Photo By EJ Hersom | Retired Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Ronnie Jimenez, front, races a recumbent bike bicycle...... read more read more
ORLANDO, Fla., May 12, 2016 — For medically retired Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Ronnie Jeffrey Jimenez, competing in the hand cycle H4 disability category time trial and criterium cycling competition was more about finishing than medaling at the 2016 Invictus Games this week at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World here.
More than 500 wounded, ill and injured service members from 14 nations are competing in 10 sporting events, cheered on by family members, friends and other spectators.
Jimenez was accompanied by his wife, Patrice Jimenez; mom, Mary Ann Jimenez; and father, Ronnie Gomez Jimenez, who all wore homemade, red “Team Jimenez” shirts with photos of Ronnie riding his hand cycle. He had a lung biopsy in January, but as soon as the doctors said he could go back to training, he was back in the gym and back on the bike, he said.
Severe Injuries
Jimenez suffered spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injuries during a deployment to a combat zone. It took him years before he admitted to having post-traumatic stress and back issues, he said. His family said that once he did, his smile returned.
“For nine years, I wouldn’t admit I had any problems and wouldn’t talk about it,” Jimenez said. “I didn’t want anybody to know that I was dealing with certain things and couldn’t talk about them. I’d just start crying. I finally came to the reality that with dealing with PTSD -- it’s not an anchor. I went through dark times. I’ve gone through a lot of treatment, and I’m still going through treatment, but it’s nice just being able to smile. The doctors remind me that my smile is contagious.”
“I love when I hear people tell him, ‘I love your smile’ or ‘I love that smile,’ Patrice said. “I love hearing people say that.”
Invictus Games
Jimenez said the race was tough -- faster than he thought it was going to be, but fun. “I looked at my odometer, and it said I did nine miles; it didn’t feel like nine miles,” he said. “When we first started, it was pretty nice, but then the street started heating up, and it started getting a little unbearable. It started getting hot, and I can’t regulate my body temperature.”
Jimenez said he’s enjoyed the camaraderie at the Invictus Games. “It’s been pretty awesome,” he said. “Despite where you’re from or the language, everybody knows everybody. I’ve been talking to a lot of these different guys -- especially the guys from Jordan. We give each other the thumbs-up, and everything’s fine.”
Adaptive sporting events are vital to the recovery of disabled veterans, Jimenez said. “When I first got injured, I didn’t know where I was. I lost my self-identity,” he said. “I didn’t know what direction to go in. It wasn’t until a buddy of mine brought a hand cycle to the hospital and said, ‘Look, the same thing you did with your legs, you can do with your arms,’ and it put a smile on my face, and here I am now.”
Family Support
Having been through so many things -- PTSD, the surgeries, the hospitalizations-- adaptive sports and his family have kept the smile on his face, Jimenez said. “I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things without them,” he said of his family. “They’ve been a big part of my recovery.”
His mother said she’s very proud of him. “With all his injuries and stuff going on with him, he still came out here and crossed that finish line, that’s all I care about,” she said. “He’s just so happy, and it makes us happy. The old Ronnie I knew is coming back.”
Patrice Jimenez said that when her husband is on his bike, it takes him away -- it’s his happy place, and when he’s with athletes from the other countries, it’s like there’s this brotherhood of athletes sharing common injuries and a common hobby. She also said she also enjoyed Britain’s Prince Harry and former President George W. Bush highlighting the importance of invisible wounds such as PTSD in a symposium earlier in the week.
“It’s a serious injury my husband suffers from, and it really knocked him down for a long time,” she said. “He hid from it for years. He also highlighted that you shouldn’t be ashamed. That was beautiful, too.”
She wouldn’t be who she is without her husband, she added. “We make each other stronger,” she said. “We balance each other out.”
Encouraging Others
Jimenez encourages other disabled veterans to give adaptive sports a chance. “You can do anything your heart desires -- anything,” he said. “I wanted to do so many things for so long, but I was afraid to, or just didn’t want to. Now, I couldn’t be any happier.”
Jimenez said he also wants people not to give up. “Despite your injury, disability, sickness, whatever you have, you can still be whole again,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.12.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2016 00:36 |
| Story ID: | 197994 |
| Location: | ORLANDO, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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