From Paralysis to Possibility: How Adaptive Sports Helped Me Rediscover Adventure

Growing up, I was always on the wilder, more adventurous side. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always liked pushing the envelope. Before I was two years old, I learned to ride my bike without training wheels.

One day, I asked my parents to take them off for me. They laughed and said I needed them and I wasn’t ready. I persisted, and they did it to prove me wrong. To their surprise, I took off on my bike with no training wheels all on my own. They were shocked.

Prior to my injury, I did more of the extreme activities. I surfed, rode dirt bikes, skateboarded, and rode BMX bikes. I enjoyed activities that were exciting and a little dangerous. I liked the feeling I got from adrenaline rushes. Then in 2010, my accident happened, and my life was turned upside down. I was diagnosed as a quadriplegic, and life as I knew it was over. No more riding dirt bikes, surfing, skateboarding, or having fun.

The rest of my life was going to be boring and meaningless, or so I thought. As a kid, I always told myself one day I would go skydiving, but now being, a quadriplegic, I accepted that would never happen. It took a few years after my accident for me to be open to trying adaptive sports/activities.

My mindset was if I couldn’t do it able-bodied, I didn’t want to do it at all because it’s not the same.

However, that mindset changed overtime. The first sport I did after my injury was adaptive surfing through an organization called Life Rolls On. This was extra special for me because I surfed prior to my accident and broke my neck diving into a wave at the beach.

Now here I am going back into the ocean doing something I didn’t think I would ever do again. It was a great experience, and for the first time since my injury, I felt alive again. This experience scared me, but it also pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and made me realize life can still be exciting even being paralyzed. 

For my 25^th birthday, I decided to do something I had always told myself I would do: go skydiving. I did some research and found out that whether you are able-bodied or paralyzed, you get strapped to a person, and that this was something I could do. I was excited and terrified at the same time because now I had no excuse. I pulled the trigger and did it.

That was six years ago, and to this day, it is still one of the best experiences of my life.

Last year, I had another opportunity to do something I never thought possible: adaptive scuba diving. I came across an organization called Diveheart, and they take people with disabilities scuba diving. I signed up and got to experience what it was like to breathe underwater. They did it in a deep pool, not the ocean. They will take you in the ocean, but you have to get certified first. It was another amazing experience that pushed me outside my comfort zone.

Recently I went down to San Diego, California to do adaptive paragliding, yes paragliding! It was surreal flying around the coast of the San Diego beach. This was through an organization called Adaptive Impact.

When I was first injured, I truly believed my life was over and that I would never get to do extreme activities again. Doubt and hopelessness can creep in, and we start to believe it. Don’t let this hold you back. There are so many organizations out there that offer amazing adaptive sports/adventures.

I would encourage you to do something that feels scary and outside of your comfort zone. There is no better feeling than some adrenaline and truly feeling alive.