Meet Adaptive Athlete: Chris Fugitt

Chris was born and raised in Medina, Ohio and had a hunger for the outdoors and contact sports from an early age. He was drawn to football to keep him out of trouble when he was younger. In his time outside sports he played paintball and staged fake battles with his friends so naturally the military was a logical next step.  

 

Chris enlisted in the Air Force in December of 2006 as a weapons loader. Chris worked at Elgin Air Force Base where he loaded weapons and serviced weapons systems on fighter jets and attack planes. He was deployed to Ballad, Iraq in 2011 for six months. 

 

While in the Air Force, Chris was given medication that caused him to have a severe and almost fatal stroke. The resulting damage left him with a shunt in to equalize brain pressure, an emergency craniotomy, and months of rehab to relearn how to talk, walk, eat, and all other basic functions. Chris returned home, continually making progress with his recovery,  when he was scratched by a cat, causing cat scratch fever and resulting in heart surgery to save his life from the infection.

 

Despite all of this, Chris continued to work for the Air Force and maintain a steady routine of cardiac and stroke rehab. While at ATF, he hopes to learn more mindfulness techniques to help him be present and maintain focus where his feet are.