, maybe on the street or randomly, who is just so bright and vibrant and positive. And I will think, Wow, you get it. Because I know they’re probably going through something – everyone is. But they still go out of their way to try to have a positive effect and make a difference. So all these relationships I have built and keep building are the backbone of why I am still here.

Act.

For one, I don’t think there’s enough being done for the deaf community, especially in sports, in terms of awareness and acceptance. When it comes to disabilities that are not so visible, there's not a lot being spoken about. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean there isn’t some kind of struggle. And we have to learn to live with our disabilities in the workplace, on the soccer pitch, everywhere. This is why I want to be able to create a safe place for kids who are aspiring to any profession so that they have someone to look up to, count on and get guidance from. And I want to educate people who are less affected by disabilities of any sort.

When I was recovering from my accident, I also decided to start studying for the LSAT to get my law degree. I’m very proud that I placed in the top 15 percent – even though I studied and took the exam with a brain injury – and can now pursue the degree. I’m especially interested in international business and contractual law because I think it's really important for players or any other talent, like musicians, to have representation to support their medical and emotional well-being. I know from my own experience that you’re expected to be performing at 100%. Every single day is a tryout. Every single day is your World Cup. And if you don’t perform, the ramifications are massive.

There are mental-health implications of dealing with that kind of pressure. It's just the reality of being a professional athlete. And then, of course, there’s my situation and the need to live up to certain expectations. Since I’ve always been open and have spoken about mental health, I think my honesty and interest in law go hand in hand. I know it’s important to be kind and gentle with myself – but also look at ways to really make a difference.

Rylee wears Phonak Audéo Lumity hearing aids.