VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — On a chilly Friday morning, 17-year-old Cody Bennett sat in his wheelchair at Kaizen Athletics in the ViBe District of Virginia Beach, patiently waiting for his daily workout.
“It’s the same mentality; I’m still working, it’s just a different goal. It went from trying to go to college for gymnastics and possibly make it to the Olympics to just trying to walk again,” Bennett described.
During the summer of 2024, the teen suffered a spinal injury while practicing gymnastics.
Previous coverage: 'It's not if, it's when:' Chesapeake gymnast remains positive after spinal cord injury
News 3 reporter Angela Bohon met him and his family in his hospital room at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital as Bennett watched the Summer Olympics.
After a few months of therapy in Richmond, he is now doing therapy at Old Dominion University and training within the Kaizen Adaptive Training Program.
“He is driven. He is motivated,” explained Emily Throckmorton, owner of Kaizen Athletics. She added, “We want people to know there are so many things you can do after an injury. There are so many things you can do to continue to move so you can feel better—not just physically but mentally as well, and I’ve seen that in Cody. I think he’s a great example for other athletes out there.”
His mother, Megan Buchholz, said, “Cody’s gotten a little bit more function in his hands. He’s gotten a little bit stronger grip in his hands, and he’s starting to get some engagement in his glutes and his hip flexors, so we’re very encouraged by that.”
Watch: Virginia Beach's Gabby Douglas injures ankle at gymnastics championships, ends 2024 Olympic bid
Due to his intense therapy schedule, Bennett is now taking online classes through Grassfield High School, and he is still going out with friends who have learned how to help him.
“They all learned to do some things to help me, like get me in and out of the car,” Bennett said.
While watching his exercise session, his mom said, “I don’t know that I could be prouder. He’s grown up a lot, and he’s helped me grow up a lot, honestly. To see your own child come into something like this that’s absolutely devastating and rise above and push through—there are no words for that.”
Kaizen states that its adaptive athletes' tuition is 100 percent donation-based. For more information or to donate, click here.
