Business Innovators Radio - Leanne Harrell McCoy REWRITING THE NARRATIVE — HOW A SHATTERED FEMUR TAUGHT ME TO STAND STRONG

Episode Date: June 30, 2026

ABOUT LEANNE HARRELL-MCCOYLeanne Harrell-McCoy is a leader, motivator, and advocate for strength through movement. After shattering her femur in a life-changing accident, she rebuilt her body and mindset, proving that resilience is a choice. She now inspires others to rewrite their narratives and rise with unwavering determination.ALPHA QUEEN REFLECTIONLeanne Harrell-McCoy embodies the Alpha Queen spirit through her fierce resilience and unwavering heart. She did not simply recover — she transformed. Her story reminds us that real power isn’t measured by speed or physical strength, but by belief, persistence, and the decision to rise again. She stands not as the woman who never fell, but as the Queen who rose anyway.Read more: https://www.amazon.com/ALPHA-QUEENS-RISING-Where-Purpose/dp/B0GCVDSRRBWomen Innovators with Tami Patzerhttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/women-innovators-with-tami-patzer/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/leanne-harrell-mccoy-rewriting-the-narrative-how-a-shattered-femur-taught-me-to-stand-strong

Women Innovators. Interviews with women with big messages and big missions, sharing their stories to inspire you to live your passion and step up to make the world a better place. Here's your host, Tammy Patzer. Hi, everyone. This is Dr. Tamara Patzer. And I'm really excited because today I am speaking with Leanne Harrell McCoy. and she is a leader, motivator, an advocate for redefining strength, which is highly evidenced in her chapter in Alpha Queen's Rising.

The chapter is called Rewriding the Narrative, How a Shattered Femer taught me to Stand Strong. Now, many of you, if you've never had any broken bones, you might not relate. but imagine, and we're going to get into the story later, but you can probably imagine what that might take to recover from something like that. And in Leah's chapter, it's a real powerful reminder that strength is not always visible. And I think that that's maybe the most important part of our conversation today is, that Leanne will be able to help us really see what it takes to rebuild from the inside out. So it's not just about recovery from an injury. It's about advocacy, mindset, and choosing your

own narrative when your circumstances try to define you. So we're going to talk about what it really means to rise, as in Alpha Queen Rising, when everything that you relied on has suddenly been taken away. So with that, welcome, Leanne. Thank you. So tell me, in one sentence, if you can, what do you do now that helps others understand strength? And just go ahead and tell us a little bit about what you do in your everyday work life? Sure. So I really have been focused in on working within fitness studios for the last five years. And just recently switched into more of a developmental and training of managers to now take

care of the teams that take care of the studios. So every day I'm working with our managers. We're working on the back end. we're training them to really create this amazing VIP experience each and every time that I guest comes in. So what is your actual business? You own some fitness studios that have a unique twist, right? Yes.

So HotWorks is something that is not only nationwide, but is going global. And we offer working out in infrared saunas. So we're kind of taking fitness to the next level with incorporating the infrared. So it's going to provide you with internal benefits that provide you with results on the outside. So we're talking about yoga, bar, Pilates, all of these things within 125 degrees of infrared heat, rowing, cycling, 15-minute sessions where you are maximizing your calorie burn. So the hot works actually, you said it, it maximizes your calorie burn and then obviously your body is doing all kinds of things in that type of a temperature. How long have you been doing that? Since 2019 is when we invested into it and we opened up our first studio in 2020.

prior to that, I was really devoted to kickboxing. So I started kickboxing in 2011, and that just kind of led me on this fitness journey that turned into a career. So how many studios are you connected with now? We have three locations right now. Well, that's from one to three. But something happened, and I want to go into what happened. with you that gave you this really, I guess it would be an opportunity to really look at your life and what you were doing with your life. So there was a very specific moment in your life that

changed everything. Can you explain what happened that day? Sure. As a mom, as a business owner, we are cramming as much into every single possible moment as we can. And in 2021, one day was just like every other. I was like, I'll get one more load of laundry done before I go to work, grab that basket, quickly turned around and my feet got stuck. And I went falling down onto crashing onto the tile floor. And I'm sure that we can all relate to moments where we fall and we're like, okay, I'm fine. I'm fine. I can't believe it, but I'm okay. Well, this was the one time where I took a deep breath and I said, I'm not okay. And what I didn't know is that actual moment, that actual action really changed the trajectory of who I'm going to be as a leader, as an empowerment advocate, and what I can do to help others in the future. What exactly happened to you that day you turned? And you fell down and then what? I took a deep breath because I heard a popping noise and looked down at my legs and my left one was already twice the size of my right one.

