Born and raised in Springtown, TX, Lawrence joined the UnitedStates Army as a Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic in 2008. He was initially stationed in South Korea with 2nd Infantry Division and then moved to Fort Hood, TX with the First Cavalry Division. During this time,Lawrence was deployed to Iraq for about a year and was honorably discharged in 2012.
As a civilian, Lawrence used his mechanic experience to become a Heavy Equipment Technician in DFW. On March 29, 2015, while riding his motorcycle, a reckless driver struck Lawrence head-on. Lawrence was thrown into the curb and then launched into a small tree and rolled down the street. Lawrence spent the next month in a medically induced coma during which he had 9 surgeries. One of them was to amputate both legs above his knees. He was on Dialysis and given a 3% chance of survival.
When Lawrence woke up, his first question was “Where is my motorcycle?” Unfortunately, this was the least of his worries. He now had to come to terms with how he was going to live with no legs. This was difficult to digest but Lawrence was thankful to be alive. Knowing his faith in God, he knew he was given a new purpose. Lawrence spent the next 2 months in the hospital recovering and then was off to rehab to gain the strength he needed to return home.
Once released, Lawrence had to figure out what exactly God’s plan was. That’s when a veteran friend gave him a phone number to call. The voice on the other end was the Adaptive TrainingFoundation.When Lawrence met with David for the first time, he was still very atrophied and had a wound vac on his left limb. David did not see someone broken or injured, he saw a man with motivation to take the path God had laid out. This was to become an inspiration to others and motivate them to become the best version of themselves.
After participating in a few classes over a 2-year period of time, Lawrence became a volunteer trainer at the Adaptive Training Foundation. He really enjoys training and giving back to the amputee community. Lawrence is now pursuing his personal training certification to continue his love of fitness.
The Adaptive Training Foundation has been a quintessential part of Lawrence’s fitness goals.This program allowed Lawrence to participate in Wheelchair Basketball, Powerlifting, Wheelchair Rugby, Mono-skiing, Adaptive Snowmobiling, and Para Ice Hockey. Lawrence fell in love with Para Ice Hockey so he joined the Dallas Stars Sled Hockey team. Lawrence’s speed and agility have significantly improved and he is looking forward to the upcoming season to start.
Lawrence has set big goals for himself and hopes to make the Paralympic team in 2022. In the meantime, he will try out annually for the national team.
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