Our Ambassadors

I was injured in a car accident in 1992. I sustained a spinal cord injury at level C6-7. I was 33 years old and the mother of a three-year-old little girl. Unfortunately I didn’t gain any ambulatory function and I am a full time power wheelchair user.

My motivation to get back home and resume being a mother was fierce. With the help of New Start Homes, 9 months later I was living independently, (with caregivers morning and evening) in an apartment with my daughter. The help I received and my success planted the seed of how peer support can benefit the recovery process.

In 2010 I attained a bachelors degree in social welfare and have been employed as a social worker for 10 years working in a rehab facility.

Since it’s inception, I have been proud to be part of Triumph Foundation. I have been involved in several areas but mainly in support of newly injured people and their families.

No one is ready for the effects of a catastrophic injury. Those of us that have navigated the world of disability and triumphed to become productive in society want to help those that come behind us.

My most recent accomplishment though is being the best Granny ever. My two-year-old grandson loves to zoom down the street and chase the garbage truck on my lap. What a joy to be around to be part of his life. Never give up.

I was injured while cliff diving in 1982. I sustained a C7 incomplete spinal cord injury, leaving me a quadriplegic.  I was in acute care for 2 weeks.  While there they also put me in a halo.  Once I was stabilized, I was transported to Casa Colina Rehabilitation Center. I spent 3 1/2 months there in rehab. After discharge, I returned home to start my new life.

My life changed for the better, once I discovered the world of wheelchair sports.  It helped me meet other disabled people. I then realized I too could become completely independent and self-sufficient.  I was able to rejoin mainstream society through school, employment and especially wheelchair sports.

I was introduced to wheelchair sports through Casa Colina Rehab.  They showed me some of the activities that were out there for disabled people. I snow skied, water skied, kayaked and jet-skied along with various other activities introduced to me by the Outdoor Recreation department.  I played wheelchair tennis competitively for several years. I then began playing wheelchair rugby.  Rugby became my main sport. I won a national title with my club team. I was selected to play on the US National team for several years. It allowed me to travel the world and compete at the highest level. I won numerous medals in international and domestic play, that included winning gold medals in world championships and being an alternate for the 1996 Paralympic Rugby Team.

One of my greatest accomplishments was being a member of Team USA at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney Australia.  There I won a Paralympic Gold medal.  I enjoyed all the perks of a Paralympian, including visiting the White House and meeting the President of the United States.  Throughout these years of competition, I also maintained a career in the rehab industry. This made for long weeks, working 40 hours and training anywhere from 20-30 hours a week.  It was well worth every minute. I also had the privilege of being nominated & selected to carry the torch for 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City.

All my work history, while in a wheelchair, was in the rehab industry.  I was the administrator of a small outpatient rehab facility for 8 years.  My next job was for the ROHO group. As a district manager, I was trained in seating and positioning and wound prevention.  I still use these skills today to help educate newly injured patients. This is when I first started mentoring patients.  The therapists in the facilities would call me to go and speak to their newly injured patients.  After 7 years with ROHO I decided to take a position with Experea Healthcare.  I was Director of Sales at Experea Healthcare for 8 years; I then moved on to Mobility Professionals as the Marketing Director.  I’ve continued to interact with newly injured patients by providing them with their equipment and supply needs.

When Andrew Skinner was first injured in 2004, a therapist asked me to speak to him. Later when Andrew started the Triumph Foundation, he asked me to be an Ambassador/Mentor.

Now, I help facilitate some of the Triumph Foundation support groups and visit newly injured patients as a mentor for Triumph.  I have been very fortunate in my life to achieve most of the goals I have set for myself. I enjoy giving back through Triumph Foundation. I like to mentor newly injured people to help them understand that they can still achieve many of the goals they set forth for their lives.

In 1990, Erik became a C1-C2 quadriplegic. Erik met Andrew at an Orange County SCI support group and has been involved with Triumph nonstop ever since. As a Triumph Ambassador, he attends numerous SCI support groups, visits newly injured patients, and attends and helps with Triumph’s events and fundraisers. Erik says, “I show up. I’m stubbornly independent and a follower of Christ.” One of Eric’s favorite memories with Triumph is watching his mother at the age of 79, finish the Superhero 5K. He also enjoys being the MC at the annual Wheelchair Sports Festival.

