Alex Torelli

Dear Family and Friends,

As most of you already know our son Alex Torelli suffered a spinal cord injury following a ski accident on December 28, 2012. Alex’s spinal cord was completely severed between the T4 and T5 vertebrae and he is paralyzed from the chest down. Thankfully, he suffered no brain injury and is able to use his arms and hands. After surgery, Alex’s doctors told him that although his injury was permanent, he would learn once again to be independent and lead a very fulfilling life. Since then Alex has embraced the challenge through lots of hard work, new skills and knowledge.

At the time of the accident Alex was a sophomore attending Dickinson College in PA. After spending eight months in medical and rehab facilities he is now back at Dickinson College living independently.

Prior to his accident, Alex was strong, athletic and in excellent health. His goal is to continue to gain as much strength and develop as much independence as possible. With your help, we are hoping to help him achieve this goal.

We would love to be able to get him a Restorative Therapy RT 300 FES bike and a standing frame. These two pieces of equipment were recommended to us by his rehabilitative therapists. Both offer very important and crucial lifetime health benefits for a spinal cord patient, and Alex would be able to make use of them while away at school. Unfortunately our insurance only covers $1500 for durable medical equipment and only 20 physical therapy sessions per year which is not nearly enough.

To assist with the cost of this equipment and other expenses down the road, a fundraising campaign in Alex’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 deductable, are held by HelpHopeLive in the Northeast Spinal Cord Injury Fund, and are administered by HelpHOPELive for injury-related expenses only. Please consider making a donation.

On behalf of Alex and our family, thank you for your kindness, generosity and support.

Tom and Megan Torelli
[email protected]
(203) 862-4079