Promoting Fitness For People With Physical Disabilities
I just read an article about promoting fitness for people with physical disabilities, the article was centered around a guy by the name of Jeremy Jeffers who had his leg amputated at 3 weeks old and on top of that two years ago he also lost his sight.
The article went on to explain how Jeffers has been handling the challenges that opposes his efforts to maintain his fitness level while promoting fitness for people with physical disabilities.
Here is an excerpt of that article
Promoting Fitness For People With Physical Disabilities
Jeffers has struggled to find the fitness resources to meet his physical disabilities.
Now, engaging in a workout regimen that goes far beyond lapping the track, Jeffers is running the 100-meter dash and participating in a daily boxing routine under the direction of personal trainer Devon Redmon.
The duo, who met two months ago at Aviation Park in Redondo Beach during one of Redmon’s personal training sessions, said they found inspiration in each other and have since formed a relationship based on motivation.
“I saw myself in Jeremy,” said Redmon, who trains Jeffers five times a week for free. “He has so much to offer the world and I wanted to give my time to him.”
Born premature, Jeffers, a 25-year-old Los Angeles native, has faced many physical obstacles throughout his life. He grew up with a prosthesis following the amputation of his right leg after he developed a severe blood clot.
And Jeffers was born blind in his left eye, having developed a severe case of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) – an eye disease consisting of a disorganized growth of blood vessels, which causes scarring and, in some cases, a detached retina that leads to blindness.
He underwent many eye surgeries after developing cataracts as a teenager, but at age 22 Jeffers lost what little vision remained in his right eye to glaucoma.
“I was once insecure about my conditions,” said Jeffers. “But now that I am working out I am confident about who I am and what I do. Finally, I can be the person I really am and forget about the perception.”
But as Jeffers can attest, finding suitable fitness programs can be frustrating for people with disabilities such as his.
“Many people with a prosthesis face a challenge to be able to participate in some activities because they might not be as agile depending on the location of the amputation,” said Mark Suarkeo, a senior prosthetist and orthotist at UCLA Health System who focused his undergraduate studies in kinesiology and exercise science.
“And therefore they are limited, compared to people without.”
I found this article to be very inspiring, I really hope it has the same effect on you as it did on me.
Please comment on the article and let me know what you think about promoting fitness for people with physical disabilities.