Dear Friends and Family,
As you know, Carl Schwartz has been an exceptional athlete and fitness enthusiast his entire life, running competitively through college and then recreationally well past retirement. He has completed numerous marathons, hiked the trails of the Pacific Northwest, walked every square inch of West Seattle, and still found time to weight lift in his garage. His latest passion though was cycling. He regularly went on long distance training rides, cycled on his stationary bike, and threw in a century ride (100 miles) every couple of weeks just for fun. His dedication to exercise was unmatched. Unfortunately, his running, hiking and cycling days have come to a devastating end.
Carl was involved in a life-changing accident on March 13, 2017, while riding his bike on a path in Seattle. He suffered a C2A spinal cord injury leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. He is confined to a wheelchair and relies on a respirator to assist his breathing through a tracheostomy. With the help of extensive training, he learned to speak and eat some foods. After spending three months at Harborview Medical Center, both in ICU and Rehab, Carl was discharged on June 14. Just as she did while Carl was an avid athlete, his wife Sherry has been by his side every minute of this heart-breaking ordeal.
Updates (7)
January 28, 2022
Carl has traveled a very long and difficult road, but his desire to improve his mobility is unstoppable. It takes many years for nerves to recover, but his hard work is helping to make some improvements. This past Fall his diagnosis was upgraded to ASIA C-incomplete. His goal now is to gain enough consistent movement in one of his fingers so he can drive his chair. This would enable him to stop using a chin drive to move his chair. We are working on ways to enable him to do that. We are very blessed to have a wonderful, supportive family, dear friends and God's love and help that enables us to face each day. We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed to this site. Thank you, Thank you.
December 13, 2017
Truly exciting news! Carl's trach/passy muir valve has been permanently removed. He is breathing completely on his own. This is no small feat as his original team of doctors told him this would most likely never happen. Way to go Carl!
