"I was really looking forward to the limb amputation. It allowed me to get back to life," says Jaroslav (43), Czech national team member and record holder
For what reason did you have to have your leg amputated?
I played football from the age of seven, which was the number one sport in my family. Pretty much everybody who was born a Petrosian played football. But at the age of 17 I had my first serious injury and I could forget about the idea of being a professional athlete. The much more serious one, which changed my life a lot, happened in 2005. While playing paintball, I managed to tear everything I could in my knee. On top of that, I damaged my kneecap. What followed was a period of multiple surgeries over a period of several years, resulting in an above-knee amputation of my left leg in 2011.
What were your feelings when you found out about the leg amputation?
I thought about the amputation for a long time and I also fought for it for a long time.
Fought? What do you mean?
I asked for the amputation myself. I studied everything beforehand and had the opportunity to consult with fellow athletes who had already undergone amputation. I will always remember the day when Professor Trc told me that amputation was the only option. That sentence put a smile on my face. Until the final procedure, my personal, professional and sporting life was very limited due to my injury. The amputation changed everything for the better.
For the better?
You know, when you decide to ask for an amputation, you have to have everything 100% straight in your head. Even 99% is not enough. There can't be a millimeter of doubt. I was convinced that the amputation would not only take away the pain, but more importantly, it would put me back into the productive world so I could live a full life. That was true to a T.
So you saw the amputation as a kind of liberation? How long did it take you to adjust?
Definitely. I was very relieved. As far as reactions after amputation go, they're usually different. Often there's a long-term psychological block. People can't imagine how they'll function, how they'll cope with everything that's new to them. I had the opportunity to prepare for everything in advance. I also contacted a world-class prosthesis manufacturer long in advance and had a lot of questions for them. By having a clear head after the procedure and looking forward to new experiences, I learned to walk with the prosthesis very quickly. Without the canes it was already 21 days.
Not everyone can find the determination you have. Do you have any tips on how to prepare for such blows of fate?
It makes a huge difference if the amputation has been planned for some time, or if it is a sudden tragic accident or car crash. The first person to get this information from the doctor is the brain. Not everyone is strong in this regard and the reaction can vary. I definitely recommend contacting people who have been through something similar as soon as possible. In the age of social media, it's relatively easy and quick.
To do this, it is important to get to a capable prosthetist and a specialized rehabilitation center as soon as possible. I can definitely recommend Prosthetics Beroun and Rehabilitation Centre Malvazinky. There they were able not only to put me on my feet, but also to walk properly and comfortably.
Not only did you learn to walk, you are even a successful athlete. What do you do in this field?
As I said at the beginning, I wanted to be a successful football player since I was a kid. It wasn't until I became a disabled athlete that I started to enjoy success. I am not a professional athlete, unfortunately that is not possible in our country, but after an injury I got into athletics in 2008 through wheelchair basketball, which I am still doing today. You could say that for several years I have been one of the world's top throwers in the discus. Even at the age of 43 (laughs).
You mentioned that in the Czech Republic you cannot be a professional disabled athlete... Why is that?
Sport for physically and otherwise disabled people is poorly supported even nowadays. There is a subsidy program from the Ministry of Education and Science that provides some funding for athletes, but if I summarize, the amount at different levels of performance will ensure a maximum of one, two or three competitions abroad.
Zdroj: Giphy
In your opinion, is there at least a visible shift for the better?
Looking back, in the 13 years that I have been involved in disability sport, there has been a noticeable shift. There are far more sports across the spectrum that you can do today. But that's often where the positives end.
How is it abroad?
In the Czech Republic, we are basically an exception where disability sport is not professionalized. It's getting harder and harder to compete with foreign competition and stay at the top of the world rankings. A lot depends on club support, and fortunately our club Athletics Without Barriers Pardubice can provide us with funds for further foreign participation. But we definitely can't talk about professional sports here. Not really.
Do you think that disabled athletes should get more support?
Disability sport has been underfunded across all sports for a long time. There is a lack of professional grip, which is already firmly established in most countries. Competition is a step ahead precisely because of these conditions. It's getting harder and harder to stay at the top of the world. I have been doing well in my main discipline of discus throwing for a long time, but I know that the performance could be somewhere else. There is some support for the national athletes from the Ministry of Education, and hopefully better times will start to come with the emerging National Sports Agency (the central administrative authority for the promotion of sport, tourism and national sports representation, ed.). Unfortunately, the Czech Paralympic Committee, which is supposed to represent us, is an absolutely dysfunctional organisation. Even the little interest of the media does not help us.
However, as I have already mentioned, at least the range of feasible sports today is really wide. Almost everyone can choose. They just have to want to, and that is a common problem with today's youth. However, sport, whatever it may be, can help everyone not only in their social integration but also, and above all, in their personal lives.
Can you say that sport has helped you a lot to overcome what happened to you?
I have been used to playing sports since I was a child. It was killing me that after an accident and many operations I could do practically nothing. In the most difficult period for me, I was helped by a psychiatrist who brought me to disability sports. Until then, I didn't know about it at all. I started with wheelchair basketball, which I played for two years. Now I am representing the city of Pardubice and my beloved homeland in athletics for the thirteenth year.
Apart from representing, you also co-founded the KlaPeto Foundation. Do you want to help disabled people to play sports here too?
It's not just about sport. Since 2013 I have been organizing a charity event "Climb to Sněžka". It is an event that helps disabled children in every way. We always manage to raise an interesting amount, which then goes to support disabled children. In each year, one child is always the main symbol - the face of the event.
Jaroslav Petrouš and Kateřina KlasnováPhoto: Archiv Jaroslav Petrouš
In 2014, together with Kateřina Klasnová, I founded the KlaPeto Foundation, which is aimed at helping children with various disabilities. Within the framework of our project, we have already managed to raise more than 6.5 million crowns and have helped almost two hundred families. It must be said that we work in our spare time and without remuneration. The contributions are mostly for rehabilitation stays and compensatory aids that are not covered by insurance companies. This includes sports prostheses, which our foundation has already provided several times and may have contributed to the birth of future stars and maybe even Paralympic winners.
