On August 22nd, 2004 following his junior year in high school John was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive bacterial infection. Doctors had no choice but to amputate both of his legs and left bicep that night and he was only given a 20% chance to live. Five years after being told by medical and prosthetic professionals that he would never walk again, John made history by running the 26.2 mile New York City marathon on November 1, 2009 after becoming the first person without legs to run and complete a 5k and a 10k road race. John also competes in triathlons, and cycling events. John graduated from Fairfield University in 2009 with a B.S. in Biology and spent several years as a motivational speaker. From corporate clients to educational institutions John has shown that “How far you fall doesn’t determine who you are, it’s how hard you work to get back up.” John married his longtime love Genevieve (Robinson) in May 2012. He is pursuing a Masters Degree in Business Administration.