MAYHUGH Nick

Classification
T37 (IPC, 01 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Cerebral Palsy (nickmayhugh.com, 01 Jan 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (nickmayhugh.com, 01 Jan 2021)

Impairment Details
He has a mild form of cerebral palsy as a result of a stroke that occurred in utero. He had experienced numbness on the left side of his body since early childhood, but cerebral palsy was not diagnosed until after he had a tonic-clonic seizure in 2010. (nickmayhugh.com, 01 Jan 2021; celebsaga.com, 27 Jul 2021)

General
DIAGNOSIS
Growing up his primary sport was football. After his diagnosis of cerebral palsy as a teenager, doctors said he would likely never play football again. He lost his spot on his club team, DC United, shortly after his diagnosis and stopped playing football for three months. However, he says that his diagnosis ultimately became a motivation for him to have a successful sporting career. Before beginning his athletics career, he went on to play for the US national Para 7-a-side football team. "It was a dark time for me [after his diagnosis]. My world had been turned upside down. I just couldn't understand why this was happening to me and why I was the way I was. I never wanted to be treated any different, and I always tried to keep my worries about my disability to myself. I just always looked at the person next to me and knew I could do better if I worked hard. I always had a bit of a chip on my shoulder, because I felt everything was harder for me. But I think it motivated me to press forward. I wanted to beat the odds." (whatsupusana.com, 01 Jun 2020)