Wes was injured in a snowmobile race in West Yellowstone, MT, in March 2006. He sustained a C-4, C-5 neck injury which left him paralyzed from the chest down. After several months in the hospital and in rehab at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, he returned home to Elk Grove, CA.
Wes was accepted into the architectural program at the University of AZ for Fall 2008. He lived in a dorm and had personal care attendants taking care of him. He graduated in May 2012 with a B.Arch. and that September he was fitted for an adaptive van and has been driving ever since. After a two year job search and approximately 40 interviews, Wes was offered a job in July 2014 with an architectural firm in Davis, CA. This past June he found a place to live which is much closer to his office. Wes modified the bathroom and put in door openers and was ready to move. Then at the end of June, Wes developed a Stage-4 pressure sore. The wound care nurse said that it must have been there for a long time and never opened. When it finally did open, the wound had already advanced to Stage-4 and thus the healing was very slow. Wes is now bedridden 24 hours a day as this is the only way to heal this type of wound — estimated healing time is expected to be approximately six months.
