My Story

“Emergency room!”

I seem to often hear that statement screamed in my life. While I tried to keep up with my four older siblings plus their gang of friends, I twice broke my arm and had more stitches than I could count, all before finishing elementary school. By the time I was 21, I nearly sliced off a toe in a lawn mower accident, had a severely dehydrated fall in NYC knocking out two of my teeth and crushing my nose and facial bones, and suffered two significant knee injuries that would stop me from my love of playing basketball.

But that was all nothing compared to what came the early morning of October 9, 2013 as my girlfriend and I slept. They came looking for something we didn’t have but they left with nearly everything of value to us.

They also left me with a .38 bullet exploded into my left side and lodged into my spine.

My legs immediately went out from underneath me. I laid on the floor of the bedroom screaming for them not to hurt my girl. The shock somehow made the smell of gunpowder and blood still unbelievable.

I was rushed to emergency surgery where the doctors opened my abdomen from just below my chest cavity to underneath my belly button and searched to remove all of the fragmented pieces of bullet. During surgery the next day, the neurologist sliced open my back to retrieve the large bullet fragment that was lodged between the bones of my lower vertebrae. He made no promise or even much hope of me ever being able to walk again. My family braced for the worst.

My left leg laid heavy like a log on my hospital bed. Family and physical therapists tried to keep me positive, but my mind couldn’t let me. I asked my girl, “Will you still love me in a wheelchair?”

One day, many days later, I wiggled a toe. We cried and cheered, but I knew that was still not good enough. I needed to keep going.

After many hard days of physical therapy sessions, constant movement, stretching, exercising, being negative, and then being positive, I ditched the wheelchair that I used to get to my classes to finish my Exercise Physiology degree, and then the cane I used to go out and try to regain a normal life, and I was able to walk again. The limp and skinny left leg is still a reminder that while I can walk, that is not my goal. There’s still work to do.

Just walking was never something with which I was satisfied. I was always the guy that was able to do the impossible. From bike riding, skateboarding, and swimming pool flips, to leaping out of the basketball gym and dunking for everyone to see, I would never feel whole again if I didn’t try every day to be better than I was the day before. I believe that I can do this, and all things, through positive thoughts and focused training of my body and mind.

Since then, I graduated with Honors from Barry University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Physiology, went on to intern at the prestigious Performance Compound in Tampa, which trains many elite professional athletes, while studying under Jason Riley, who I owe much credit to my training style. I’ve also implemented a strength and conditioning program for the Seminole High School boys basketball program, and now train all demographics at the YMCA as well as my own personal training business.

Life is a journey, and you never know where it might take you. Please join me on mine as I study and perfect movement and exercise for injury and injury prevention, training for athletes, and for everyone.

Save