[1] Pennington was diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy at birth (a disease that affects the control, coordination and flexibility in the lower abdomen and leg muscles).
[1][4] She went on to attend university at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado on a pre-med track studying both Biology and Spanish.
She began training with him in Finland, and then sought out another trainer in Seattle, WA who helped her improve at the sport and work towards participating on the U.S. Paracanoe World Cup Team in 2015.
The paralysis eventually dissipated and Pennington reclaimed up to 80% of her strength, despite doctors being unable to discover the root cause.
[4][3] A year prior, Pennington had undergone hip surgery to implant screws in her pelvis and decided to have them removed in July 2009 after this episode.