I am John R.”JR” Owens, a resident of Pride, LA. In 2006, I was involved in a motorcycle accident which left me with a C4, C5 spinal cord injury that ended my football dreams. I am paralyzed from the shoulders down. I have always been very active, and I love to be with people. When I was in high school I had a roofing job, and played football for Northeast, lettering in my freshman year. I am now an assistant coach at Central High, and love the job and working with the team. I also love hunting, fishing, and just being outdoors.

I very much want to be as independent as possible and I feel that this type of therapy is my best chance to regain more function and independence. This therapy is expensive; centers that offer this program say that six to eight weeks at their facility is needed at the beginning of such a program. I would then go home with a program designed specifically for me.

Because my insurance will not cover this program, I will have to pay out-of-pocket for the following: travel to and from the center, temporary relocation housing, the cost of the actual rehab sessions, caregiver expenses as I have no functional movement in my extremities and the cost of some basic equipment for home use — some of which may be expensive. It is estimated that I will need initially to raise $50,000.

I have six siblings and my mother is a police officer. Although mom works all the overtime she can, money is always short due to medical bills, rehabilitation costs and equipment.

To help offset these expenses, a fundraising campaign in JR’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for 30 years. In 2000, they expanded their mission to include those who have sustained a catastrophic injury. All contributions are tax-deductible, are held by HelpHOPELive in the Southeast Spinal Cord Injury Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for injury-related expenses only. If you would like to make a contribution:Thank you for your kind assistance in helping me to reach my goals and achieve independence!

J.R. Owens