In addition to the work Erik does with Triumph, he also speaks to physical therapy students at Chapman University about what it’s like living with an SCI and how they can better understand and treat someone living with an SCI. This information is invaluable to these students. He also encourages the students to volunteer with Triumph and get to know the community that they will be serving after graduation.

I became a C6-7 quadriplegic from a car accident at the age of three. Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to ride bikes, play tennis, and go swimming like my friends but I found it hard to find adaptive programs that gave me the same opportunities as the other kids.

I fell out of the Spinal Cord Injury community until 2016 when I was searching for a driver’s training grant and was told about Triumph Foundation through Janette Knudson who is an ambassador for Triumph. She encouraged me to apply for a grant and the rest is history. Not only did I receive a grant to help me drive, I gained a community and a family and in doing so I learned so much about the SCI community and myself but also about Triumph and the opportunities they provide for people like myself; showing others that life after injury is possible. Now on a regular basis I get to participate in programs such as handcycling, baseball, skiing, rugby, and so much more.

I became an Ambassador for Triumph Foundation because I fell in love with helping others, visiting newly injured patients in hospitals and rehabs as a mentor, and participating and volunteering in adaptive recreational sports activities and weekly support groups. I am proud and honored to call the Triumph family my family.

Getting injured at the age of 14 and suffering a C7 spinal cord injury was life changing-especially when life is just starting. Because I was so young it made adjusting a little easier. With the loving support of my family I was able to graduate from high school on time and attend Cal State University Northridge. As a young adult I ventured out into the working world. At that time, my goal was to help change society’s view of disabled people. I came across an article about Triumph Foundation and all of the great things it was doing within the community. Ever since attending a hand cycling event in 2012, I’ve made sure that I was a part of this great organization any way I can. As they say teamwork makes the dream work!

I’m a C5-C6 Quadriplegic from a snowboarding accident in January 2004. I worked hard to gain my independence after my injury, and I’m now an Ambassador and peer mentor for Triumph. I enjoy traveling the country playing wheelchair rugby. I have a YouTube channel called Live To Roll that shares information about how I do things in daily life, and awesome disability sports activities. I like motivating others and providing hope to people after they suffer a traumatic injury.

My name is Arthur Martinot. I’ve always loved the outdoors and the ocean; surfing, mountain biking, camping, hiking etc. I was particularly drawn to the water – swimming, snorkeling, whenever I saw the opportunity. Back in July 2022, I broke my neck while diving into the sea, in Spain while on vacation with my wife and friends. I was taken to a hospital in Barcelona. Six weeks later, I transferred to Guttmann Institute for three months of rehabilitation. In December 2022, we flew back to California, where I was transferred to Casa Colina hospital in Pomona, California. We never returned to our home in Los Angeles. The twenty stairs leading to the front door and overall inaccessible layout of the interior and exterior made it impossible for me to move back to. Our lives were packed up and stored with the help of friends and family, and we finally put the house up for sale. We currently live in Pomona. Prior to the accident, I was a production designer, working on commercials and photo shoots in Los Angeles. Since 2006 I had slowly built up my business and incorporated in 2015. I dissolved the business after the accident. I am now looking at the next chapter of my life. I am hoping to return to work at some point, perhaps start a new business, or maybe work from home. I recently put together an off-road power wheelchair which has allowed me to get back to hiking. My wife and I bought a 4×4 van for daily driving, road trips and camping adventures.

My name is Chelsee Fuerch, and I was born and raised in Santa Maria, CA. I was the passenger in a car accident in June 2019 where I sustained a cervical spinal cord injury. I’m a C4/5 quadriplegic paralyzed from the chest down with limited arm function and have been living with a SCI for 3 ½ years. I’ve always had a strong passion for helping others and I ended up obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I’m currently going back to school for a human services certificate and plan on pursuing a master’s degree in counseling.