Never being having, never having a significant injury, I thought, well, I probably just dislocated my kneecap. But then when I went to move, I wasn't going anywhere. The pain was excruciating. There was no one home with me. I was yelling for Siri. I don't know where my phone was. She wasn't there to help me. And I realized that I had to somehow get help.

I didn't know it at the time, but I had five spiral fractures. And my femur shattered from my kneecap up. So if you can imagine that was 100% debilitating. I really could barely move. It took me 35 minutes to drag my body across the house 50 feet to get to my laptop. It took every ounce of anything that I could find in my body to do it. Hair was completely drenched in sweat, completely sweat through my clothing, and every time my leg hit the ground, it just shot excruciating pain through my body.

So it took you 35 minutes to get to your laptop and then were you able to get help? What did somebody? What did I do? I emailed. We had one studio at the time and I emailed my employee that was working that day and my husband because I know they both would be checking their emails. And I didn't have my glasses on and I could barely reach my computer. And so what I thought I was typing wasn't exactly what's.

they got and it kind of looked like mumbo jumbo. They both ignored it. I can tell that a substantial amount of time had gone by and looking back, it was about 11 or 12 minutes, which seemed like a lifetime to me. So I emailed them again. And honestly, I don't even know what those words were, but I was like, I fell, my knee is hurt. I need help. And they called each other and my employee was laughing and she's like, do you think someone hacked Ligian's email? And they're like, well, gosh, that maybe and then something clicked with my husband. Neither one of them could get a hold of me and he said I have to go home right now. So he left what he was doing, drove straight home, expecting maybe an intruder or he didn't know what he was walking into, but he was prepared

and he walked in and here I am like slumped over a stool in the kitchen and the moment he walked in, I just started crying and I said, I'm so sorry that I had to call you from work. I don't know what I did to myself. And then it was that exact moment that I said, you can't do anything for me. You have to call 911. It was then that I realized that I wasn't just hurt, that I didn't just you know, have my kneecap go out of place, like legit something was actually really wrong with me. So the simple act of doing laundry turns into a broken. Beamer and you finally get help. Then now here, obviously all of the emergency precautions were taken and everything.

And what did that do to your life? Immediately I called, you know, as soon as I got to the hospital and had some time to realize what had happened, I called my employee and I was like, hey, I'm not going to make it in the rest of the day. I don't know when I'm going to get back. Like the realization of what just happened, it wasn't setting in with me because I have a job. I have duties. I have responsibilities. I have to be there. My employee isn't responsible for my studio. I'm responsible for my studio. And so that day, it really took some time for me to understand, you're not, you're not bouncing back from this tomorrow. You're not going back

into the studio next week. When they told me that you didn't just break your leg, you actually shattered your femur, I started freaking out. I do have a job. I do have responsibilities. I have to be able to get up and do all these things. And what I heard was that you are no weight bearing. You need to stay in your bed for a significant amount of time. You know, you're going to be on medications to help you with the pain. And it was really hard to understand why did this happen? Because this is taking away like my livelihood. And so it wasn't until probably a few months later when I sat down with the doctor and I

said, you know, like let's talk about my progress. I'm still not weight bearing. I'm walking with a walker. Now, I'm at the studio, if you can imagine I got in there when I could, but it was a significant amount of time. But he sat me down and he said, I want you to come to a realization that you may not ever walk again without assistance. And that was the blow.

That was the moment. All I heard was never walk again. And that took away my entire identity. So it was. literally months that you were in the healing process. And it sounds like there was a little bit of denial going on there about your progress. But when you, when that doctor said that to you, you may never walk again. There goes Leanne. Here you are a person running a physical fitness a studio. I mean, think about that. I can imagine that is who you are. And so how long did it take

you from that moment that, that blow of who am I? Who, how am I ever going to be Leanne again? What was that process for you that, where you, it was a wake-up call. that your life had changed and here you are in that moment in time. And how long did it take to get from that moment in time until you had, I guess, accepted the shift and turned it into something bigger than what it was? Sure. Definitely multifaceted there again. I love these questions where they're like, and give me 500 answers.

