Golf fanatic Jordan Thomas was simply 16 years outdated in 2005 when a tragic boating accident modified his life eternally. 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 beneath the knee.
Refusing to be outlined by his incapacity, nevertheless, Thomas not solely returned to the golf course earlier than he might 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 firms.
Now readying for the 2025 U.S Adaptive Open, this extremely inspirational determine talks to M&F about his bodily and psychological restoration by sport, and his unwavering want 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 by way of how we deal with kids with limb loss.”
Regardless of the tragic lack of his personal legs, Thomas says that he all the time understood he was in a state of privilege as a result of his household had been in a position to assist him financially, whereas others who depend on the system are sometimes failed. In the present day, the Jordan Thomas Basis has gone from strength-to-strength and has supported greater than 200 kids, elevating over $10 million, in an effort to present bodily and psychological assist to those that have misplaced limbs.
“Finally, all of it comes right down to insurance coverage firms that don’t cowl prosthetics,” explains Thomas of his motivation. “As a result of on the finish of the day, they don’t need to pay for the prosthetics, and they also’ll say issues like, ‘Oh, it’s not medically obligatory that this baby have a prosthesis to run’. However I can’t consider a extra obligatory factor in a toddler’s life than to have the ability to run as a toddler. The influence 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 firms fail to handle, however he’s additionally calling for adjustments in political coverage too, to drive monetary assist by way of laws. “It’s maddening,” he shares. “Insurance coverage firms have to cowl this.”
Jordan Thomas Reclaimed His Bodily and Psychological Well being By means of Golf
To reclaim an essential a part of his outdated 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 protected,” he displays.
Nonetheless, it wouldn’t be lengthy earlier than Thomas was vertical once more. “Finally, we as people have this unbelievable capability 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.”
Luckily, 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 all the things from strolling the terrain of a golf course on prosthetics to determining his weight distribution when making strokes. To that finish, Thomas used expertise like weighted sensors to excellent his stance.
Now a top-ranked adaptive golfer, Thomas got here fifth general within the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022. Final yr, 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 turning into the primary double amputee ever to qualify for the Tennessee State Beginner.
The Jordan Thomas Basis is Altering Lives
“I’m feeling actually good with the place my recreation is, and I’m really 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 means for the change-maker to boost consciousness for the important work that the muse does to assist those who the monetary firms proceed to let down.
By means of the Jordan Thomas Basis, he’s additionally in a position to create occasions that deliver children outdoor and see what’s doable when the human spirit is prepared. Nonetheless, the athlete explains that offering assist isn’t about essentially creating the subsequent paralympian. “I believe one of the 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 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 grow to be a hero on and off the golf course, and it’s straightforward to see why his mantra of “Press On!” noticed him grow 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.”