When he was only 10 years old, Jamal Hill was taken to the hospital after the right side of his body went numb. By the time he arrived at the hospital he was almost entirely paralyzed and could only speak and move his head. He stayed in the hospital for months while paralyzed before he recovered with reduced motor function in his arms and legs. But for many years he tried to hide it even while competing in high school sports. He was a very strong competitive swimmer and also played basketball. He received a swim scholarship to Division III Hiram College in Ohio where his major was physics.
It wasn’t until he was age 23 that he finally stepped out of the proverbial “disability closet” and shared his diagnosis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), an inherited condition that causes nerve damage in a person’s feet, legs, hand and arms, with the public. Even today, from his knees to his toes, he says it feels like he is walking on prosthetics. From his elbows to his fingertips, he has about 30% nerve capacity.
It was at that time that his swim coach convinced him to pursue a spot on the U.S. Paralympic Team. In the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics he won a bronze medal. Soon after his return to Southern California his commitment to teaching young people to swim grew to new heights through the work of the, Swim Up Hill Foundation, a non-profit he founded in 2020.
This is a story of determination and perseverance, enhanced by athleticism, and wrapped in a pleasant and optimistic personality.