Hope Talk: Thriving After SCI

Watch the recording now:

In previous Hope Talks, we’ve talked about being newly injured and about going home from the hospital—now, let’s talk about living and thriving after a spinal cord injury.

• What does life look like after an SCI?
• Can an injury change your trajectory or give you a new purpose?
• Where do you find the strength, hope, and help to thrive?

On Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 3 p.m. ET, you joined us for a conversation with Help Hope Live client Ambassador Josh Basile, Esq. from SPINALpedia.com and Board Member Kelley Brooks Simoneaux, Esq. from The Spinal Cord Injury Law Firm. They will be joined by Andrew Skinner, founder of Triumph Foundation.

About Our Panelists

Josh Basile – Meet Josh Basile, Esq., a C4-5 quadriplegic, power wheelchair user, disability rights advocate, trial attorney, inventor, and proud father. In 2004, at the age of 18, Josh was paralyzed below the shoulders in a beach accident.

Soon after, he formed a 501(c)3 nonprofit to empower newly injured families. Josh created the world’s largest paralysis video mentoring network through SPINALpedia.com with 29,000 videos searchable by physical functionality.

As a medical malpractice lawyer and disabilities rights advocate, Josh serves persons with disabilities both in the courtroom and through policy initiatives. As a community leader and changemaker, Josh works tirelessly to improve quality of life for people with disabilities and to continuously break down existing barriers to access and inclusion, independent living, transportation, employment, and web accessibility.

Josh is a Help Hope Live client and Ambassador who fundraises with the nonprofit to assist with lifelong expenses associated with SCI.

Kelley Brooks Simoneaux – Kelley Brooks Simoneaux, Esq. is an attorney, disability rights advocate, and mom based in Washington, D.C. She is the founder of The Spinal Cord Injury Law Firm, PLLC, where she represents individuals following a spinal cord injury.

Kelley has committed her professional life to helping those with spinal cord injuries after she became a T-12 paraplegic as a passenger in a car wreck when she was 16 years old.

When Kelley is not in the courtroom, she is fighting for greater accessibility in her community. After being denied a ride in an Uber due to her wheelchair, she began a national campaign called Wheel2Ride, focused on education and policy change in accessibility and inclusivity for rideshares also known as Transportation Network Providers (TNPs).

She also serves as the Director of Law and Advocacy for SPINALpedia.org and was appointed as a delegate to the Fairfax Area Disability Services Board and the WMATA Accessibility Advisory Committee. She holds multiple nonprofit board of director positions, including with Help Hope Live.

Andrew Skinner – Andrew Skinner suffered a C-6 spinal cord injury in a snowboarding accident in 2004. He has gone on to live a full and productive life. He is married to Kirsten, and together they have a daughter named Betty, a dog named Carbon, and a home in Santa Clarita. They are living the American dream.

He founded Triumph Foundation in 2008, a nonprofit organization that helps children, adults, and veterans with spinal cord injury and paralyzing disorders to triumph over obstacles they face.

Triumph Foundation provides hope, education, resources, and assistance to people living with paralysis – both upon onset and as a lifelong support network. Additionally, they hold events for the entire disability community in Southern California.
Triumph’s goal is to make quality of life a reality for people with disabilities and to educate the general population about inclusion. They specialize in providing guidance on dealing with life challenges and inspiring all to live a life of purpose.