I live with my mom, brother and our two cats. I love being outdoors, soaking up the warmth from the sun. I own an awesome piece of equipment called a Freedom Trax where I’m able to continue to participate and enjoy hiking. The trax connects to my manual wheelchair and is battery operated with a joystick to control the chair. Having to constantly adapt to various situations has shown me that several hobbies, sports, jobs, etc., are still 100% possible after a spinal cord injury or any other physical disability, it may just look different.

I encourage others to continue to pursue their passions and dreams, regardless of their disability. I first learned about the Triumph Foundation through my prior boss who then connected me to Andrew. I’m so grateful and beyond blessed to have been connected to the Triumph Foundation early on. So far my favorite memory with Triumph Foundation is when I went skiing in Big Bear January 2022. I never thought something like skiing would be possible for someone with my level of injury. If I had to describe the Triumph Foundation with one word, it would be community. I’m a peer ambassador for the Triumph Foundation where I attend support group meetings and continue to be a resource for the newly injured and those who have been injured for years. I hope to continue to be a beacon of light for those who need support and help throughout their recover.

I was injured on May 20, 2016, in a mountain biking accident that left me as a T-11 T-12 paraplegic. I fell into a severe depression shortly after I left rehab. I didn’t want to leave the house and felt alone and scared.

One day, as I scrolled through Facebook, I saw there was an organization doing a wheelchair sports festival. I decided to get out of my comfort zone and attend this festival. That’s when I met Triumph Foundation, and everything changed for me.  I was introduced to a wonderful community of loving people who shared my same issues and thoughts. I was received with open arms and couldn’t be happier to now be an Ambassador giving back to people who were in my position. I currently coach handcycling clinics and attend support groups.

Outside of Triumph, I took charge of my life and am pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. I owe everything to Triumph and will continue to use what I have learned to help others Triumph over paralysis.

I was injured in 2016 when I was shot while sitting in my car, resulting in a T12-L5 spinal cord injury. The beginning was extremely hard for me, but after two long years I’m grateful I was connected with Triumph Foundation. They brought me into the community and it changed my life. I became more confident in my chair and found a passion in acting. I started a Women’s SCI Support Group in the Claremont area and love helping others.

After high school I went to work in the oilfields. In February 1981, I was working as a derrick-hand on the tower of a production/workover rig in North Dakota’s Williston Basin. During a snowstorm in whiteout conditions and minus -30/-70 degree temps, there was a crash on the rig. It ejected me at high velocity up and out away from the rig… 100′ up and 50′ away. My injuries included crushing my L3/L4 vertebrae, both wrists, both right ankle and left heel, as well as my nose and face. Thanks to the US Air Force for sending a snowcat ambulance to get me to the hospital, and to North Dakota for flying me home to Los Angeles so I could rehab at both Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (2 years in-patient) and Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare (1 year out-patient).

During rehab I attended Cerritos College’s orthotic and prosthetic technician’s program, became a patient volunteer at Rancho’s Orthotics and Prosthetics Department, got myself an apartment, played wheelchair basketball with the Whittier Wings, and got married. A few years later I began a career in Information Technology, bought a home, and had two awesome sons (who are both emergency room RNs now). Over the decades I was a contract IT professional for large companies; open source developer; and a gaming community middleware publisher. My kids went to college. I was divorced. I was also a hospice volunteer for a couple of years. But something was missing.

I was a ronin, a warrior without a master, the master being a cause. A greater good to live and fight for. In 2010 I met the Skinner family, and Andrew was the messenger of a cause called the Triumph Foundation. Triumph Foundation serves a community people new to their circumstances, with ambassadors who have already lived that journey. People say, “One cannot know without having lived it.” At Triumph Foundation we have lived it and teach the skills to communicate and express it.

At the age of 21 I was a full-time student at Cal State Fullerton, worked part-time as a tutor and was raising my 4-year-old son.  After a week of extreme levels of stress and lack of rest I fell asleep while driving. On July 3, 2010, I was diagnosed with a C7 incomplete spinal cord injury. For the first time since I was a little kid, I did not have a plan for my future. I felt completely lost in a brand-new body, but I knew I had to push myself to recover in order to provide for my child.

