Defying the Odds
Told she would never walk again after a devastating spinal injury, Jennifer Smyth has turned adversity into purpose and is now bringing hope, technology and opportunity to people with disabilities across Northern Ireland.
Told she’d never walk again after a spinal injury, a remarkable athlete is bringing cutting-edge technology and new hope to people with disabilities across Northern Ireland.
An inspirational athlete and award-winning businesswoman from Eglinton is re-writing the narrative around disability.
Jennifer Smyth’s story shows just what is possible when determination ditches despair.
Aged just 16 and a promising young gymnast, a freak accident during routine training resulted in a catastrophic spinal injury.
Paralysed from the chest down, doctors told Jennifer she’d never walk again.
Undeterred, she refused to be defined by her disability. It’s a can-do attitude that filtered down from Jennifer’s mum Pamela, who signed her up to hospital school on arrival at Musgrave Park Hospital.
“I remember her saying, ‘Your body might be broken but there’s nothing wrong with your brain.’
“All that changed really was instead of living life standing up, I was just living life sitting down.
“For me, it’s always been about what I can do rather than what I can’t and figuring out how I can adapt to any situation.”
Instead of going home to live in her wheelchair, she made it her mission to become as independent as possible.
“My independence has always been crucial. Of course, I appreciate I’m always going to need help with some things but as soon as I left school I wanted to show friends and family what I was capable of, so I studied away from home.”
During the time Jennifer was at university, she became the first person in Northern Ireland to receive her own pair of ReWalk Robotics exoskeleton legs.
“Unfortunately my daddy passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack in 2016 and Landmarc, his employers at the time, decided to throw a massive fundraiser for me in his memory and raised enough money to buy me my own ReWalk exoskeleton. In a way my legs became my daddy’s legacy.
“It feels amazing to be able to look people in the eye and hug my mum properly,” says Jennifer who, despite her unfailingly positive outlook, admits the family has been through more than its share of trauma.
“But we try to stay positive and believe everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t always know what that is.”
After graduating from Birmingham City University with a degree in Product Design, Jennifer returned home with major plans for her future.
Just weeks later though, disaster struck again when a horrific car crash left her with a triple pelvic fracture and in constant pain since.
“My plan after graduation was to go back to America for more intensive therapy but the day I emailed the travel agent was the day of the crash. On my way to physio my car was hit from the side and upended into a ditch. The Fire Brigade had to cut me out.
“My life flipped over yet again and it felt like I was back at square one with my recovery.
“We had to stress to the hospital that although I use a wheelchair I still walk regularly using an exoskeleton, so I needed the fracture to heal properly.
“My recovery this time was as mental as it was physical. With the original spinal injury there wasn’t the same psychological trauma and it’s taken a lot to even be able to get into a car again.”
Regardless though, Jennifer has defied the odds to find her feet and raise the bar of expectation for her community.
“I never expected my life to turn out like this but it’s been amazing!” says this remarkable young woman who recently celebrated the first anniversary of her groundbreaking specialist fitness centre, Jenn’s Gym, for people with disabilities and neurological conditions.
The first of its kind in Northern Ireland, its opening was the culmination of a decade-long aspiration during which time Jennifer travelled regularly to the United States for pioneering treatment.
Seeing world-leading gyms there for disabled people, she dreamed that one day Northern Ireland would have the same.
“I know not everyone is as lucky as me or can afford the specialised physio I’ve had. As soon as I saw the gym facilities in the States I knew that’s what Northern Ireland needed too,” she continues.
“Ironically I waited 10 years for someone else to do it!”
Exploring various business models to make that possible, Jennifer decided on the charity route and, thanks to her personal investment, got Jenn’s Gym up and running.
Kitted out with specialist equipment, users can enjoy a new degree of independence and, with already upwards of 60 members aged from eight to 80, the uptake is surpassing expectations.
Jennifer’s leap of faith has been rewarded with a slew of recent awards including Local Women in Sport Gym of the Year, the Federation of Small Businesses and HSBC Diversity and Inclusion Award, not to mention Jennifer herself winning the NI Women in Business Young Businesswoman of the Year Award and being listed as one of the Belfast Telegraph’s 30 Under 30.
“But awards aren’t why I do this. This gym is about the people using it,” says Jennifer.
“For me, it’s the people who make Jenn’s Gym. I love to hear everyone’s story as we all have our own journeys.”
And those journeys are not about to stop, as she has big plans to develop the facilities.
“Robotics and technology are always advancing and recently there’s been a major breakthrough in the spinal injury community,” she continues.
“A new cutting-edge device is showing incredible results by delivering electrical impulses to the spinal cord. People are recovering movement.
“We’ve already contacted the company behind it and hope to trial them at the gym this month to see how it can benefit our users.
“It’s a really exciting time,” says Jennifer, who admits she can’t help wondering what her life might have been had she not suffered that catastrophic injury at 16.
“The injury has given me so many opportunities I wouldn’t have had, though I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.
“They say in life you should do what you love and I’ve definitely found what I love.”
Jenn’s Gym
Address: 15A Carrakeel Drive, part of the Ustore Complex, Maydown, Derry/Londonderry, BT47 6UQ
Tel: 02871 163 685
Email: info@jennsgym.co.uk
Website: www.jennsgym.co.uk
