The injury left me a quadriplegic. Something that was a very difficult reality for me to accept. I was an athlete my whole life. I had played sports throughout my entire childhood. I received awards in multiple sports in high school and had just finished two years on the Univ. of Pittsburgh’s basketball team. It was definitely difficult and many nights I thought my life was over.
Luckily for me I was blessed with a great group of people surrounding me that showed me unconditional love and gave me the confidence to continue when I needed it most.
That was almost 18 years ago now. Wow does time fly. But since then I’ve worked with the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland FES Center on studies to improve functional electronic stimulation. I’ve helped organize fundraisers and giveaways for in-patients at hospitals. I’ve worked with Rancho Los Amigos hospital in Downey, CA as a peer counselor helping newly injured patients transition back to living with as much assistance and information as possible. I also helped Doctors there with pressure ulcer prevention in high risk patients.
I’ve coached youth sports and trained young athletes in the fundamentals of basketball. By far though, the greatest thing that has happened since my injury was meeting the mother of my children and the birth of my 2 beautiful smart and motivating daughters. They’ve helped push and motivate me to move forward. We do things as a family, with outings to parks, beaches, concerts, and more, me a two little girls who bring me so much joy and happiness. We have fun.
They’ve kept me active and smiling, and my goal in life is to be able to say I can do the same for people, especially them. Please consider a donation.
It has become more difficult to enjoy those outings because we don’t have an accessible van, we have a car and it is not adapted for wheelchair use.
I want to keep being able to enjoy my life with my daughters so I am fundraising for an adaptive vehicle. With your help I can continue to be active and helpful in my community.
We chose to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for donors. Donors can be sure that funds donated will be used only to pay or reimburse medically-related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the GIVE button. And please share this page on your social media platforms so others in your community can consider donating.
Thank you for your consideration. Everything helps.
For more information, please contact 800.642.8399.
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