I applied for a manual chair through Triumph, returned to school, and gained back my independence. In the last 10 years I have graduated college, raised an amazing kid, and have become a mental health therapist. In 2019, I received a Triumph Employment Achievement Award to start my own private practice. Currently I run a private practice, work from a medical clinic, volunteer as an Ambassador for Triumph, and am a full-time mom.

As an Ambassador of Triumph I have been able to give back to newly injured patients and was able to start an evening SCI support group for others who have busy work lives.

Michele became a C6-C7 quadriplegic at 23 years old. Michele met Andrew shortly after the beginning of Triumph Foundation. Michele wears many hats as an ambassador for Triumph. She leads the Oxnard SCI support group, the Triumph women’s group, and also helps with the Santa Barbara SCI support group. In addition to these many duties, Michele also visits newly injured patients and attends Triumph events and fundraisers.

When asked how she would describe Triumph, Michele said, “Seeing the excited faces of the newcomers to the many Triumph events is such a joy, especially the children.  I enjoy the camaraderie that exists among the Triumph family, I know we can all count on each other.”

I was injured in 2011, resulting in C6 incomplete quadriplegia. Triumph Foundation is like a best friend, there to encourage you to keep going and be there at your side through your new challenges. Everyone who is involved in the foundation gets it! Members and Ambassadors are disabled themselves and those who aren’t, have a spouse or family member who is. When you’re involved with Triumph, you pay-it-forward by talking to others who are injured. We can help others when they’re questioning their new lifestyle and learn from what they are going through, too. Triumph is a large support group.

Triumph touches so many lives at their events whether you’re injured or a caregiver/spouse/partner. Everyone can relate to just about anything a newly injured person is dealing with. We visit newly injured people and listen. Listen to their questions, counsel them, and keep in touch to help them on their ever-changing journey. They are given a care package which gives them a good head start on their new lifestyle and shows them that there is life after an SCI. The body was built to move. Exercise is medicine. Triumph has different adaptive sporting events throughout the year so there’s no excuse not to stay active. And Triumph helps with the financial burden of getting equipment, whether it’s for sporting equipment or something people need around their house to make their lives a little easier.

I was injured on November 1, 2018; and my level of injury is T6-T7 incomplete. Since my injury I have accomplished graduating with a bachelor’s in social work from CSUSB. I have traveled, learned how to drive, and began to take back my independence. For me, helping others brings me great joy, because I like to watch their journey. Watching people regain their independence and find happiness in their life once again is the most rewarding thing, even more so if you I took part in it. That is why I love being apart of Triumph.

I was injured on June 6, 2014; and am a T12 incomplete paraplegic. I was shot in a drive-by shooting which changed my life in a good way. After my injury I wasn’t sure how I was going to continue my life, until I met some people from Triumph Foundation.

Triumph told me that this was only a detour and there are ways to adapt to overcome any obstacle. I started playing even more sports and activities in my wheelchair than before my injury.  And now I am back to driving and also went back to school where I want to pursue my education in counseling to become a mentor and even one day have my own practice to counsel people with spinal cord injuries.

On November 18, 2020, I fell from my balcony while attempting to clean my rain gutters. My life changed drastically in that split second when I became a T9 paraplegic. The long six weeks and six days spent  in the hospital and in rehab during COVID was extremely lonely as I was isolated from my husband, four children, and all of my family and friends. Thankfully while in rehab, the staff at Casa Colina connected me to Andrew, Mickie, and several other Triumph “family” members via zoom calls. Without their smiling faces, encouraging words, and empathetic compassion, I’m not sure how I would have made it through that dark time. And ever since my accident, I have been so blessed by the beautiful community of Triumph support groups and the adaptive activities they offer. My desire is to spread the same message Triumph Foundation shares with all of my family, friends, and SCI newcomers: Life post injury can be full of joy and possibilities!

