#21DaysofBestofAll: Scott

Day 1: Join us as we count down to #WorldDownSyndromeDay2018 on 3/21 by celebrating #21DaysofBestofAll! Today, meet Scott from Friends, Fun, & Fitness at On The End CrossFit and CrossFit Pro Vita. Scott’s mom, Anita, writes:

When Scott was born, he had two dislocated knees. A surgeon harvested tendons from his thighs and brought them around his knees to lock them into place, and he finally walked at age four. Then at age eight, he kept falling when he was practicing hard for the 25-meter dash at Special Olympics. The surgeon discovered he had a dislocated hip. That surgery was super hard! He was body-casted for eight weeks. I decided then and there I’d keep him from any running sports. Then his knees popped loose again. We were told to wait and fix those by completely rebuilding them after his growth plates closed. At that point, all I’d let him do is swim. While fixing one knee then the other back to back, he developed pain syndrome and refused to put his feet down, so he used a wheelchair for six months. We had lots of prayer and assistance before he finally walked again.

We then had a wonderful personal assistant, Charlotte, who swam with Scott every day and took him to the gym three days a week. I told her to protect him and keep it simple. He started to buff up a lot and trim down, but we still used a wheelchair for long walks.

Finally, we heard that GiGi’s Playhouse Nashville was teaming up with Ms. Lauren for Friends, Fun, & Fitness at On The CrossFit and then CrossFit Pro Vita. Dare we try this? We did, and it was the beginning of a new life for Scotty. They had him working out hard! Before that, we had gone to Colorado and stayed in the car most of the time. We’d get out every so often and get a photo of him, but I really thought hiking those mountains was completely out of reach for him.

Now suddenly, we were hiking a quarter-mile uphill at Percy Warner Park. Then a half mile, then three-quarters, and then a whole mile! Now we are up to three miles on any terrain!!! Seeing 20 other teens and adults doing so much helped me break out of my panic and let him live! I’m really thankful for all GiGi’s has helped him accomplish and especially for creating this collaboration with CrossFit!

Do you believe in Scott? You can support him through our #Give21 campaign by donating $21 a month to help finance #PurposefulProgramming at GiGi’s Playhouse Nashville in honor of World Down Syndrome Day! To set up a monthly donation, please click below (monthly donations can be discontinued upon request to nashville@gigisplayhouse.org at any time). THANK YOU for helping us continue to change lives and change the way the world views Down syndrome!