VIDEO: A Chicago firefighter was left paralyzed after suffering injuries during a San Francisco triathlon. Jose Perez competed in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon earlier this month. But when he jumped into the San Francisco Bay during the race, he said another swimmer landed on his head.
“I could feel my head about to hit the surface and as my head hit the surface I just felt like a tremendous boom like a big weight just hit the back of my head,” Perez said. Speaking to NBC 5’s JC Navarrete from his hospital bed in California, Perez recalled the moment his life changed. “[I] kept telling myself just swim start swimming, and I couldnโt swim I couldnโt do anything and unfortunately I jumped in face down, so I was in a bad spot,” Perez said.
Perez is a 10-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department who has been competing in triathlons for years. Now, he’s hoping to be able to walk again and return to the life he once lived. “Iโd like to go back home to my son Iโd like to be able to teach him how to drive which he was supposed to start doing next year. Iโd like to have that opportunity to do that,” Perez said.