I suffered a C4/5/6 spinal cord injury in 2016 as a result of an automobile accident. I am still working towards an independent life, however that may look. I am very fortunate to have an ongoing wonderful support network with the Triumph family. My passion is the outdoors and adaptive sports. I believe outdoor recreation is an important part to one’s rehabilitation and reintegration into public life after a spinal cord injury. Triumph helped me achieve that, now I’m helping others as an Ambassador for Triumph Foundation.

In 1994 Larry was a very misguided youth and suffered a self-inflicted spinal cord injury. Unresolved childhood pain had set him on a destructive path that would lead to either prison or the grave. Ironically, this tragic event saved his life and made it more purposeful. Dealing with the pain of his spinal cord injury changed his life for the better and put him on a path to personal redemption and inspiration to others. As a quadriplegic, Larry was forced to face his demons, and on this journey found peace.  He is now a proud Ambassador for Triumph Foundation and loves to help other people who suffer catastrophic injuries.

On October 31, 2020, I crashed on my dirt bike at Dumont dunes resulting in a T-12 spinal cord injury. While I was still in the hospital someone reached out to my mom and introduced her to Triumph Foundation and when I came home it was one of the first stops I made. I think I met Andrew at the shop about a week after I arrived home from the hospital. Only 6 months after my accident, I began driving again and completed a marathon on my hand bike a year and a half post-accident.

I am an Ambassador for the Triumph Foundation and a mentor to people who are newly injured. I’m always willing and wanting to help out in any way that I can. If you want to have fun and be part of a wonderful supportive family I would suggest hanging out and getting involved with the Triumph Foundation. My hobbies include mountain biking, off roading, camping, fishing, kayaking, basketball, rugby and anything else that gets me moving and outside. I have 3 pet lizards: a bearded dragon, a crested gecko and a leopard gecko.

I was in a car accident while attending CSUN that resulted in a level T-12 incomplete spinal cord injury. With the love and support from my mother and sister, I was able to return to college and receive my B.A. in Liberal Studies. After college, I met my wonderful boyfriend who became my husband and father to our son. With his love and support I was able to complete my teaching credential. Tragically, my husband passed away when our son was four years old. Despite all odds, I was able to persevere and move forward. I proudly sit as a Kindergarten teacher in South Los Angeles where I not only teach academics to children, I also teach disability awareness. I am very blessed and I am an extremely proud mother of an amazing son who is a musician and he is currently attending Harvard University. I am grateful and excited to be an ambassador for Triumph Foundation to help, motivate, and inspire others to continue their journey.

I was in a dirt bike accident on December 17, 2018; that left me with a T8-T9 SCI. After my injury, I thought I had lost all ability to do things I love. Thankfully, I met with Triumph Foundation early on and they showed me life was not over and I am still able to do many of the things I love to do, just with a little adjustment. I became a Triumph Ambassador because I want to meet with people who are going through that same experience to let them know that they are not alone, and that they can still enjoy life and live every day to its fullest.

I was injured in 2014, resulting a C6-C7 quadriplegia. Triumph Foundation offers clinics for different sports for you to try out. They have amazing volunteers willing to help you out. They don’t see a disability; they see a possibility and you are treated with respect. They treat you like family. And me being a Triumph Ambassador let’s me be there every step of the way!

After spending 15 years as a non-profit attorney and 10 years as an overseas missionary, I returned to North American to pursue a Master’s in Theological Studies in Vancouver, Canada. Six months into my program, on September 13, 2017, I suffered a spinal cord injury at my L2/L3 due to a rare disease called cauda equina syndrome. I was rushed into emergency surgery, but unfortunately the damage was already done, and I was left a paraplegic.

As I was finishing my two months of inpatient rehabilitation, my therapists suggested that I connect with Triumph Foundation. Triumph Foundation visited me in the hospital and brought me their care backpack full of resources. They also provided me with a grant to purchase hand controls so that I could begin driving again and regain some of my independence. Triumph gave me a forum to learn from experts, receive peer support, and make friends with those who understood what I was going through. I currently am a part of the St. Jude Support Group in Fullerton, CA and do hospital visits for the newly injured. I am also returning to school and starting my own consulting practice.

