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Jonathon is one in 3 million. He truly is, but statistically he is literally one of 3 million
people diagnosed with this rare form of Lymphoma. He tells me: “Most people do
not catch it in time. When they discover they have it, they are already in Stage 2 or
3 and their chances of survival are incredibly low. I was lucky, mine presented as
a lump on my neck and I went right away to have it checked.” What followed was
a whirlwind of doctor’s visits, surgery, and a rapid plan for therapy. He said: “One
day I was ne, and literally the next day I was battling for my life.”
Through an outpouring of support from family, friends, and his community, Jonathon
was able to complete chemo and make a full recovery. “It was tough,” Jonathon
recalls, “I was so exhausted all the time, I couldn’t even get through folding a basket
of laundry without taking several breaks. That’s how weak I was.”
Once he felt better and was ready to get his life back in motion, the welding
career that had seemed so promising now held nothing for him. That’s
when, after a beautiful day on the water, his uncle, Jim Morton owner
of Prospects Plus in Lakewood Ranch, encouraged Jonathon to
start a yboarding business.
Flyboarding What is yboarding Jonathon’s website
says: “Flyboarding is like surng on a hoverboard.”
Flyboards were invented, according to Wikipedia, by
a French watercraft rider named Franky Zapapta
and was introduced at the Jet Ski World
Championship in 2012 in China. Jonathon
is one of a few thousand certified
Flyboard Captains in the world.
The way it works is yboard riders
are strapped onto a buoyant
board tted with bindings (like
a snowboard or wakeboard,
but under the board are waterpropelled
jets that send the
rider almost 50 feet into the
air! The yboard is tethered
to a personal watercraft,
where the Captain controls
the throttle and is always
nearby. This set up allows for
tremendous freedom for the
yboarder to travel through the
air or dive through the water.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?