When Army veteran Jack DeLeuw lost his ability to walk, his dad stepped in to help adjust to his new life. Now Jack is competing in the 2022 Warrior Games.
Jack DeLeuw joined the United States Army in 2012 when he was just 18 years old. When he was 26, he was involved in a motorcycle accident that shattered his T7 vertebrae and left him paralyzed below the sternum.
Jack credits his dad, Thom DeLeuw, with helping him cope and adjust to his new life after the accident. "My father moved in with me, helped me out a lot with everything; with transportation, with adapting my house, adapting my lifestyle to how I can still do things," Jack explains. His dad's presence was crucial in helping him learn how to return to the things he once loved, such as cycling and archery. "You just got to persevere, you got to not let things get to you as bad and if you love doing something, continue doing it-you just got to find a new way to go about doing it," Jack says.
It's with that perseverance and determination that Jack will be competing in various adaptive sports at the upcoming DOD Warrior Games hosted at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort.