Jose Perez, a firefighter from Chicago, was injured during the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon, leading to partial paralysis. Despite training for and looking forward to this race, he was unexpectedly injured when another competitor landed on him as he entered the water. He recalls feeling the impact and that he couldn't move. Thankfully, another racer helped keep him afloat until help arrived. Currently recuperating in intensive care, he draws strength from the support of his firefighting community and hopes to recover from his injuries, underscoring the challenges of his predicament and the solidarity he feels from others.
"It's been a bucket list race I've always wanted to do. I've done other races before... but nothing like this has ever happened."
"They were just like, 'everybody get off the boat. Everybody, go, go, go.' It felt maybe like a few hundred pounds just hit the back of my head, and immediately I just knew, 'I can't move. I'm paralyzed.'"
"I just heard all the commotion... yelling for help and... never lost consciousness; so, I could vividly remember all this happening."
"The support from the San Francisco Fire Department and my community back in Chicago is giving me hope... definitely giving me a lot of determination to get out of here."
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