Impact Story: John Lessard
John Lessard is one of our newest members at the Torigian Family YMCA. John was born with a congenital birth defect, where he was born with only one leg. John taught himself how to run with crutches at around 20 years old and found it was something that he really enjoyed. He was an avid runner until about 15 years ago when he started to have knee issues that left him reliant on a wheelchair. After years of doctor’s visits and surgeries, John finally found a doctor right here in Peabody that successfully operated on his knee and got him out of the wheelchair and back to be able to use his crutches.
John came in for a tour a few months ago to check out what the YMCA had to offer and to see if we would be a good fit for his continued recovery and rehab. During the tour, John could not have been more pleasant and excited to see what the Torigian Family YMCA had to offer in terms of equipment and amenities. He was very surprised to learn that we had an indoor track, and during the tour, he mentioned his love for running and that one of his goals was to run a 5K by the end of the year. What a coincidence. The Torigian LiveStrong 5K takes place at the end of November.
One of John’s admirable strengths includes the drive to do it and do it the right way. He is very courageous, determined and is constantly setting new goals for himself. John is training for the LiveStrong 5K by doing a number of drills, including walking, running, and weight set workouts.
John is now enrolled in our Y Adapt Program, and we will do everything we can to assist John in achieving his goal of running in our LiveStrong 5K Road Race. Come join John and the rest of our LiveStrong runners on November 18th at the Torigian Family YMCA!