DJ Gregory – A Success Story
As the father of a special needs son the prism I watched this video through may be quite different from yours, but I hope you find it as uplifting as I did.
DJ is a great young man that has taught a lot of folks a valuable lesson about perseverance. His passion and determination are inspirational and surely his mom and dad are exceptionally proud of him.
Enjoy! Part one is 4:47
Part two is 7:36
Hello. My name is D.J. Gregory and I would like to welcome you to my journey. I am 30 years old and was born with cerebral palsy. Due to my disability, I walk with the aid of a cane. During the 2008 PGA TOUR season, I will be traveling for 45 weeks and attending 44 events on the schedule. Each week, I will choose one professional to follow and I will chronicle my experiences while walking the course with him during each round of competition. Along the way, I will also have the opportunity to speak with fans and volunteers.
This journey has been a lifelong dream of mine and this opportunity would not be possible without the generous support of the PGA TOUR, ACCUSPLIT, Southwest Airlines, Ashworth, FootJoy and tournament staff at each venue. I am excited to share my experiences with you and I hope you will check PGATOUR.com often and share in my year-long adventure.
Hi!
I was forwarded this wonderful video today by a church brother who no doubt thought of me when he saw it. What I’ve been thinking is how I’m gonna get DJ’s email address so i can ask him about his ‘swing’!
I was a 49 year old former golf nut and 35 year guitarist when on Oct 13th at 6 a.m. in 2003 Mr. Stroke decided to wake me up and my left leg and arm/hand have been immobile ever since.
Oddly I had just played my 43rd round of golf on a 27 hole bender the day before my stroke… make no mistake I wasn’t any good at it and played with a 25 handicap but no one was crazier for the game than me (or possibly DJ).
I have been returning over the last 3 years to “my” course where the very decent owner seldom lets me pay for my 9 holes. 9 is all I can handle now, getting in and out of the cart is what mostly wears me out. Probably due to the oddities of stroke damage to the brain, I do walk on with quite a bit of pain often very bad in the foot, knee and hip. Possibly related to the almost nil level of physical therapy my insurance would cover.
I emphatically want to say i am in no way trying to paint a more troubling picture than DJ has fought through only that every stroke survivor has different subtleties to fight and that DJ’s story is one that has charged me with a drive to get as far up in the saddle as I can!
I cannot walk at DJ’s speed with my quad cane so I must drive a cart around the course. And did he say 105-115 sucked? For 18 swinging one handed that is fantastic!! I can’t get below 85 for 9 swinging one handed and would love to hear from him what specific little things he has done to get as much air under the ball as he does.
To anyone who reads my thoughts, may God bless you all with his grace! As much as I have been blessed in my life…, I’ve had 49 years with no illness of any kind and several good years as a dad and grandpa before my incident, was never without a warm home and full belly and I had a blessed childhood in the 60′s with more plenty than a majority in the world can even imagine. Even now as I can walk with a cane and drive a car I see other stroke survivors who are completely immobile unable to speak, etc.
Golf courses are some of the most wonderful idyllic places one can find at 7:30 in the morning so the score isn’t even the important factor, but I would love to learn DJ’s secret for getting the air under the ball. An extra smile or two can never hurt on a golf course, as all two armed players will attest any day, in deference to the curses and frustration of hitting the same bunker 3 days in a row.
Blessings to all!
Billy
DJ – for successful treatments for brain-injury induced CP without surgery of any kind see http://www.IAHP.org (the institutes for the achievement of human potential based in philadelphia). thank you for sharing your story. js
Thank you for the information Jim!