One thing you can’t call Jon Turner is a quitter.

A 2003 graduate of Aquinas College with a major in Health and Physical Education, Turner is preparing for a competition many thought he might never see. When a 2009 car accident left Turner and his wife Allison, also an Aquinas graduate, in critical condition, it was feared that he and his wife’s athletics days were over. After a trying period of recovering and re-learning his physicality, Turner completed half of an Ironman competition in 2010 and is gearing up for a full Ironman late this year.

The Ironman is a long-distance triathlon race that has become famous across the world for its intensity, length and demand on athletes. Often televised, the Ironman features some of the world’s most talented contestants. Turner remembers seeing such a televised race years ago. In it, two female athletes collapsed moments before they were to cross the finish line. Instead of giving up, the women hoisted themselves and crawled across the line. While that image has always stuck with him, it was believed Turner would never be able to compete following his extensive injuries.

Turner’s injuries were so bad he said his family initially feared that one of his feet would be amputated. Once he was stabilized and conscious of what had happened, Turner began to consider his future. “I decided I wanted to do this before I was even able to walk with a cane,” he said of the Ironman. Once he was up on a cane, he told his family his plans. Despite the obvious challenges of such a comeback, Turner’s family has been extremely supportive. This love has come from friends and members of the community as well.

Turner recalls a particularly poignant moment during his recovery process while at the Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, when he was visited by Sister Alice Wittenbach of Aquinas: “I was working on speech therapy because of my concussion. (…) My back was to the door, my mom was sitting to my right, and the therapist was at my left. Sister Alice couldn’t see my face. But she walked over and put her arm on me. She just gave me a hug and said, ‘It’s going to be okay, Jon.’ I have no idea how she knew I was there, or that she even remembered me, but she’s the greatest person ever!”

With support and love from friends, family, and members of the Aquinas community, Turner began the difficult process of recovery. He recalls the first time he tried to run after his accident: “My goal was just to run a very easy two miles on the treadmill. I barely made it a mile… I felt like crying almost because it hurt so bad. I was very disappointed in how my body was reacting.” Yet Turner refused to quit. Over time, his physicality returned.

Turner decided that his Ironman competition could be used as a fundraiser for The Hope Network, a non-profit organization with headquarters in Grand Rapids, because of its role in his wife’s recovery process. “We - myself and Allison - owe [her recovery] to her doctors and her therapists. She spent a lot of time, three months, at the Hope Network. Because of their efforts, she is fine. It was a no-brainer that the money should go there.”

Turner prepares for the competition on a daily basis, and he admits the work is challenging from a time, as well as physical, standpoint. “My weekends are full of biking and swimming and running. I’m glad my wife supports me in this. It would be really hard for a married couple if someone didn’t want to do this all the way.”

Sitting in the heat of a summer day by the Aquinas athletic field, Turner smiles and shares his outlook on life. “It’s too bad that it would take such a severe event to make you love life again- not that I didn’t love it before - but a new appreciation for it. It’s really easy to just kind of coast through life. But now I’m happy that it’s hot right now. It’s like, ‘this could be worse,’ you know? There’s always someone who has it worse than you.”

For more information about Turner, the Ironman competition, or the Hope Network, visit http://www.facebook.com/triforhope.