An Atlanta man is set to compete in his fifth Paralympics. Curtis Lovejoy says when he found the water, he found his way.
"I found out that water is fascinating, magical. My body responds to water," said Lovejoy.
The 55-year-old is quadriplegic with some paralysis in both his arms and legs, but in Shepherd Center's pool he swims gracefully, effortlessly.
"I try to manipulate my body like a dolphin, and picturing that," said Lovejoy.
It's very different from the 29-year-old who first came to Shepherd Center more than 25 years ago. His spinal cord, and spirit, were broken after a car accident.
"Never swum a day in my life, I'm terrified of the water," said Lovejoy.
Curtis was weak from his injury, adjusting to life in a chair. Shepherd Center thought the pool would be good therapy, so a therapist carried Curtis into the pool day after day.
He sat on the stairs.
"So, finally they would tell me, 'Just calm down, relax a little bit.' So I started learning how to relax a little bit," said Lovejoy.
One day, Curtis says he started daydreaming about medals hanging around his neck.
"I put a lifejacket on, and I just swam the length of the pool without breathing because I couldn't turn my neck. And I got a coach and started learning how to swim," said Lovejoy.
And he discovered the secret of water: tense, and you sink. Let go, and you rise to the top.
"I learned that if you respect the water, the water respects you," said Lovejoy.
Curtis stayed with it, training every day, getting faster. A year and a half later, he set his first world record.
"That's when I knew I had tapped into something. It all just came together," said Lovejoy.
Curtis holds 10 world records and is a bit of a rock star at Shepherd Center, heading into his fifth Paralympics.
"But I've been able to stay on this road only because all of the people who came to help me," said Lovejoy.
And he's giving back by coaching Shepherd Center's swim team.
He tells patients, keep pushing -- find your water.
"It's all about getting a feel of what your life is going to be like. Because once you have a spinal cord injury, your whole life totally changes," said Lovejoy.
Curtis Lovejoy found something else at Shepherd Center: Mrs. Lovejoy. Her name is Mamie.
"I'm happy. I'm married. I've got a beautiful wife," said Curtis.
Shepherd Center will always be the place Curtis Lovejoy found love and, in a lot of ways, salvation.
"Sometimes I lose myself in a body of water, I might swim three or four hours before I stop. It's a peaceness, it's a calmness that I get when I'm in a body of water," said Lovejoy.
Lovejoy will be racing in five events in this year's Paralympics, which begin Wednesday in London.
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Curtis Lovejoy is set to compete in his fifth Paralympics.
