A 23-year-old man can do weightlifting in many ways as hard as any other gym-goer, but he only has one leg. Nathan Seawood doesn’t let his disability keep him from the weight room. Instead, he’s learning to bear a different load.
“This isn’t just a physical battle in the gym,” Seawood said. “It’s a mental battle for myself.” Refusing to be weighed down by his disability, Seawood draws strength from his mind, as he fights to make it through each step. “That takes a lot out of me. I push my body so hard that I’m tired,” said Seawood, who once thought he might have to give up the weights forever.
Seawood ended up in a hospital bed with one leg after falling off a boat in Long Lake near Traverse City in June, 2019. His left leg got caught in the propeller and had to be cut.
“I didn’t want people to see me,” Seawood said. “I couldn’t accept what had happened to me because it’s a lifestyle change. And that was hard. I was down bad.”
Seawood said a therapist helped lift his spirits. “I wanted to be able to walk and that was difficult because I’m using muscles that never really get noticed as much,” Seawood said. Now he’s using those muscles to train hard at Grand Rapids City Gym, inspiring those around him to keep pushing.
“He faces difficulties most of us don’t have to,” Jeff Phillips, who owns the gym, said. “I mean, he’s in here and he only has one leg, but he’s doing a lot of the same lifts everybody with two legs are doing. It’s surely encouraging to see him doing that.”
Despite life’s best attempt to knock him down, Seawood is still standing, and while he may exercise differently from others, he’s thankful to still be moving. “I might have a disability, but I’m not disabled,” Seawood said.
【小题1】What plays the key role in Seawood’s weightlifting?| A．His right leg. | B．The others’ encouragement. |
| C．His strong will. | D．His family. |
| A．An accident. | B．An early birth. | C．A serious disease. | D．A medical mistake. |
| A．Confident and honest. | B．Smart and hardworking. |
| C．Calm and modest. | D．Determined and positive. |
| A．To tell Seawood’s sad story. | B．To draw attention to weightlifting. |
| C．To speak highly of Seawood. | D．To show sympathy for Seawood. |
