Jonah's Story, and the First Annual #RaincityJonah
How a 12 year old battling a brain tumor became the most inspiring RAthlete to walk through Raincity's doors.
In January 2020, at 12 years old, Jonah was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor that required surgeries and chemo, leaving him unable to walk. After lots of physio with @kidsphysio he was referred to me @raincityathls to continue motor control work and rebuild his strength. He not only learned to walk again but fell in love with the barbell, heavy lifting, and especially deadlifts - as they fired up his nervous system and helped him regain motor control in ways we hadn’t seen before.
Jonah’s progress and determination was a source of inspiration for everyone in the Raincity community.
But seeing me once a week wasn’t enough. He began training 2-3 times per week on his own, working up to a 150lb+ deadlift, 115lb+ back squat and 100lb bench press even though the left side of his body still didn’t always cooperate. He started joining coach @katienad for some #crossfit workouts and even took part in the #raincityopen with his training buddy Nik. By summer 2025 he wanted to spend even more time at Raincity, he had prepped his resume for a summer job, and was ready to be equipment lead for me at the @canadian_functional_fitness national championships.
In late June everything changed. He developed severe headaches and nausea, and within a week ended up back in the hospital for another surgery where they found the tumor had returned at the base of his brain stem - and there was nothing they could do.
I feel so fortunate I got to see Jonah on July 26th after the 2nd surgery. When I asked how it went he said “Last time I went in for surgery I woke up paralyzed, so this one was a breeze.” He continued “everyone around me right now is really sad, but that just seems like a waste of time,” and those words will stay with and inspire me for the rest of my life.
On July 30 Jonah passed away in his bed, surrounded by family.
On Sept 1st at 4:00pm Raincity will host the first annual Jonah memorial workout and complete our new benchmark #RaincityJonah, built around movements he loved (and some he hated).
Join us to remember one of the most inspiring RAthletes to ever attend Raincity, with 100% of proceeds going to the Jonah memorial fund.
Details & rsvp: www.rncty.ca/jonah
