MAY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: JAIMIE
April 30, 2020

MAY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: JAIMIE

There are so many people that are different at TITLE, not just me, so many abilities and people with differences on the inside and outside. 

 

TITLE Boxing Club Greensboro owner, Laura Ellison, was working at the club, like any other day, when a young woman walked in and forever changed her perspective on life. 25-year-old Jaimie Jordon, like most patrons that walk through the club doors, was ready to make some life changes and do something for herself. Upon getting Jaimie setup with wraps and gloves, Laura realized her right hand didn’t function quite like her left hand, thus concluding that the typical wrap and glove starter pack would not be best for the newest member of the TITLE Fam. This didn’t stop Laura from finding a way to get Jaimie in front of the bag.

Strong-willed and positive Jaimie has fought her fair share of battles, most of which have to do with her health. She was born with Lymphangioma, a condition that caused a 2-pound cyst to cover the entirety of her breast area and up to her neck, which required immediate removal as a newborn out of fear the cyst would choke her. During the removal process, the doctors had to remove her right breast as well. The condition also caused her right hand to not fully develop and overall limited mobility in both arms and wrists. “The doctors told my mom I would have a low-quality life so my parents made sure to keep me in sports, and made sure I felt as normal as possible,” Jaimie explained. Throughout her childhood and teenage years, Jaimie defied her diagnosis by playing a plethora of competitive sports and even went on to play collegiate level softball.

In 2018, after undergoing a 12-hour procedure, she experienced life-altering complications. It started with shortness of breath, “I turned to my mom and told her I couldn’t breathe and she told me that within seconds my eyes were rolling in the back of my head,” she recalled. Jaimie had a blood clot that resulted in cardiac arrest and was immediately rushed into emergency surgery. More complications ensued during the emergency surgery, as her heart stopped and was unable to be revived for a whopping 15 minutes. “Generally, a person becomes braindead after 10 minutes, so no one knew if I was going to wake up and be braindead or wake up and be Jaimie,” she told us. Jaimie was on life support for 2 weeks after the life-saving surgery and eventually awoke in the hospital with a vigorous road to recovery ahead. Complications resulted in wounds that would end up taking months to heal, which meant the return to normalcy would not be anytime soon. The next year would consist of medications, rehabilitation, learning to dress her wounds, and looking forward to a better tomorrow.

“I needed stress release, I didn’t know if I was depressed or what, I had never felt that way before…ya know you do a lot of thinking in the hospital,” Jaimie recounted her mindset in the months leading up to joining TITLE. Present-day, this girl is a powerhouse of positivity, bravery, and determination. Her athletic nature, coupled with the modifications and accommodations made by TITLE Boxing Club Greensboro, was a recipe for success. Just a little over a year prior, Jaimie was bedridden and now she’s a TITLE regular. “Jamie has obviously never stood down from a challenge so I sure wasn’t going to stop her, I knew I had to help so I gave her a few private training sessions,” club owner, Laura proclaimed.

I’m on a mission to serve everyone I can now, to make modifications where ever I need to so everyone has a chance.

 

Jaimie originally joined TITLE for the exercise but has stayed because of the community of fighters hitting the bag next to her in class, “There are so many people that are different at TITLE, not just me, so many abilities and people with differences on the inside and outside,” she described to us. Members like Jaimie inspire club owners to create an accessible and positive environment for anyone willing to give boxing a chance. “I’m on a mission to serve everyone I can now, to make modifications where ever I need to so everyone has a chance,” Laura told us. Jaimie is one of the thousands of TITLE Fam members across the country that defied her limitations and started punching for the life she wanted. People like her the reason we do what we do.

Keep fighting Jaimie, you got this!

Social distancing feels lonely but there are ways to connect with people outside of hugging them and talking to them in person…get creative.