Former Paralympic Coach Comes ‘Full Circle’ After Losing a Leg

FRISCO, Colo. — In a different world, Jon Kreamelmeyer, 75, would have been in Canada competing in the Masters World Cup of cross-country skiing last week.

Instead, he was learning to navigate life with one leg.

In January 2021, Kreamelmeyer, an International Paralympic Committee technical classifier who helps determine the competition class for new athletes and a former U.S. Paralympic coach, noticed a dull pain in his right leg. A hot sensation radiated from his calf to his foot. He felt as though the ball of his right foot were filled with marbles.

But after he finished working out, the pain mostly went away, so he disregarded it. That is, until last August.

One day, Kreamelmeyer hiked up a mountain near his home in Frisco. Later that evening, he felt a painful jolt behind his right knee, as if something had come loose.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/20/sports/ski-amputee-paralympics.html