I will tell you that when I left that doctor's office, it took everything within me to not cry until I made it to the door with my walker, getting to the car. Since it was my left leg, I could drive to use my right foot. But I was crying, like not just tears of, you know,

this is hard information, but like my whole life is changing right before me and I don't know what I'm going to do and I don't know how it's going to, like it just crashed. And I called my husband right there. in the car and I was expecting him to give me comfort for him to tell me everything's going to be okay. We're going to figure out a way. That's who he is. Like that's what I expected to hear from him. And he just sat back and he was silent and I got done talking and he said, yeah. And what are you going to do

about it? Ah, in that moment, it still hits me because I looked at my like mascara stained face, like running running down my face and I was like, you know what? F that doctor, I'm going to learn how to walk again. He said, that's my girl. And that truly was the shift. It was a matter of minutes from you're never going to walk again to I'm going to figure out how. Now the journey wasn't easy. It wasn't just like, oh, I'm going to walk and I'm going to walk tomorrow. It took four months before I started to take some of those first weight bearing steps. And it truly took waking up every day and reminding myself why and why it's important and why I'm going to do this and that I'm going to fight through the pain.

And it took 18 months to get to the point where I feel comfortable walking in most terrains, heels, boots. But, you know, I don't have 100% recovery. But the brilliant part of all of it is that I get to. to walk again and I get to lead my businesses from a different perspective. I always led from, you know, the hustle, the go and how much can you produce and the strength and look what you can do and how to take a step back and, you know, really just be able to empower from the be a force perspective in that it's a choice. It's a choice to do everything that we do.

do every day and to lead with empathy and compassion and help remind them of their why and why they're coming to work every day. So how would you sum up your big why when you, because you said every day, I had to remind myself why? Because you could have just said, okay, whatever. I'll, I'll just, you know, sit here and watch TV all day and and have somebody else run my business. Right. Right? What is the big why? What did you discover was the biggest motivating factor for you? I know at that moment in the laundry room. I heard it not just from the doctor, but I heard it from a nurse that I very easily could not have survived that incident with it being two centimeters from the bone coming through my skin. and no one being home, I could have bled out, which is pretty scary to hear. Or having that fight and that power to drag myself for help, those broken bones could have

severed that major artery that runs through your leg. And I know that I was meant for more. And in order to be more, I had to overcome. And to overcome, I had to be able to walk. So that I think really, I just knew. my time wasn't up yet and I needed to maximize what I could do with the time that I had. Have. I like that.

You are meant for more. And I think that's a huge message that you bring with your chapter in Alpha Queen's Rising and also the whole Alpha Queen's Rising legacy book project. I think all the chapters actually emphasize that no matter what your struggle is, you're meant from more. So today, how many years has it been now since that big, like, what was that moment when, when, like, you know how you said that it took, you had to take the little baby steps, right? to the weight bearing. And then was there like this ultimate graduation moment when all of a sudden you said, oh, my goodness, I can walk and the pain level is not a 10 anymore. Are you still in pain daily?

Or is it now like walking without pain? Or do you have to deal with that even though it's technically healed? Yes. I do not have a 100% healing from it. My leg will bend to about 90%. I have very difficult time running, hopping, skipping, jumping. I could physically do it, but for not for very long and it is extremely painful. When I'm tired, you can see that my walk isn't great.

I do have to think about walking to walk without people noticing. It does cause pain pretty much regularly, but like most people say, with broken bones when it's cold or cold fronts coming in or you know it's going to rain, those kind of things. But I'm reminded daily and I guess sometimes I have to take a step back and say, hey, I do have something that physically like anchors me into. remember why you're doing what you're doing today and setting the intentions of what is it that I want to do today. And so I really, really, really try to take even the worst case scenarios and find that silver lining and say, how can I make this positive? How can I move forward with this in a positive direction? So, yep, I wake up and I struggle to get my leg working. I go and work out and my leg tightens up and cramps and it takes me a moment to get through it.

