Jared Lenahan

I'm originally from South Amboy, NJ. Growing up, skateboarding and photography were two of my greatest passions. I then joined the US Navy in 2009 as a FMF Corpsman (field medic for the Marines), Combat Cameraman, and Public Affairs Officer. After 10.5 years in the Navy, I am now a four-time athlete on the US Paraclimbing Team, a Move United Warfighter Ambassador, and a National Ability Center Ambassador. I am currently located in Silver Spring, Maryland and my favorite adaptive activities are Rock Climbing, Hiking, Skateboarding, Mountain Biking, and Photography.

Connect with Jared

@JAREDLENAHAN

Path to the #AdaptiveNation

After deploying to Afghanistan on Provincial Reconstruction Team Uruzgan, I received orders to Naval Hospital Sigonella, Sicily. A September 2014, after working at the hospital for one year, I was rock climbing outside and fell somewhere between 40-60 feet. Italian EMS patched me up, put me on a helicopter, and I spent a week at a Sicilian trauma hospital. After that I spent a couple weeks at a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and then I got sent to Walter Reed for the rest of my recovery. I had a laundry list of injuries, spent 2.5 years in an electric wheelchair, and almost lost my leg multiple times during five different external-fixator placements. After countless surgeries and a five year recovery, I came back to make it onto the US Paraclimbing Team in 2018, 2019, 2021, & 2022.

I am Most Proud of

My recovery. The fall resulted in Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury, a rod placed in my left leg due to femur fracture, my left wrist cannot extend back at all, my right leg is missing calf muscle, & my right tibia has been rebuilt from bone taken from my left hip & iliac crest. I had to regrow the rest of my tibia by making adjustments on an ex-fix with a wrench. I have had to relearn how to walk a few times and my recovery still continues to this day. I am most proud of my ability to persevere.

Goals

My current goals are to make it back onto the US Paraclimbing Team in 2023, to inspire others with disability to make adaptive sports a major part of their lives, and to open Climbable, the world’s first climbing gym tailored to the disabled communities.

Motto

Don’t EVER let anyone else tell you what you’re not capable of. You set your own rules.