Community Corner
Commack Student Athlete With Life-Threatening Food Allergies Headed To Taekwondo Nationals
Middle school student PJ Katcher never let his allergies get in the way of achieving his dreams.
Commack Middle School student PJ Katcher was always a little different from some of the other kids, but he never let that hold him back from achieving his dreams.
12-year-old PJ was diagnosed with life threatening food allergies to not one, but six different food products before his first birthday.
He is allergic to peanut, tree nuts, soy, dairy, melon, sesame seeds, and fish.
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Other kids always find it odd that he has never eaten pizza or ice cream but PJ never lets it get him down.
Even though it is hard at school events, parties, vacations, and in his daily life, he always tries to stay positive.
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When he started taekwondo in kindergarten, he was concerned how he would do it while dealing with his allergies.
PJ's concern became a reality when last October he went into anaphylactic shock while training at taekwondo.
He was rushed to Huntington Hospital where he was administered several different medications and was observed all night for rebound reactions.
Just one week later, he went on to attend the Gold Cup National TKD Championship where he received both a gold and bronze medal.
Since then, he also won two gold medals at Champions Open Taekwondo Tournament; a gold and silver medal at the NY Open Taekwondo Championship; a gold and a bronze medal at the USAT Maryland State Championship/Qualifier won 1 Gold and 1 Bronze Medal; a gold and bronze medal at the USAT New York State Championship/Qualifier; a gold and silver medal at the AAU NY Metropolitan State Championship/ Qualifier and two golds and a silver medal at the USAT Massachusetts State Championship: Qualifier.
Earlier this month, he also qualified for the AAU Nationals in Florida, after winning gold and silver medals in the New York National Championship and Qualifier, where he went 5 rounds to win the poomsae gold medal.
On July 1, he will be representing New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts at the 2017 USA Taekwondo Nationals in Detroit, Michigan.
He will be going attending Nationals with his team at Jung's Ultimate Taekwondo Center, coached by Grand Master Woosang Jung.
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