I can't wear the heels that I wanted to once wear and, you know, be sassy at times. But gosh, what a way to like instantly remind yourself why you're hearing what you're here to do. Yeah, that is interesting to have that a literal reminder, like a physical part of you to say, hey, Leanne, you know, this is the big why. and immediately you can pop into it. And not that that's a good thing, the way it happened, but the way that you see it as a positive. Now, that's what I think makes a difference in how people take these different things into their life. You took it and applied it and turned it into a positive.

And your husband, that day, those words, I mean, think about, the power that him just saying to you, hey, Liam, you know, what are you going to do about that? That is such a powerful thing. And it just proves how another person can make a huge difference in someone else's life just by reminding them about who they are. Like he reminded you of who you are. And it was probably the very reason that he fell in love with you was about that grit, that spunk, that part of you, that that knows the big why inside. Yeah, I, I do. I give him, I give him so much credit because he gave me permission to reclaim my power.

And he knew that. He knew what to say to, to trigger it and reminded me that even though I wasn't in control of my body at that time, I still get to choose my response and my fight for myself. And I'm just so thankful that that's what he said. I mean, at the moment, I was like, I just want to hear it's all okay. And he's like, okay, well, what are you going to do? So yeah, I really, he reminded me that, that, you know, I get to claim my power in the process. I think that's a really powerful statement. Now, I wanted to go back to the Alpha Queen Rising. you wrote your chapter.

Why did you decide to participate in this particular project? I really feel that at times we don't share about our experiences because we're ashamed or we feel like it was a fight that no one wants to hear about, but truly we can learn from others, or we're already fighting a similar fate, a similar. fight and to know that there's somebody who is there has made it through or how they made their decisions or what was their turning points can really help those individuals to do that for themselves because if I hadn't made the choice that I was going to walk again, guess what? I would be sitting on the couch or in a chair and being like, well, this is my life.

This is where I'm at. but someone challenged me, someone gave me that opportunity. Someone reminded me that I got to reclaim that power. And I just felt like I wanted someone to hear my story because maybe it would help them relate and push them to be the best version of themselves. So not only is, are you in the Alpha Queen's Rising book? You're also a speaker at the Alpha Queen's Rising live experience coming up in March, how do you feel about that part of your journey stepping onto the stage?

It's a big one for me. This entire journey, I'm just in awe. And anyone who would know me growing up until I started working out with a real routine at 35 knows me to be quiet, reserved, sitting in the corner, not outreaching to you. I'll be nice. don't, if you come and talk to me, I'm going to be, you know, myself, but I would never. I hated, hated to be on stage. I hated book reports, all those types of things. And I really feel that through the different experiences or obstacles that I have experienced,

that it has pushed me to show me that I am capable of more. And even though it's scary and challenging, that people want to hear your story, people are going to learn from your story and I'm so excited to be in a room of 150 to 200 women supporting women. That is just not something that is easily found, a strong sisterhood, a moment in time that's pivotal, pivotal for you that takes you to your next chapter. And I really feel like this isn't just going to be an inspiring event for people to go to, that there's going to be some activation with individuals who walk in with an open heart and an open mind. That's really beautiful.

So before I let you go, is there anything that you would like to add to the conversation so that someone listening might say, oh, my goodness, you just told me the golden nugget I needed to hear today? I would say as far as being in the Alpha Queen collective and really on my own journey and discovering more about myself, I want to let you know that Alpha Queen is in each and every single one of us. And when you take that stance, it means refusing to allow circumstances to define you. It provides you with the courage to keep moving and facing the pain and choosing yourself over and over again. you can rise. This is not the end of your story. It's just a chapter within your story. And the great news is that you have the pen and you get to write your future. It's not already written for you.

Oh, thank you for that. Can you remind us if somebody wants to reach out to you how they could do that? Oh, absolutely. I am going to be on Instagram, Facebook, as well as LinkedIn. Leanne.herald.m.m.m.lean.org. Everyone, we have been speaking with Leanne, Harold, McCoy, and she is certainly an Alpha Queen Rising. Until next time, this is Dr. Tamara Patser. Thanks for listening. You've been listening to Women Innovators with Tammy Patser. To learn more, please go to womeninnovatorsradio.com. And please do subscribe and share to spread the big messages and big missions to change the world.