LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — Iron Adaptive is empowering athletes with disabilities through training functional movements, fostering community, and building confidence.
"We identified a drop in coverage. When a person has a traumatic life event, insurance says we have so many visits. If you’ve ever been with someone who has had a traumatic life event, those 20 visits don’t begin to unpack who they are," Nicholas Orlando said. "They’ve sort of woken up in this world that's not meant for them. We wanted to bridge the gap between physical therapy discharge and our adaptive life goals.”
Orlando is the head trainer at the gym. He and his wife gave birth to a son with Down syndrome. The couple intends to leave an impression on the community for their son.
"There are 220,000 people in Kansas City living with a disability. They’ve been told their whole lives by doctors, they can’t do this, or they can’t do that. We want to provide hope for them," explained Orlando.
On Wednesday, Iron Adaptive hosted 11 athletes for free fitness training. Each Adaptive Athlete has their own individual disability.
“Disability is new to me. I spent 17 years in the military. I was a very healthy guy." Christ Johnson said. "In January of this year, I developed a blood clotting disorder and lost my leg because of that."
Four days after his blood clot was recognized, doctors began amputating his leg.
"I’ve been on my prosthetic now for a month and a week without crutches," said Johnson. "I was trying to comprehend what it was going to be like living the rest of my life with one leg. It’s why I am thankful for programs like this because it doesn’t have to define my life."
Brandi Fields is the director of marketing for Iron Adaptive. Last year, she suffered multiple gunshot wounds in a domestic dispute while visiting Kansas City.
"I was completely paralyzed from the T6 region which is from the here (breast) down. I couldn’t move or feel anything." She said.
Spending time in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital, six days following her release, she regained feeling in her toes.
"I didn’t take no for an answer.”
The week-long fitness training class offers a twist on standard weight training. A mix of free weights, plyometrics, and cognitive training makes up the multiple-hour circuit.
"At that time I couldn’t see it. There wasn’t a lot of hope. It felt unattainable," explained Johnson. "The reality is fear is very shallow. If you can take that first step, then you’ve already pushed past that fear."
Orlando said, "I don’t really care about the day of the injury or the trauma. I want to focus on the journey back. That’s the part that I’m interested in. Do you have the character, do you have the will, to go through hard times and come out the other side.”
Iron Adaptive partnered this week's training series with Adaptive Training Foundation, in Texas and Fit Truk, a Kansas City-based mobile fitness company.
“I think since my injury I take it one day at a time," said Fields. "I say I lived a good life at 27. My new life started at 28, and I'm on my side quest."
Fields added, "For the first time that I can remember, I’m happy. I started building those connections and getting active again, while not letting this define who I am. Rather, choosing every day, who I’m going to be.”
Iron Adaptive will finish this week's free training sessions through Saturday. For more information on the organization's future programming, click here.
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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.