YOUNG Deja

Classification
T46 (IPC, 08 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Impaired range of motion (teamusa.org, 19 Sep 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 20 Jul 2017)

Impairment Details
She was born with shoulder dystocia, the result of a doctor pulling on her head too hard during delivery. She has nerve damage in her right shoulder, which limits her arm movement. (dallasobserver.com, 14 Oct 2016; teamusa.org, 19 Sep 2016; kansas.com, 10 Jun 2015)

General
CAREER PATH
She originally intended to study medicine, before switching to social work studies. "Originally I was pre-med. [But] after organic chemistry, I hated it, and I was miserable. And I thought, what's another way I can help people? I love to talk. I love to be hands-on with the community, and I thought social work. That's perfect for me. I loved it. Winning would be great, but if I can make an impact, save a life with my story of suicide, or how I can talk about the youth is important, have someone go for their dreams, that will make me happy." (teamusa.org, 13 Nov 2019)

DEALING WITH DEPRESSION
She struggled with anxiety and depression in the lead-up to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and attempted suicide ahead of the Games. She recovered and went on to compete in Rio de Janeiro, but experienced another period of depression in late 2016 after she was involved in a serious car accident, and needed to be cared for by her mother as her injuries meant she could not use her hands. "It was a long process and very mentally draining. I went through a very deep depression and it was really hard. What got me through was focusing on my love for athletics. Giving up on it wasn't an option as it had got me so far and I knew it could take me further. I knew that my story could not only help myself but help others. That's one of my biggest things, I want to do more. I want to speak on mental health, on breaking down barriers. I like to tell people that you take care of your body because you want to stay healthy, your mind is the same. Your mind needs to be fed positive things. They both need to be healthy for you to function." (paralympic.org, 02 Jun 2019)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She served as an athlete mentor as part of the Sports Envoy Program of the US State Department to Nigeria in 2018. (teamusa.org, 31 Dec 2019)

At the 2019 World Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, she was a member of the United States team that won the first world championship gold medal in the universal 4x100m relay. (paralympic.org, 14 Nov 2019)