On March 31, 2011 I met Liz Dunn, a resilient, determined twenty- year-old who had sustained a C6 incomplete spinal cord injury in October 2010 as a result of a car accident that left her paralyzed. Before the accident Liz was a student at Gannon University and spent her leisure time running, snowboarding, painting, and attending concerts. After the accident, she had extremely limited control of her upper extremities and no voluntary control of her lower extremities.

After months of physical and occupational therapy, Liz’s perseverance is paying off. She continues to rely on a power-assist manual wheelchair as her primary mode of mobility due to the inability to voluntarily move her legs, but she is now able to transfer independently from her wheelchair to her bed with the use of a sliding board. Additionally, Liz has regained enough control of her hand musculature to continue painting. Her artwork adorns the walls of the nurseries of her friends’ babies.

Although unable to continue her previous course of study, Liz has re-plotted her career path and is currently enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh in the Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition program. Liz hopes to travel to Baltimore in May, in order to receive additional intense rehabilitation at Kennedy Krieger. She also plans to participate in Project Walk in California this coming summer. Unfortunately, Liz will incur expenses related to medical care at these facilities that are not reimbursable by insurance companies, such as lodging, transportation, and meals. Liz’s insurance carriers have also denied reimbursement for equipment, such as the RT300 Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycle and EasyStand glider, that would improve her quality of life.

To help with this financial burden, a fundraising campaign in Liz’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for nearly 30 years. In 2000, their mission was expanded to include those who have sustained a catastrophic injury. All donations are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Mid-Atlantic Spinal Cord Injury Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for injury-related expenses only.

Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Please consider improving Liz’s life. Give to HelpHOPELive.

Thank you for your generosity.

Darbee R. Harrington