Pushing past injuries

Warning: Undefined array key "url" in /var/www/html/wp-includes/media.php on line 1433

Warning: Undefined array key "descriptor" in /var/www/html/wp-includes/media.php on line 1433

Amputee overcomes obstacles and is determined to reach his goals

It may sound cliché, but it is true – your life can change in the blink of an eye.

Such is true for Jamey Parks. At just 21 years old, Parks, a California native, was hit by a car while walking along a freeway in Santa Barbara Feb. 28, 1999.

Like any other normal young adult, Parks had dreams of playing college football and continuing to surf in California. Instead, he faced a multitude of medical challenges, including being in a coma for five-and-a-half weeks, numerous surgeries, lengthy hospital stays and all the recovery that comes from such an accident. He also underwent cardiac arrest and kidney dialysis while in the hospital and suffered from gangrene.

Because of all the damage done to his left leg after the accident, Parks had no choice but to have it amputated in order to survive. Doctors told his parents he would not be able to walk again, and at worst, he could die.

“I’m not proud of that,” Parks said. “I wish I hadn’t done that to my parents. The worst thing that could happen was getting a phone call from the police at 4 a.m. saying that their son was in an accident and was being rushed to the hospital. Overall though, God’s been good to me.”

Parks said his recovery was a lengthy process.

“I had physical therapy at first (in California) to get myself moving, but nothing with the prosthetic,” Parks said. “I didn’t learn to walk until I came to Virginia.”

According to Parks, he ended up in Lynchburg because of a request from his brother.

“When my brother was stationed at Camp Lejune in North Carolina, he met a Liberty girl and decided to come up and visit her,” Parks said. “He ended up marrying her and moving to Lynchburg. In November 2000, he called me and asked me about moving up here.”

The decision to move to Lynchburg was not an easy one for Parks.

“At first, I was like, ‘What the heck am I doing?’” Parks said. “Leaving mom and dad and my oldest brother and little sister to go with my middle brother. I tried to do something to better myself, because I saw that if I stayed in the situation I was in on the central coast of California, I wouldn’t be in a healthy environment. I wanted to make healthy decisions for myself. I was an adult.”

Upon moving to Virginia, Parks went to American National University — National Business College at the time — received a computer degree and then transferred to Liberty where he earned his bachelor’s in 2004 and his master’s in 2009.

What Parks did not know when he decided to transfer to Liberty was that the decision would have an eternal impact. Within just the first three weeks of his transfer, Parks attended a Bible study and accepted Christ.

“I grew up in a Catholic home and attended Bible studies and things and believed there was one God, one higher power, but I was wrestling with it for a while,” Parks said. “I didn’t want to accept God and just live that life. My mentor, Mike Kelly, kept asking me to accept Christ. When he was out of town, another friend, Steve Powell, held the study and asked me if I wanted to accept Christ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I do.’ It was like he was the right person in the right place at the right time. I accepted Christ on Sept. 12, 2002.”

It was during his time studying at Liberty that Parks was first introduced to competitive paralympic sports. Garretson Gellert, an assistant professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Lynchburg College, recruited Parks for paracanoeing in 2005.

“I worked at the Jamerson YMCA and Dr. Gellert came in to sign up for a family membership,” Parks said. “We had a conversation about rehab after the accident.

Gellert wanted me to try paddling as well as getting adaptive paddling and paracanoe into the Paralympics. He said my physical qualities were perfect for paracanoeing. I have long arms and good height.”

In 2006 and 2008, Parks competed in the World Championships on an outrigger canoe six-person team. His team won gold in 2006 and two silvers in 2008. He took a break from the sport in 2008, but a phone call from Gellert in March changed that.

“He knew competing in the Paralympics was on my bucket list, so I said, ‘Tell me what to do and I’m in,’” Parks said.

To train for the event, Parks lifts weights three to five days a week, swims one day and paddles five. He is determined to make it to the Paralympics.

“I’m in it to win it,” Parks said. “I’m gonna do it through 2016. If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, it was a heck of a ride. I came, I saw, I did the best I could.”

To learn more about Parks’ story, visit his website at youcaring.com/other/sprinting-towards-a-dream or check out his Facebook page, Paracanoe
Paddler-Jamey Parks.