Alex Paul

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Those of you who know Alex Paul, know what a warm, funny, talented, and caring guy he is. You know that he worked for three years as an automotive technician at a well known local automotive repair shop before starting a career as a machinist at an aerospace manufacturing facility.

On November 15, 2011, he suffered a tragic accident that left him with a spinal cord injury at the C4 level. This injury left him a quadriplegic and put his life plans on hold.

Alex spent one month in intensive care at Maine Medical Center in Portland and three months at the New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center at Boston Medical Center where he started to learn how to adapt to his new life. Posts to the Caring Bridge website document the beginning of his journey and the tremendous progress he made after being admitted to Boston Medical Center.

What isn’t posted on Caring Bridge are the overwhelming expenses facing Alex as a result of his hospitalization and his ongoing care. While Alex remains on his parent’s health insurance, he still faces significant out of pocket expenses for deductibles and co-payments. Add to this the expenses not covered by insurance such as home modifications and a handicap accessible vehicle to allow him to travel to appointments and work (yes, Alex has rejoined the workforce!)

To help with the cost of these uninsured medical expenses, home modifications, and a modified vehicle, a fundraising campaign in Alex’s honor has been established with Help Hope Live, a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant community for over thirty years. In 2000 they expanded their mission to include those who have sustained a catastrophic injury. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law, are held by Help Hope Live in the Northeast Catastrophic Injury Fund, and are administered by Help Hope Live for injury-related expenses only.

Today, in addition to working 30 hours per week at Neil’s Motors, Alex travels to Statham, NH for therapy at Project Walk. Project Walk is a wellness gym that specializes in spinal cord injury. Alex began at Project Walk on 4/10/15. His sessions are two hours in length and he loves every minute of it. Additionally, Alex has therapy at the Sports Performance Center in Saco, Maine twice per week where he works on upper body strength. unfortunately these therapies are not covered by insurance and are extremenly expensive.

On top of these activities, Alex also plays quad rugby with the Northeast Passage quadriplegic rugby team at UNH in Durham, NH.

Alex recently had his truck modified and re-acquired his driver’s license. When he is in the driver’s seat, he enjoys the ability to travel wherever his vehicle takes him!

As you can see Alex has not let the injury keep him down. He still works hard and plays hard. His amazing attitude is remarkable.

Please consider making a contribution to help Alex regain his independence.

Thank you!

Andy & Pris Paul
207-282-1340