Jeremy Finton knows how difficult it can be to adapt to disability.
After being restricted to a wheelchair after a broken neck in 2001, he found himself unable to walk again, let alone play sports or exercise as before. I remember the early days of walking around.
“I want it to be better for the people behind me,” the 42-year-old said, explaining that 20 years ago it was much harder to find fitness opportunities for people with disabilities.
As a full-time staff member of the Franklin Park Adventure Center at the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, Finton has done her best to achieve that goal.
At Franklin Park, he runs several adaptive sports leagues for people with disabilities, offering therapeutic recreation programs modified to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. He was a volunteer coach at the center since 2013 before he was hired full-time in 2015.
The Franklin Park Adventure Center, behind the Franklin Park Conservatory off West Broad Street, hosts many comprehensive sports leagues, from blind soccer to wheelchair tennis to adaptive marksmanship. Upstairs, there are dozens of adaptive exercise machines for everyone.
“We have at least 120 people here a week,” said Shepard. “And we don’t charge fitness centers. We ask that people get a waiver signed by a doctor.”
work out independently
Max Damron has been attending Franklin Park since he was eight years old.
The 24-year-old, who uses a wheelchair, exercises at the center most days, and his workouts usually start with a 2.5-mile spin in the center’s ground-floor gym, usually around 20-30 laps over an hour. increase. Then he heads upstairs and uses a modified version of his lat pulldown machine that works his back and upper body muscles.
“If you have a disability, this is a great place to exercise,” said Damron. “Everyone is very friendly and will help you get stronger.”
Shepard, who also uses a wheelchair, emphasized that the center emphasizes independence as much as possible.
“With[the lat pulldown machine]you can move your seat so you don’t have to waste energy going from one machine to the next,” he said.
Exercise is very important for people with disabilities because they are much more likely to develop long-term health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease.
“[The reason]is that individuals with disabilities often lack access to facilities, lack mobility and motivation, and lack finances and transportation,” he said. said.
Anyone can work out on the center’s machines Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., Sheppard said. Additional hours are Monday and Wednesday from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM and Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) operates an ADA paratransit service called Mainstream. The service provides a carpool service for people with disabilities and regularly transports center patrons from their homes to Franklin Park via door-to-door service.
Provide access to equipment, sports and identity
Shepard understands that experiencing an injury like paralysis later in life can be tiring to navigate, but being born with a disability is even more difficult and isolated at an early age. I understand that it may cause
“Parents are trying to do the best they can, but they often protect their children in an attempt to protect them,” he said.
As interim director of the center, he has seen the impact of team-building opportunities through recreational leagues on people who grew up with disabilities or were injured later in life.
Finton comes there.
In addition to running practice and coaching recreational leagues for wheelchair rugby, wheelchair boccia (similar to boccia), and various adaptive athletics events at the Franklin Park Center, he also coaches the US Paralympic Boccia team.
“Access to equipment is the biggest barrier,” he said. “Having access to a program that allows us to use the equipment is huge, and we want to make sure that more opportunities are available, along with expertise from trained professionals.”
For Finton and Shepard, it’s about fostering independence in everyone who walks through the doors of Franklin Park, whether they’re soon-to-be Paralympic athletes or exercise room regulars like Damron. I mean
“Ask yourself how do you keep doing what you want to do,” Shepard said. “In order to sustain yourself, you have to keep doing what you love.”
Céilí Doyle is a member of Report for America and covers Ohio’s rural issues for The Dispatch. Your donation, matching our RFA grant, helps her keep writing articles like this. Consider duty-free gifts at https://bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
You can contact her by email. @cadoyle18
