Meet Adaptive Athlete: Javier Lopez

Growing up in Arlington, Javier Lopez was a huge sports enthusiast. He played soccer his entire childhood and watched every other sport he could. He was also passionate about playing video games with his friends during his youth. 

 

Javier was hanging out at night with a friend driving around when they were involved in a robbery. During the incident, the attacker’s gun went off and struck Javier in the face. He remained conscious through the incident and was aware that upon being hit, he was immediately paralyzed. Javier was rushed to the hospital where he awoke a few days later, surrounded by doctors and family. 

 

After his injury, Javier and his family did research on his injury and started working out at home to slowly regain his strength. Despite having numerous tough days, he stuck with his recovery protocol and has been able to create a healthy routine post injury. 

 

During his time at ATF, Javier hopes to gain more core and overall strength in order to be able to move more on his own and gain independence. Mentally, he aims to push past the negative inner voice when days get hard, and keep chasing after his goals consistently.