University News Last updated 17 February
A BCU Alumna who was paralysed in a ‘freak accident’ in 2013 has opened a fully accessible gym for people with disabilities.
Jennifer Smyth, who graduated from BCU with a BA (Hons) in Product Design in 2019, was a competitive gymnast until she was 16 years old, when she was injured whilst practising for an upcoming competition season.
The alumna, who grew up in Eglinton in Northern Ireland, started gymnastics when she was just four years old, and by the time she was 16, she was excelling as a competitive gymnast.
But whilst practicing a new vault, Jennifer was injured and lost all movement in her arms and couldn’t feel her legs. It was soon revealed that she had broken her neck, leading to immediate paralysis from the chest down.
Jennifer became a full-time wheelchair user with a diagnosis of an incomplete C5/6 quadriplegic and was given the devastating news that she would never walk again.
After spending four weeks in hospital, and a further six months in a rehabilitation hospital, Jennifer was finally discharged and able to go home.
She said: “My whole life revolved around gymnastics. What happened to me was a freak accident, but it did not put me off the sport, and I would hate for my accident to put others off. With my injury, I tend not to dwell on the things I can’t do anymore and instead think of all the things I can do and how I can adapt to.”
In 2022, Jennifer was able to hold a standing position by herself for the first time since the accident, and with the ambition to inspire others that life isn’t over after a spinal cord injury, the alumna temporarily moved to the USA for intense physiotherapy just a year later.
She said: “I was able to get back to North America for more intensive physiotherapy in October 2023. I trained for two hours a day, five days a week. Every session I was out of my wheelchair using various pieces of equipment to strengthen my muscles and remind my body of what it used to do.
“I was able to try out a new piece of equipment at NextStep Orlando Paralysis Recovery Centre called the ‘Ekso Indego’, which is a robotic walking device that enabled me to stand and walk around the gym.
“I also attended NextStep’s annual fundraiser, where I walked down the red carpet with the help from a trainer and an assistive walking device. It was an amazing experience being cheered on and feeling the support from the crowd for people living with paralysis.”
Now, Jennifer wants to help others on their recovery journeys and has opened her very own gym in Northern Ireland.
Jenn’s Gym is a registered charity and the first gym of its kind in Northern Ireland, opened exclusively for the use of people with neurological conditions and disabilities.
She said: “Opening an accessible gym for people with disabilities has been my dream for the past 10 years, but it was only in the last year that the opportunity came up for me to be able to make my dream a reality.
“I had to focus on my own recovery first, enabling me to be at a stage where I could start to help others. Through my own recovery journey and traveling to different rehabilitation centres, I learned of the different pieces of equipment needed to help various disabilities.
“I also wanted the gym to be a charity, as a place like this should be about helping people achieve their goals and not about making a profit. Finding a potential gym space took a few months as I had to find a suitable location that had level access throughout and was within a catchment area of as many people as possible.”
Jenn’s Gym is located in Maydown in Northern Ireland, and features a wide range of specialist equipment, including a NuStep T6 PRO Recumbent Cross Trainer, electric plinths, SCIFIT Arm and Leg Bike, and a Motomed Electric Arm and Leg Bike.
The gym also has a technology room featuring Syrebo Pneumatic Gloves for people with poor hand function. To cater for a range of different abilities, the gym also has a wide range of standard gym equipment which has also been adapted.
Jennifer has big dreams for the gym and hopes that it will build a positive community.
She said: “I am hoping that the gym grows into a positive community of like-minded people who can not only workout together but can also build friendships.
“Having a disability can be isolating at times, so Jenn’s Gym will be a safe space where people can understand each other, spread awareness about different disabilities to others, and make others more aware of what people are capable of.
“A disability shouldn’t stop anyone from doing what they want to do.”
Jenn’s Gym is open now. Find out more about it on the website and follow its progress on Facebook and Instagram.