Golf fanatic Jordan Thomas was simply 16 years previous in 2005 when a tragic boating accident modified his life without end. It was throughout a household scuba diving journey within the Florida Keys that the younger man was dragged into the boat’s highly effective propellers, ensuing within the lack of each of his legs from under the knee.
Refusing to be outlined by his incapacity, nevertheless, Thomas not solely returned to the golf course earlier than he may even stroll with prosthetics, however the tenacious teenager additionally arrange a charitable basis from his hospital mattress, giving himself a brand new life-mission: to assist those that couldn’t afford prosthetics however had been let down by insurance coverage corporations.
Now readying for the 2025 U.S Adaptive Open, this extremely inspirational determine talks to M&F about his bodily and psychological restoration by means of sport, and his unwavering need to assist others in related conditions.
Simply 9 days following his life-altering accident, Jordan Thomas was already specializing in a nonprofit basis to acquire prosthetic limbs for these in want. “I’m a little bit of a disruptor,” he tells M&F. “I believe that the established order is damaged when it comes to how we deal with kids with limb loss.”
Regardless of the tragic lack of his personal legs, Thomas says that he at all times understood he was in a state of privilege as a result of his household had been capable of assist him financially, whereas others who depend on the system are sometimes failed. At present, the Jordan Thomas Basis has gone from strength-to-strength and has supported greater than 200 kids, elevating over $10 million, with a purpose to present bodily and psychological assist to those that have misplaced limbs.
“In the end, all of it comes all the way down to insurance coverage corporations that don’t cowl prosthetics,” explains Thomas of his motivation. “As a result of on the finish of the day, they don’t wish to pay for the prosthetics, and they also’ll say issues like, ‘Oh, it’s not medically mandatory that this baby have a prosthesis to run’. However I can’t consider a extra mandatory factor in a baby’s life than to have the ability to run as a baby. The affect that being sedentary can have on psychological well being, bodily well being, well-being, and social connection is unbelievable,” he says.
So not solely is Thomas engaged in fundraising to plug the gaps that insurance coverage corporations fail to handle, however he’s additionally calling for modifications in political coverage too, to pressure monetary assist by way of laws. “It’s maddening,” he shares. “Insurance coverage corporations must cowl this.”
Jordan Thomas Reclaimed His Bodily and Psychological Well being By Golf
To reclaim an vital a part of his previous life whereas constructing his basis and dealing on his personal psychological well being, Thomas first returned to the golf course in a wheelchair “to get right into a golf cart and simply get pushed round as a result of it’s an area for me that’s acquainted and cozy and secure,” he displays.
Nonetheless, it wouldn’t be lengthy earlier than Thomas was vertical once more. “In the end, we as people have this unbelievable skill to adapt,” he explains. “My accident was on August 16, 2005, and I walked once more on October 14. I imply, I began with simply chipping the golf ball 5 yards as a result of I felt like I used to be on stilts looking for my steadiness once more.”
Fortuitously, Thomas did discover his steadiness, and as soon as he re-mastered his swing, his recreation continued to soar. To search out his golf footing, Thomas explains that he needed to relearn the whole lot from strolling the terrain of a golf course on prosthetics to determining his weight distribution when making strokes. To that finish, Thomas used know-how like weighted sensors to good his stance.
Now a top-ranked adaptive golfer, Thomas got here fifth general within the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022. Final 12 months, he got here second in his impairment class (G3 impairment in each legs), and in 2025 he’s seeking to return to the Open after changing into the primary double amputee ever to qualify for the Tennessee State Novice.
The Jordan Thomas Basis is Altering Lives
“I’m feeling actually good with the place my recreation is, and I’m truly going to DC. Tomorrow, to play the golf course, to take a look at it earlier than the Open kicks off in July,” he tells M&F. “However yeah, I really feel fairly good about my possibilities. I be ok with the place my recreation is, and I hope to have some success.”
Nonetheless, regardless of these hopes of medals, Thomas says that golf is primarily a manner for the change-maker to lift consciousness for the important work that the muse does to assist people who the monetary corporations proceed to let down.
By the Jordan Thomas Basis, he’s additionally capable of create occasions that convey children outdoor and see what’s doable when the human spirit is keen. Nonetheless, the athlete explains that offering assist isn’t about essentially creating the following paralympian. “I believe probably the most highly effective issues that I’m most pleased with is that we had a woman that took step one of her life with a prosthetic that was secured by means of the muse,” beams Thomas. “She additionally used a prosthetic from the muse to stroll throughout her highschool stage.”
There isn’t any doubt that Jordan Thomas has turn out to be a hero on and off the golf course, and it’s straightforward to see why his mantra of “Press On!” noticed him turn out to be nationally acknowledged as a CNN Hero amongst many different well-deserved accolades. “I’ve discovered a function,” says the unassuming hero, proudly. “And I don’t doubt why I exist on this planet.”
