Jamie Eliott
a Champion of Pickleball, An inspiration to many.
“If my Chondrosarcoma tumor was not detected early, I would not be here today” – Jamie Eliott
Jamie Eliott has led an exciting and adventurous life. She had a successful career as a stewardess with Braniff Airlines from 1971-1987, and an exciting career as a “stuntwoman” for the Screen Actors Guild from 1987-2002, According to Jamie: “During the reorganization of Braniff, I lucked into my SAG card in 1985 and worked on major films and commercials. I worked on Robocop 1, doubling, Nancy Allen, D.O.A. doubling Meg Ryan, I fell into a Christmas Tree in Dennis Quaid’s arms in Dante’s Peak, and worked on Free Willy 1, and Hands That Rock the Cradle, just to name a few.
Jamie has always been active. She played her first game of pickleball, on Vashon Island, Washington in 1990 and fell in love with it. In 2012, she became a Co-Founder of a Pickleball club. She and the other officers began holding clinics and traveled to Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico to play in tournaments. Jamie became a USA Pickleball Ambassador around 2015. With her knowledge of teaching, she got others involved to help her build courts, and they ordered portable nets.
Jamie & Dennis Quaid
Jamie & Meg Ryan Filming D.O.A.
In early 2017, Jamie slipped on ice and fell, hitting her head and back on a curb. She started having back pain that summer and just thought it was from playing golf and pickleball. Her provider sent her for an X-ray, and they found a mass on a rib. Jamie was almost sixty-eight, not on any medicine, healthy as could be so she did not think much more about it. The next day she went for CT, stopped back by clinic, and was told it was a tumor, and they were not sure it was cancer and wanted her back for a biopsy.
Jamie recalled: “I remember going home, getting on my PJ’s and burying my face crying. My husband just got home, came into our bedroom, and I remember the look on his face, as I said, I have cancer. The three worse words I had ever said. We went back for my biopsy, and the results came back as Dedifferentiated Chondrosarcoma. I started doing research, and since we had a home in the Dallas area, I found UTSW. The intake person there knew about Chondrosarcoma and said that I needed to see a sarcoma specialist. An appointment was scheduled for January 2018. I first met with a surgical oncologist, and he explained that radiation and chemo were not effective, so I would need to have four ribs from the back right side removed. I am not a crier, but this was emotional. By the time they could get a team together, the surgery was set for March 15, 2018”
Jamie as Stuntwoman
Jamie as Stuntwoman
I was back to recovery and not on any medication. I was told that I will have to have MRI’s and CT’s every three months. I did outpatient physical therapy, and I got strong again. Four months later I was back playing golf and pickleball. I entered the National Olympics in Albuquerque, NM and with my doubles partner, We played for the gold medal, but we went three games, and I was getting tired, and we lost by two points winning the silver medal.
“After the surgery was completed in Dec 2018, another tumor was discovered in Jamie’s spine. In March 2019, she had another surgery that paralyzed both legs. Jamie never gave up. She went through months of physical therapy. Her determination to get back on court won over her deep depression. Jamie worked so hard and started walking a little more each day. She did not think she was stable enough to play standing up and decided to buy a sports wheelchair in January of 2021. She named it “Barney” after the founder of pickleball, Barney McCallum.”
Soon, Jamie started meeting up with other wheelchair players, and they started playing together. Transitioning from a standing player to a wheelchair player was tough. According to Jamie, it was tough for two reasons. First, learning how to get your chair in and out of the car was very challenging. Then, maneuver a wheelchair on the court while keeping your paddle in one hand, one hand on the wheel, then up for a shot and back on wheel and getting back into position, not to mention sitting lower than a standing position. Second, being a wheelchair player is mentally and socially challenging. The fear of rejection is very tough.
Jamie playing Pickleball
Jamie PLaying PIckleball
Jamie’s knowledge of pickleball as a standing player, and being a USA Pickleball Ambassador, helped her with her knowledge of playing on the court. Players knew Jamie, so she was accepted, but some players were either afraid to play with a person in a wheelchair, or just did not want to get into a distinctive style of playing. Her new mission was to help wheelchair players and standing players overcome these obstacles, and to help grow a new wheelchair pickleball group. The group is not only for her, but for future para-wheelchair players. Then, maneuver a wheelchair on the court while keeping your paddle in one hand, one hand on the wheel, then up for a shot and back on wheel and getting back into position was extremely difficult especially when sitting lower than a standing position.
In addition to being physically active, Jamie volunteers. She is a committee member and volunteer at Salvation Army (past 8 yrs) where she helps run a pickleball program there. She helps run “Dink for Pink” every October to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. She is an advisor to her community (Heritage Ranch) pickleball club, and for Clemmer Classic Pickleball Tournaments.
In 2023, Jamie and four friends formed a 501C3 non-profit, called “Para Pickleball Program” or (P3) with CNP (Chicken n Pickle) as their sponsor. They are now Ambassadors for CNP. Carvana heard about this and came out to video the wheelchair players and Jamie. After that event, Carvana donated enough money to purchase six sports chairs!
April 2023 the P3 group went to the Pickleball Nationals in Dallas, Texas to do a wheelchair Exhibition. They performed wheelchair doubles, hybrid doubles (with a standing partner), and then they asked the audience to try playing in extra wheelchairs.
Jamie has been an inspiration to every person she meets! She has had numerous surgeries in her fight against chondrosarcoma, she has had brachy radiation on her spine (where radiation plates were put in her back) and a lot of ablations on her lungs and liver. Despite all those procedures, nothing has stopped Jamie from playing pickleball. Recently, she had a major surgery and three days later she played in a wheelchair tournament.
Jamie’s way of thinking is, “You can’t just sit around, you have to get up and move, no matter what’s going on in your life.” She has Stage 4 chondrosarcoma and has outlived the time the doctors predicted. Jamie genuinely believes, “Pickleball has saved my life” along with her Faith, Family and Friends. Jamie and Barney, her wheelchair, have a motto: “Where There’s a Wheel There’s a Way!”
Jamie at National Championships