I had a snowboarding accident on April 17, 2019, during which I broke 21 ribs and suffered a L1 burst fracture. I was airlifted to Renown Hospital in Reno for emergency treatment. I was transferred to St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard for rehabilitation. Once out of hospital, still wearing a back brace, I began teaching CPR classes again. Since my discharge I’ve continued to make progress.

I returned to work on February 18, 2020, in the position of “Recreation and Ocean Safety Supervisor” where I am responsible for managing the Lifeguard/Jr Lifeguard Programs for the City of Port Hueneme. I also facilitate food delivery to home-bound seniors in our community.

Triumph is a passion of mine because while I was in the hospital, Andrew Greenbaum visited me and spent some time talking about his experience with spinal injury. Triumph also lent me a loaner chair which allowed me a significant level of independence while I worked with insurance to get a chair that I could load in/out of my car on my own. The level of support offered in the SCI groups is powerful. Regardless of level of injury, the impact on a person’s life is significant and having a group to share stories of daily struggles allows all of us to triumph over our injury.

Julienne Dallara is an actor/singer/dancer who woke up paralyzed in 1996 from Transverse Myelitis. At the time her daughter was 3 years old and her son was 7 months, so being in a wheelchair was a challenge. Divorce followed, and she supported her family by selling accessible vehicles. Doing this, she met her husband of 20 years, another wheelchair-user with post-polio. In 2012, Julienne was approached by the Abilities Expo to help produce this chain of National trade shows for disability products. Working there is a joy; fulfilling her need to help others while still allowing her to exercise her passion for gardening and creating fine art. Julienne started her own non-profit, Volunteer AIDS Massage Project (VAMP) in 1989, was a Peer Counselor for WYNGS from 1998-2007, and a Triumph Ambassador since its inception.

My name is Michelle Fowler, but I go by the name Mickie. In 1984, as a young married mom of two kids, Paul, age 4 and Joy, 18 months, one weekend, my husband Doug and I joined some friends from our home in Claremont, Ca. to visit a place called Glamis, near the Arizona border. It is a huge desert area with many sand dunes known for riding recreational vehicles. Our friends had All Terrain Cycles (ATC) so I spent a few hours getting used to this new experience (not knowing how unsafe they could be).

About mid-afternoon, while riding this three-wheeled cycle by myself, I was going down a not-too-steep dune at a low speed when suddenly I lost control, panicked, and not knowing what to do to gain back control, just let go and was thrown off, landing so hard on the sand I actually remember hearing a cracking sound and then feeling a sensation (like when you hit your funny bone on your elbow) in my back.

Doug, who had been riding ahead of me, turned around and seeing me on the ground with my leg twisted, asked if I was ok and if I broke my leg. I told him I couldn’t even feel my leg, then he leaned over and felt my back and could feel a lump. We knew it was serious and our friends called for emergency help. I was conscious the entire time and remember having a military helicopter, I think called a Huey, transport me on a gurney to the local hospital in Yuma, Arizona.

After a quick assessment in the ER that I had no other injuries other than possible paralysis. I was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix and, after my diagnosis of a T-11 SCI, I had to have surgery to place long steel rods along my spine to stabilize it.

While there for about ten days to heal in a bed that would rotate me to relieve pressure on my paralyzed body, I was flown to Pomona, Ca. in a small plane owned by a friend. From there, I was taken by ambulance to Casa Colina Rehabilitation Hospital and, after getting over the shock of being in a room with five men, began my new “normal” life of learning how to live in a wheelchair.

Three months later, I was discharged, continued therapy, learned to drive, bought a van and resumed my life as a wife, mother, and also had another baby, Adam, born in 1986.

I stayed active by volunteering at their schools, serving in my church, and eventually got a part-time job working for a CPA.

Now, 36 years later, after traveling to many places (including several cruises), I’m enjoying retirement, being involved with the Triumph Foundation and mostly loving being a Grandma!

