After the Gunfire

By Pat Sherwood and Rohan Jones

March 01, 2012

Rohan Jones came to Canada from Jamaica as an angry young man. That got him into trouble when an argument in a bar went bad. He was stabbed twice and shot nine times.

Pat Sherwood met Jones at a Level 1 Trainer Course in Canada and sat down to hear his story.

After the attack, most of Jones’ lower body was affected by the wounds, and he faced a long road back to recovery.

“I was just a 28-year-old guy in half a body,” he said.

Months after the injury, parts of his body started to recover, but he still couldn’t walk. After a period of rehab and reflection, Jones got past that problem, too.

“All these muscles might come back,” Jones thought, and indeed they did even though he was told to accept that he wouldn’t walk again. Small toe movements turned into larger movements, and eventually, a year after the injuries, Jones was on his feet again.

And now he’s doing CrossFit. At the Level 1, he went for his first run since 2005, and he can’t wait to see what CrossFit will do for his body in the future.

“Those natural movements that we’ve done all our lives, that is what’s going to bring me back maybe 70 percent of what I had before. … I’m hoping, on top of using CrossFit for my physical wellness and my mental wellness, I’m hoping that I can use this and pass it on to children, mainly adolescents … that feel as if they have nowhere to turn.”

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Additional reading: Lessons Learned by Pat Sherwood, published Feb. 6, 2012.

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13 Comments on “After the Gunfire”

wrote …

Wow!! thanks for sharing that, both Rohan and Pat. To Rohan keep up the good work mate!

wrote …

Incredible!

Great positive attitude!

wrote …

One inspirational dude!

That would have been a sick cert to attend.

Thanks for sharing!

wrote …

Great story. Thanks for sharing it! Good luck in your future goals Rohan!

wrote …

An amazing story. Trully inspirational. This is what Crossfit is all about... OVERCOMING 'ALL' OBSTACLES.

wrote …

Awesome story!!!

wrote …

I want to wish Rohan the very best in all of his CrossFit endevors. Truly inspiring!!!

wrote …

Fantastic inspirational and humbling story...

Thank you so much for sharing. You are living proof that anything is possible in life if you want it enough

wrote …

Pat and Rohan, thank you so much for sharing a truly inspirational story. Rohan's story hits very close to home for me and highlights just how blessed I was. 3 years ago I was attacked by four individuals with a baseball bat. While my spine was striped with bruises from the bat, and from being kicked and punched, the only major injuries were to my face and head. I took a full blow to the left side of my head, which was basically crushed. I had 23 fractures in my face and still have no feeling in much of the left side of my face. But amazingly I escaped the kind of horrific spinal trauma Rohan experienced. I have always felt blessed just to be alive and now feel even more blessed to have been spared what easily could have been much worse.

I hope we get a chance to catch up with Rohan again and find out how he is doing and how Crossfit has changed his life. It has certainly changed mine.

Thanks again for sharing.

wrote …

crossfit is terrible for you and will ruin your life, you will die from rhabdo, and if you are a woman doing cf you must be on roids, and it is bad

i love reading stories like this. makes me proud to be part of the cf community.

wrote …

Thanks for sharing Rohan, Great job Pat. Rohan is just inspirational.

wrote …

that is awesome, what an insparation guy, shows how powerfull the mind can me

wrote …

Amazing story....