Member Spotlight: Jonathan Utz
When Jonathan suffered a stroke in October 2021, his life was altered forever. Everything changed overnight for the husband and father of three who enjoyed skateboarding, fishing, snowboarding, and carpentry. Jonathan began his recovery through hospital-based physical therapy, but when his insurance offered him a membership to the Outer Banks Family YMCA, he thought he’d give it a try. What he found was far beyond any expectations.
Jonathan and his wife, Cookie, were met with an overwhelmingly supportive, uplifting, and open community made up of supportive staff and members who inspired them both. The YMCA’s organized water classes have been a crucial part of his recovery, allowing Johnathan to move in the water in ways he is unable to on land. “It’s like it was designed for me,” Jonathan said about the Water Balance in Motion Class, which is a Parkinson's and movement disorder program. It has allowed him to regain sensation and mobility in his arm and leg.
At the Y, Johnathan found something else that’s hard to measure but easy to feel: connection. He had built friendships with people who have similar mindsets and goals, each inspiring one another.
“I still to this day suffer from pretty severe depression,” he said. “The depression goes away when I come to the YMCA. I don’t always want to come, but I know if I do, something is going to click and somebody is going to smile at me and something is going to happen and it's going to change the way things work [in my head.]”
Not only has the YMCA been a part of Jonathan’s recovery, but it has also been a huge source of support for his wife, Cookie. The Y has allowed her to keep hope, and she has found her own kind of healing within its walls. Living with the daily demands of caregiving and coping with her husband’s sensory issues and depression, she calls the YMCA her breath of fresh air. “It’s just a blessed building here that I wish more people would know about and take advantage of.”
Through the Y, they’ve made lasting friendships. Jonathan swims alongside people who inspire him, some in their 90s, others overcoming their own physical challenges. He’s found belonging and purpose, and the Y has become a place where he is not defined by what he lost, but by everything he continues to gain.
“The Y has helped me put all that back,” Jonathan said, reflecting on his former life. “I’ll never get back to where I was. Now I’m Jonathan version two. I’m a completely different person.”
With every class, every conversation, and every small victory, Jonathan and Cookie are reminded of what’s possible when community steps in. At the Y, they found a place where physical health and mental well-being go hand in hand and where the act of showing up, even on the hardest days, is met with compassion, encouragement, and connection.