28 June 2024
A massive stroke before the age of 40 left former Army avionics technician Adam Jackson completely paralysed down the right side of his body.
He was unable to talk or eat and was told by doctors that he would never walk again. But nobody can tell the husband and father of two what’s possible. Just four years later, not only can he walk, he is competing with a small Aussie contingent at the US Department of Defense’s Warrior Games in Florida.
“I’m trying to show my kids nothing’s really impossible,” Mr Jackson said.
“You’ve just got to try. You can’t give up, you’ve just got to keep pushing and see where it takes you.”
Those four gruelling years of rehabilitation have taken him to the Warrior Games, an event that highlights the exceptional physical skills and mental toughness of wounded, injured and ill serving and former-serving members from US military, along with competitors from Australia.
Wife Kate and daughters Maddy (12) and Layla (10), who travelled with Mr Jackson from the Sunshine Coast, are proudly watching on from the crowd. He is competing in archery, cycling, indoor rowing, sitting volleyball and swimming at the games, which continue until June 30.
“My family have been there from day dot, especially my wife. She’s always been there to support me,” Mr Jackson said.
“I’ve got pictures of my youngest brushing my teeth when I was in hospital.
“They’ve always been there to help me at my lowest point so for them to see some of that care and help that they’ve provided me come to this, for me to compete, it’s really nice.”
On the day of his stroke in 2020, Mr Jackson rose early to go to the gym. He threw on a load of washing, then next thing he was on the floor with no feeling in his right arm. Hearing “some form of groaning”, wife Kate found him on the floor and called the ambulance. It was the start of a months-long hospital journey for Adam and years of rehabilitation.
Unbeknownst to Adam, it was actually his second stroke. The first, a more minor stroke during his first deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, was not diagnosed at the time.
Fast forward to 2024 and the ever-positive sports fan can look back and see all the hard work of the past few years paying off. While he said he was still making “little gains” through rehabilitation, the focus was now on the Warrior Games.
“I don’t need to win to be proud of myself, or my family doesn’t need me to win to be proud,” Mr Jackson said.
“It’s like you see the Olympians. It comes down to sometimes a 10-second race that they’ve been training for all their life.
“It’s a lot of pressure but there’s no pressure on us – apart from our own – to compete or to win anything. It’s just about getting out there and competing and having fun.”
