UNWAVERING OPTIMISM

Samar Lemons

Determined to Overcome the Odds After Paralyzing Injury

It was a chilly day in March 2021. Samar Lemons’ senior football season at Henrico High School had been postponed to the spring due to the COVID pandemic. During a midgame kickoff return, Samar was hit by an opposing player, causing him to sustain a C4 spinal cord injury at the base of his neck and lose all function and mobility below his chest. “I thought my life was over,” Samar recalls.

After receiving care at VCU Health and transitioning out of state for inpatient rehab, Samar returned home and began outpatient therapy at Sheltering Arms that summer. “I’ve basically been on every machine in here,” he chuckles. When his time in outpatient therapy was up, Samar continued his progress with Sheltering Arms, this time in NeuroFit, an exercise program for individuals with neurological conditions.

Once a week, he is guided through a customized, hour-long workout complete with a warm up, strength and cardio exercises, stretching, and more. “NeuroFit definitely helps me a lot. It gets me loose, makes me stronger, and I can tell a difference when I go home because I go straight to sleep,” Samar says with a smile. While the workout is great, he says it’s the people who keep him coming back. “It just makes me happy to work with them. They laugh and joke with me, and they’re very encouraging.” Clearly, Samar’s experience at Sheltering Arms has supported him to continue living by his motto: “Keep pushing because the only way you’re going to fail is if you don’t try.”