Thorne suffers brain injury on American Ninja Warrior course, rehabbing at Madonna

A Lincoln woman has been making her mark on American Ninja Warrior for five seasons, but on Monday, an episode aired that presented Maggi Thorne’s with an unforeseen obstacle.

For the past two months, Thorne has found herself in hours of therapy trying to get herself back to who she was before she suffered a concussion on the American Ninja Warrior course.

During the current season of the NBC show, Thorne found herself navigating her way through the Oklahoma City finals course.

However, during the episode that aired Monday, Thorne lost her footing and suffered a concussion.

"I took a spill on the balance. I was in a full sprint, faceplanted on what's called the surfboards," Thorne said.

The fall resulted in a mild traumatic brain injury, and Thorne doesn’t remember what happened next.

However, she was able to finish the race.

"I remember being on the starting line and being at home in Lincoln, Nebraska,” she said. “It was such a level of disorientation... didn't feel good.. was taken to the ER, had to have somebody else drive me and my kids home because I was not ok in any sense."

Thorne has been rehabbing at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.

She is using physical therapy to regain her balance and speech therapy for cognitive learning skills.

"Basically starting at ground zero figuring out how to do life normally after a brain injury. It's been amazing to see the progress," Thorne said.

There is no timetable on when Thorne, who ran track for the University of Nebraska, may return to full strength.

"She carries a lot on her plate, but she keeps at those exercises, and she stays so dedicated to make sure she's here and that she's working as hard as she absolutely can," said Sara Lockard, a Neurophysical Therapist at Madonna.

Thorne said she hasn’t dealt with many injuries before and isn’t sure if she will compete again.

Right now, she said she is focused on one thing.

"This has been extremely life-changing, she said. “I'm not the person who I was before ninja warrior, but I know I will be again."