Jeremy Jeffers, 25, has a lot working against him. He lost one leg shortly after birth, and his eyesight degenerated throughout his life, finally leaving him blind. But that doesn’t keep him down. Two months ago, Jeffers met a personal trainer willing to help him overcome his obstacles, and fend off his family history of diabetes, without letting anything stand in his way.
“I am very inspired by Jeremy’s attitude and charisma,” said Devon Redmon, his 24-year-old personal trainer. “He has the heart of a lion and never accepts or seeks out any sympathy or preferences; he just wants to use what he has to the best of his ability, plain and simple.”
He has taken Jeffers from circular walks around an Aviation Park track to strenuous exercise and even a boxing workout that includes sparring.
Jeffers’ health has been challenged from the start. He was born prematurely, and suffered from a condition in which the blood vessels of his retina developed abnormally. At three weeks, he developed a blood clot in his right leg, and it was amputated above the knee.
He had numerous eye surgeries throughout his life, beginning in elementary school. When he graduated from high school, he could still see well enough to cross the stage unaided for his diploma, but by 22 it was hard to navigate even the familiar confines of his home.
Two years ago he was diagnosed with glaucoma, and physicians placed a stint in his eye to drain off excess pressure, but were unable to save his remaining vision.
Jeffers and Redmon met serendipitously at Aviation Park where Jeffers, with a prosthetic leg, walked the track with his wife, Majanaye, a 24-year-old court reporting student. Redmon provided personal training sessions daily at the park and Majanaye had noticed his skill and ability to motivate his students.
Jeffers and his wife walked the track often, but Jeffers wasn’t feeling the burn, and needed something else to keep him fit.
“It’s hard to depend on somebody else,” said Jeffers. “Working out around the track is cool, but not motivating.”
His wife is an active person, but found herself at a crossroads with Jeffers’ workouts.
“I didn’t know what to do to help him work out,” she said.
One day after making the circle, Majanaye approached Redmon and asked him if he had ever trained a person with disabilities.
“Introduce me to him,” Redmon answered. “I love to train anyone who has the desire to work.”
Redmon, the poster child for fitness, wasn’t untouched by tragedy himself. A year ago, after competing for years in martial arts, he herniated two disks in his upper spine, ending his dreams of competing and opening his own Jiu-Jitsu school. Instead, Redmon focused on the things he could do and started to train people who want to get fit.
Jeffers happened into his life at the perfect time.
Even with no experience training people with disabilities, Redmon jumped at the chance to make a difference in Jeffers’ life. He started training him one day a week, but it was soon apparent that if Jeffers wanted to improve and “get a six-pack,” as Jeffers requested, he needed to up the amount of time they spent together. Redmon decided to up his training sessions to five days a week, for free.
“Not because he needs a handout, but just because someone with a story like this, a heart like his, and pure and utter determination like his, deserves someone to aid him with their time,” said Redmon. “I didn’t look at him like a special case.”
“It’s a blessing,” said Majanaye.
Without knowing it, Jeffers has been giving something back to Redmon. He gave him inspiration and courage to move past his own disability and find something he was able to do despite his own injuries. Through his own physical therapy, Redmon realized that he was able to make a standing jump onto an object higher than ever recorded. Unofficially, he can jump from a standing position onto a stack of plywood boxes 58 inches high, and the Guinness Book record for the same event is 56.8 inches. He has contacted representatives from the Guinness Book to record his height.
“Jeremy inspired me to focus on what I could still do, instead of being sad about my own injuries…About a month ago, I decided I wanted to tell Jeremy about how he’s been inspiring me to live up to my full potential with no excuses and no regrets,” said Redmon. “He was rather shocked; he in fact told me that I was inspiring him. We laughed and cried at that moment.”
Jeffers and his wife have both seen improvements in his quality of life. He has started to lose weight and tone up, and his attitude towards working out has changed.
“He’ll be at home in between commercials doing sit-ups and push-ups,” said Majanaye. “He’s become self-motivated. My husband was not a fitness guy, and now he is. There’s room to grow and it’s good to see he really loves this.”
During the workouts, Redmon leads Jeffers around the track by hooking arms together and warning him about obstacles. He carefully explains the workouts from the beginning and helps him along the way. Redmon even decided to teach Jeffers to box.
“To those that can see, they think it’s a limitation – it’s not,” said Jeffers. “He puts the gloves on and we do one-two counts. It’s all about muscle memory; as long as the glove stays in one place we’re good. I’ve learned to push myself past where I thought I could go.”
“On a daily basis people have everything and do nothing with it,” said Redmon. “Working with Jeremy is not just for charity, he has changed my state of mind. We’re pushing each other towards our goals.”
Their work together has drawn attention from a local filmmaker who is working on a documentary project.
