'You can achieve anything': Life-long B.C. athlete keeps competing after sudden vision loss
For as long as he can recall, James Kwinecki has loved athletics.
“It’s hard-wired in my body,” James smiles. “I don’t think I could go a few days without moving.”
When he was a kid, he played on every team he could. After graduating, he got a job that would support his pastime.
“I could make some money,” James says. “And then I could do my fitness and sports on the side.”
His life couldn’t have been better, until his vision suddenly got worse. He went to the doctor after the vision in one eye was “sort of getting fuzzy.”
“And then they sent me to the ER,” James says. “That was a bit of a curveball.”
The then 21-year-old was diagnosed with a rare eye disease, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. Six months later, James was almost completely blind in both eyes.
“It was terrible,” James says. He suddenly couldn’t drive, couldn’t see his phone to connect with the world, and couldn’t play sports. “I had no idea what I was going to do.”
All the activities that James used to do – which defined him, fuelled him, and provided him with community – he now couldn’t do.
But then James heard about blind baseball. Seeing as he had nothing else to do, he tried it.
“It was so much fun,” James says, explaining how all the players are blindfolded before attempting to hit a ball that emits sounds, and running towards bases that do the same. “It kind of propelled me into getting into other sports.”
It inspired James to go to university and join the varsity rowing team.
“It was tough. It was hard,” James admits, before smiling. “Some of those days, I spent much more time in the water than the boat.”
But James persevered. And did so well that he earned an opportunity to join the national Paralympic rowing team.
“The momentum sparked more motivation,” James says.
It also gave James the confidence to look for a sport that would provide him with some of the autonomy he’d lost. He found that in running.
“I can just go run,” James says. “Nothing's going to stop me.”
After finding closed tracks and public routes that were safe, and often wearing a vest that says ‘blind runner,’ James runs by himself almost daily.
He’s now part of a community of runners. And with the help of a guide, James has also completed more than few marathons, and is training for more.
“You’re on top of the world,” James describes the feeling of running.
Although nothing compares to the feeling of proposing to your partner and her saying ‘yes.’
James and his fiancée Sydney are planning their wedding, while he’s also starting a new job at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to support youth with vision loss.
“It does get better,” the now 29-year-old says. “It does get easier.”
And although life does take unexpected turns, James says if you commit to forging your own path, you just might find you couldn’t be happier with the direction you’re headed.
“Once you achieve that,” James smiles. “You can achieve anything!”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
New Canadian study could be a lifesaver for thousands suffering from CTE
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.