I had a T12 spinal cord injury in 2017 due to a snowboarding accident. I have always loved action sports, and after my injury started skating in wheelchair WCMX and have competed all over the US. I want to show people that just because you go through something difficult doesn’t mean life has to stop or slow down, you just find a different way of doing it. Triumph has given me that avenue showing thousands of people that life is not over after your injury.

I was in a car accident back in 2006, suffering a C4-5 incomplete spinal cord injury. I was in the hospital for nine months and was very depressed. I could not face the reality that I was paralyzed. I went to Casa Colina for outpatient therapy and that’s where I found out about the SCI support group. I was amazed by their stories and I met other people with my same level of injury and that changed my perspective of life. Bobby Rohan invited me to a support group at Rancho Los Amigos, and after attending numerous meetings he asked me if I wanted to join the peer mentor program and I said YES! Blessings kept coming; I started to be more active in the community and that’s when I met Andrew Skinner. We became really good friends, I wanted to help Triumph Foundation and I joined their Ambassador training program.

I always wanted to help others that had suffered an injury like mine. I went to visit a patient in a nursing home who was going through depression. I told him life is hard but is up to us to make the choice to be happy, we stayed in touch and we were able to get him home again and leading a productive life. That’s when I knew my purpose and I’m blessed to be an Ambassador. One of the highlights after my injury was in 2019, I went skydiving! Yes! A C4-C5 Quadriplegic. My message is to anybody who has a disability is that anything is possible, we just have to do things differently.

I was injured in a motorcycle racing accident in 1974 and now have a T12 SCI. Here is a brief snapshot of part of my life after paralysis.

After my injury and rehab, I returned to college in 1975 to continue my education as well as working part-time. I participated in various wheelchair sports and started a basketball team which I was part of for a couple of years. Later, I had an opportunity for a role in a movie titled “Coming Home.” I took a break from school to work in the film. Once completed, I returned to school and work. I graduated with my degree and was now ready to start the next chapter of my life.

As the years progressed, I got married and, unfortunately, divorced some years later. I found myself attending grad school and moving up the corporate ladder.

Fast forward to recent years, I finally retired after 40+ years from a hard and rewarding career. In 2018, I met Andrew and Triumph Foundation. After all the years of non-involvement with the disability community since the first years of my injury, it was a good feeling getting reacquainted and involved (with the community) once again. In addition to being a Triumph Ambassador, I am also a Peer Mentor at Rancho Los Amigos. It has been an interesting and joyous ride of life’s ups and downs. My journey continues as I am enjoying another chapter in my life of giving back, building new friendships, and being part of the Triumph Foundation family and community.

In August of 2013, I had a 12+ hour brain tumor surgery and was fortunate enough to come out of it without complications. As years passed, I started to decline physically, to the point I could no longer walk. At first, they thought it was a possible side effect from the surgery. After numerous tests I came to find that I also had an Arachnoid Web throughout my spinal cord. On January 15, 2018, I was also diagnosed with having Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

Since then I keep myself active both physically and mentally. I go to the gym, as well as play sports including WCMX and Rugby. I enjoy computer networking, as well as reading in my spare time. I love helping others because It builds stronger social connections to friends. I know it can be hard to go through something like SCI/D alone and bringing hope to them for a better tomorrow is fulfilling. I am honored to be an ambassador of Triumph giving hope to others when they first get a SCI/D and help them get started on their new life.

I sustained a C6-7 Incomplete SCI on January 23, 2006. I can honestly say that I’ve done more with my life in the past 14 years than I did in the 32 years I lived before my injury. I’ve traveled the world, went skydiving, tried archery, went skiing, and learned how to appreciate each day that I am given! I’ve always been a techie who loves to work with his hands, and person who enjoys entertaining and being around my friends and family. When I was initially injured, I learned how to cope with this life changing event all by myself. Is it doable? Yes. Is it necessary or even recommended? Not at all? No two SCIs are the same, yet our struggles and challenges are. I am a social person who loves to help and give support to those in need that’s why I became a Triumph Ambassador.