about Balucas | my story
Hi, I’m Rob Balucas. 2015 was a shaping up to be a breakout year for me. My business, a boutique creative agency, was on track to grow by 12% annually and double-digits for the third year in a row. I had proven that I could live in San Francisco, a goal I accomplished 3 years ago.
Personally I took up triathlon. I was never considered an athlete by any stretch of the imagination. But I saw triathlon as something to conquer knowing that the secret to such a feat was simply getting out there, putting in the time and training consistently. I liked to say triathlon keeps me sexy, sane, and out of trouble.
I joined a group of fellow crazies in the Golden Gate Triathon Club and we were training together for my first Ironman 70.3 in Santa Cruz, Ca.
my injury | paraplegic at the moment
Then September 5, 2015 – the weekend prior to the race – on a routine training bicycle ride, things took a drastic change. I lost control of my bike on downhill switch backs, crossed over the oncoming lane and went over the side of a hill. At first, we thought I had just a broken collar bone and I’d be back in a month.
Turns out that I had a broken collar bone, several cracked ribs, a 70% collapsed lung, and worst of all a L1 burst fracture in the lumbar spine. The very next day after my fall, the doctors performed a spinal fusion. It has left me paralyzed in a wheelchair without any feeling or control of my legs.
Through months of intense rehab, I’ve regained sensation that began at the nipple line up and now starts around my waist and up. Whether I’ll walk again is up in the air according to the doctors. However, I believe it is a matter of healing, belief, giving the body what it needs, giving the mind what it needs, and time.
the rally | paratriathlon
From the moment after my surgery, I set a goal to race in Santa Cruz in 2016. Now I have an opportunity to achieve that goal, albeit a little different than I originally envisioned.
With your support and my intense training, I will compete in the Santa Cruz Triathlon on August 14th & the Nautica Malibu Triathlon on Sept 17th as a Paratriathlete.
There’s a slim possibility that, if I raise funds to get the equipment to race in time, I could qualify to race in the Paratriathlon National Championships during that very race in August at Tri Santa Cruz.
the why | to continue to inspire
Really my campaign is not just to race Paratriathlon.
It’s to build an inspirational story. A story of comeback less than one year after a devastating and life-changing injury.
A story that proves life is something you choose to create, not something you are a victim to.