LOCALLY ON NBC BY NISSAN. >>> TWO IS NOT DONE WITH THE ATHLETES. THE PARALYMPICS ARE COMING TO TOWN. >>> ONE COMPETITOR IS 24-YEAR- OLD MORGAN SKIPPY, A CHAMPION FREESTYLE SWIMMER. SHE TOLD WRAL'S BRYAN MIMS HOW SHE FOUND A TERMINATION FROM WHAT SHE LOST. >> SHE COULD SWIM A MILE, FAST. 14 YEARS OLD, MORGAN STICKNEY RANKED IN THE TOP 20 NATIONALLY FOR THE MILE FREESTYLE. SHE WAS AIMING TO SOMEDAY COMPETE IN THE OLYMPICS. >> I WAS ON MY WAY TO MORNING PRACTICE WATCHING AND ALL OF A AND, IT FELT LIKE I STEPPED ON A SHARP ROCK. >> A SMALL BONE NEAR THE BOTTOM OF HER FOOT HAD BECOME BADLY INFLAMED. THE PAIN. >> AFTER EIGHT MONTHS, IT NEVER WENT AWAY. >> IT NEVER WENT AWAY EVEN AFTER SURGERY TO REMOVE THE BONE, BUT SHE NEVER STOPPED SWIMMING. >> I WOULD DO ONE LEG IT STARTS . >> YEARS PAST, DOCTORS KEPT PRESCRIBING HER PAINKILLING MEDICINE. BY THE TIME SHE BEGAN TAKING PREMED CLASSES, THE PAINKILLERS HAD HER IN A FOG. >> I WOULD STUDY 60 TO 80 HOURS A WEEK, I'M NOT EXAGGERATING. I WOULD TAKE THE TEST AND FORGET EVERYTHING BECAUSE OPIOIDS. BONES KEPT DYING AND TISSUE AND THEY HAD NO IDEA WHY. I EVENTUALLY ENDED UP GETTING A BAD INFECTION, AND WE HAD NO OTHER CHOICE TO AMPUTATE THE LEG BELOW THE KNEE. >> THAT WAS IN 2018. MEGAN STICKNEY HAD OLYMPIC DREAMS, ONLY NOW HAVING LOST HER LEFT LEG, SHE BEGAN TRAINING FOR THE PARALYMPICS. SHE BECAME A NATIONAL PARENT SWIMMING CHAMPION. >> I WAS TRAINING FOR TOKYO AT THAT POINT. I HOPPED THREE STEPS AFTER GETTING OUT OF A COLD START AND MY FOOT SHATTERED. >> SHE FELT THE SAME PAIN IN HER LEFT LEG ALL OF THE YEARS BEFORE. DOCTORS DETERMINED SHE HAD A RARE VASCULAR DISEASE THAT DAD IN HER LEG BONES, MAKING THEM SOFT AS MARSHMALLOWS. 17 MONTHS AFTER LOSING HER LEFT LEG, SHE LOST HER RIGHT. >> WHEN I LOST BOTH OF MY LEGS, USED TO TELL MY PARENTS LIKE WHY COULDN'T HAVE I BEEN BORN LIKE THAT, WHY DID I HAVE TO BE BORN LIKE THAT? >> MORGAN STICKNEY QUALIFIED FOR THE TOKYO PARALYMPICS IN 100 METER AND 400 METER FREESTYLE. A YEAR AGO, SHE MOVED TO CARRY FROM HER NATIVE NEW HAMPSHIRE TO TRAIN AT THE TRIANGLE AQUATICS CENTER. >> WENT ON IN THE WATER AND PEOPLE ARE LIKE SHE HAS NO LEGS, LIKE I AM NOT MORGAN THE AMPUTEE, I AM JUST MORGAN. IT IS MY HAPPY PLACE. >> SHE LOST HER LEGS, BUT HER FOUNDATION IS AS STRONG AS EVER . >> I LIVE EVERY SINGLE DAY LIKE I HAVE TO BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE. >> BRYAN MIMS, WRAL NEWS . >> MORGAN, THANK YOU FOR TELLING YOUR STORY. WHAT AN INSPIRATION TO US AND EVERYONE WATCHING, SIMPLY AMAZING. >> IT GETS MORE INSPIRING, RIGHT NOW, SHE IS STUDYING TO BECOME A PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGIST.