West Edmonton fitness community rallies behind woman following double amputation

A west Edmonton fitness community is rallying behind one of their own – after they say 23-year-old Raelyn Janssen had both her legs amputated following a collision last week while she was working her job.

“She comes in after a long landscaping shift, covered in dirt, end of the day, most people would be tired. Rae gets in here and she just kills it in the gym. She was actually training for a wellness competition, her first competition as a bodybuilder,” explained Braeden Miller, the co-owner of the Den Fitness.

Miller visited Janssen in the hospital shortly before speaking to CityNews on Tuesday afternoon.

“To be honest, Raelyn is doing incredible. I don’t know many people that could handle the situation she has, very good spirits. You can tell that she wants to use this to uplift people and have an impact on other people,” explained Miller.

The collision happened in St. Albert, northwest of Edmonton.

RCMP told CityNews that around 2 p.m. on Oct. 29, a white Mazda SUV crashed into the back of a trailer. The driver remained on scene and is cooperating with investigators. Police say they’ve ruled out impaired driving, and no charges have been laid at this time.

In the meantime, Janssen’s fellow gym rats and friends are fundraising for the woman to help offset the costs of her life-altering injury.

“Her house will have to be outfitted. She did end up having her legs amputated. Right now, she has a broken arm too, where she has six screws and a plate in her arm. So at the end of the day, whatever she needs the money for. It’s her’s to use, but I’m assuming it’s going to be a lot of medical stuff to get her back to where she needs to be,” Miller explained.

St. Albert RCMP say they’re looking for any video of the incident that happened Oct. 29 at 2 p.m., near Oakridge Drive and Outlook Place.