Tokyo Paralympics: Swim young gun Jasmine Greenwood creating splash in sport she hated

Jasmine Greenwood describes it as a weird story - how one day she was happily living her life as a kid when it was turned upside down by what started as a stomach ache.

Young Paralympic swimmer Jasmine Greenwood. Pic: Swimming Australia

One day Jasmine Greenwood was a happy kid, loving life and having fun with her friends.

The next she was in intensive care, having suffered two strokes triggered by acute appendicitis.

“It’s a weird story, it’s pretty insane,” said the now 16-year-old from Sussex Inlet on the NSW south coast.

“I was pretty happy one afternoon and everything was really normal. I went to bed and my stomach started to hurt and I just felt unwell.

“My parents took me to hospital and it was really fortunate because there was a professor there training some doctors.

Young Paralympic swimmer Jasmine Greenwood training in Cairns while waiting for her flight to Japan. Pic: Wade Brennan, Swimming Australia.

“He said we have to remove the appendix urgently and they did but things got worse and I got septic shock and had two strokes.”

The teenager said she remembers very little about the incident which changed her life and saw her in ICU for three weeks, leaving her with an acquired brain injury.

“I had to learn how to walk again, tie shoelaces, eat things like that. I did occupational therapy for a long while,” said Greenwood, preparing in Cairns for her first Paralympics next week.

“I can walk now, it’s still very hard though.

“I am learning now what my life will look like, what things I might struggle with, but I am so happy.

“I try to be positive. I’m here now doing this and I couldn’t be happier. I’m so excited to be going to the Paralympics.’’

Paralympic swimmer Jasmine Greenwood used to hate her sport. Now it’s taking her to her first Paralympics. Pic: Swimming Australia

Part of her rehabilitation was to swim, which Greenwood thinks is funny because she had always hated it.

“I ended up getting good and got classified and went to my first states in multi-class when I was eight. I then went to nationals the same year.,’’ she said.

“I just got better and started to like it. Everyone around me is very positive and now it’s great fun and they are like family.”

Greenwood will make her Games debut racing in the 100m butterfly, 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley in the S10 class.

But if you see her with someone at the start of the race, there’s a reason why.

Paralympic swimmers Brenden Hall, Kiera Stephens, Ellie Cole, Col Pearse and Tiffany Thomas-Kane. Pic: Tim Hunter.

“I have less feeling in my left side, lack of feeling in my arm and leg and I have a bad tremor that affects my starts,’’ she said

“I have an assistant person and they hold me at my hips because any movement can make you get disqualified.”

Greenwood is one of 15 debutants in the 32-strong team boasting the likes of veteran stars Ellie Cole, Matt Levy and Brendan Hall.

The swimming competition gets underway on August 25.

Read more from AMANDA LULHAM HERE

Originally published as Tokyo Paralympics: Swim young gun Jasmine Greenwood creating splash in sport she hated