Golf fanatic Jordan Thomas was simply 16 years outdated in 2005 when a tragic boating accident modified his life endlessly. 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 comparable conditions.
Simply 9 days following his life-altering accident, Jordan Thomas was already specializing in a nonprofit basis to obtain 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 at all times 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. Right now, the Jordan Thomas Basis has gone from strength-to-strength and has supported greater than 200 kids, elevating over $10 million, so as 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 wish to pay for the prosthetics, and they also’ll say issues like, ‘Oh, it’s not medically essential that this baby have a prosthesis to run’. However I can’t consider a extra essential factor in a baby’s life than to have the ability to run as a baby. The impression 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 modifications in political coverage too, to drive monetary assist through laws. “It’s maddening,” he shares. “Insurance coverage firms have to cowl this.”
Jordan Thomas Reclaimed His Bodily and Psychological Well being By way of Golf
To reclaim an necessary 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 secure,” he displays.
Nonetheless, it wouldn’t be lengthy earlier than Thomas was vertical once more. “Finally, we as people have this unbelievable means 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 stability once more.”
Luckily, Thomas did discover his stability, and as soon as he re-mastered his swing, his sport continued to soar. To seek out his golf footing, Thomas explains that he needed to relearn all the pieces 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 excellent his stance.
Now a top-ranked adaptive golfer, Thomas got here fifth total 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 trying to return to the Open after turning 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 sport 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 probabilities. I be ok with the place my sport is, and I hope to have some success.”
Nonetheless, regardless of these hopes of medals, Thomas says that golf is primarily a method for the change-maker to lift consciousness for the important work that the inspiration does to assist people who the monetary firms proceed to let down.
By way of the Jordan Thomas Basis, he’s additionally in a position to create occasions that convey youngsters open air and see what’s attainable when the human spirit is keen. Nonetheless, the athlete explains that offering assist isn’t about essentially creating the following 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 inspiration,” beams Thomas. “She additionally used a prosthetic from the inspiration 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 goal,” says the unassuming hero, proudly. “And I don’t doubt why I exist on this planet.”