Paralympian, Veteran, Champion: Scooter Hayes, PLY, Lives Life Large at JKV

Even though Paralympic athlete, fencing champion, and U.S. Army veteran Terry “Scooter” Hayes, 66, has a progressive brain disease, she continues to live life large in every way imaginable.

Scooter served as a heavy equipment operator in the Army from 1977 through 1979. After leaving the army, she shifted gears and became a special education teacher. In 2011, her life took a sharp turn when she was diagnosed with primary cerebellar degeneration — an incurable and untreatable neurological disease that causes nerve cells in the cerebellum, the area of the brain that controls coordination and balance, to deteriorate and die. Today, she is paralyzed from the waist down.

Scooter and her wife, Freda Routt, 73, moved to John Knox Village (JKV) in November 2024, leaving behind their home at the Carefree Resort in North Fort Myers.

For them, JKV is a place where life is not only manageable — it’s vibrant.

At 58, while searching the internet to find a wheelchair sport she could participate in, Scooter came across wheelchair fencing, now known as Parafencing.  She watched videos and loved what she saw. She began lessons soon after.

The Veterans Administration provided her with a fencing wheelchair, and that gift opened doors she never imagined. “The fencing wheelchair the VA provided has opened the whole world to me,” she says. She was immediately drawn to the sport’s blend of physicality and strategy. “Fencing is a combat sport, a cat-and-mouse game where you must anticipate your opponent’s next move and keep your brain sharp.”

Parafencing was developed for athletes with physical impairments, including those affecting their lower limbs. Athletes compete in fixed wheelchairs, using their upper body strength, agility, and reflexes to score hits on their opponents with a sword. Three types of swords are involved in fencing competitions, Foil, Sabre, and Epee. The sport features individual and team events, both of which Scooter has competed in, using the same three weapons that able-bodied fencers use.

Scooter, who ended up training six hours a day, competed in her first international Parafencing tournament in Canada in 2018. Just one year later, she was selected for The U.S. World Championship Team. In 2020, at the age of 63, Scooter represented Team USA at the Tokyo Paralympic Games — an extraordinary milestone in a remarkable journey.

Throughout her fencing career, Scooter has been able to travel the world along with Freda, always by her side, and always her biggest cheerleader. They’ve trained in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and have competed all over the U.S. and internationally at World Cups in Sao Paolo, Brazil, Warsaw, Poland, Cheongju, South Korea, Eger, Hungary, Amsterdam, and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

At the 2020 Paralympics in Japan, as a 63-year-old competitor, Scooter was the oldest team member. There is no age limit for the sport, but one has to be at least 14 years old. And indeed, one of her teammates started at 14.

One of three daughters to her mother and father, who served in the Army, Scooter was born in Nebraska but grew up living on military bases in Germany and around the country. She and Freda met 26 years ago at church in Norfolk, Virginia. Freda, also a veteran who served in the the U.S. Air Force, was an inventory manager before retirement.  Today, Scooter and Freda have found their forever home at John Knox Village.  

As an Army veteran, Paralympian, and a woman who courageously faces tremendous physical challenges resulting from her neurological condition—Scooter is a remarkable inspiration. She lives life on her own terms, never allowing self-imposed boundaries or obstacles to define her journey. Scooter’s story is a powerful reminder of what it means to embrace challenges with resilience and grace. She stands among the many extraordinary individuals who make John Knox Village such a special place to call home—and we are truly privileged to share in her inspiring legacy every day.

About John Knox Village (JKV)

For more than 57 years, JKV has set the bar when it comes to delivering an all-inclusive resort lifestyle designed for living life to the fullest at each stage of retirement. JKV emphasizes fitness and overall well-being with world-class programming, state-of-the-art amenities, healthy and delicious dining, and much more. Residents are entitled to unlimited use of healthcare services and 24/7 healthcare professionals on campus. There are no time or financial limits on the long-term care benefits that residents receive, regardless of the level of care required. Simply put, a life plan contract at JKV provides a fiscal safety net with an unparalleled community geared to a wide range of needs for living life to its fullest at every stage of retirement.

Want to learn more about what John Knox Village has to offer?  Contact us today to come visit our campus, or for a no-pressure conversation with one of our Life Plan Consultants.  

Your future, like Scooter’s, can be full of possibility.