I am very thankful to be a part of the Press On Foundation. This is a foundation that my mother set up in honor of me. I have been on a path of pursuing recovery from a spinal cord injury, since September of 2008. Funding for long term therapy is hard to come by. Many foundations like the Press On Foundation are here to help those who are in the pursuit of the best life possible by never giving up and engaging in exercise therapy and physical therapy many years post injury. It brings me great joy to have stepped up and started a fundraiser in 2014, where I host a PBR touring pro in Amarillo, Texas. It raises funds for the Press On Foundation. This allows myself, along with others to engage in and attend specialized spinal cord injury recovery therapy in Austin, Texas. I hope to help many more in the future.

This has also helped provide a way for me to continue my therapy in my home gym in Canyon, Texas. I hire college students that are in their undergrad at WTAMU, who are interested in going on to grad school to become a physical therapist or an occupational therapist. I provide them with an opportunity to gain hands on experience in exercise therapy by helping a quadriplegic exercise. I have had a number of students come through my program who have gone on to become physical therapists and occupational therapists. This is what I do, it is my life and I'm looking forward to helping many more know that recovery is possible! The things I’m now capable of doing, could not have been done three years post injury. That's when a lot of people stop pursuing recovery and give up, largely because the medical field has said you will not change after three years post injury. I have improved my quality of life in movement, and in lifestyle, drastically in the last five to six years, due to staying active in exercise therapy! Along with the opportunities to have used my own adult stem cells in stem cell procedures. I hope to see more opportunities of this open up in the future.

Thank you Press On Foundation and your supporters,

Koben

I was involved in a freak accident July 25th 2011. I was racing a friend to see who could run faster. Although I won the race, I almost lost my life. When trying to slow to a stop, I tumbled forward and broke my neck. I was instantly paralyzed from the chest down. At 26 years old my whole life and the way I lived it was completely changed. I have been blessed with an opportunity to attend Project Walk/ Easter Seals in Austin. Therapy has been a God send for me and has given me back some of the strength lost as a result of my injury.  It has allowed me some level of independence and normalcy in my life.

Justin Quesada

Working out with therapy programs, like the LIFE Center, has changed my outlook on my abilities and my recovery as a whole. With their help I've been able to see my life once again as a life which I am in complete control of, and not as a product of circumstance. It allows me to take control of the direction that my life is headed and allows me to accomplish my goals and dreams.

Adrian Moreno

It was 2009 and I was on the brink of starting my life. I never thought I would be in a situation that resulted in me spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I was out at a karaoke bar with childhood friends whom I played baseball and softball with since little league. I tried breaking up an argument a friend was having with someone else outside and that’s when someone else that was not involved grabbed their gun from the car and shot me in the back as we tried to head back in to the bar. I was in ICU for two weeks and spent another month and a half in a rehabilitation facility. My spinal cord was injured at T12 and I had two titanium rods placed in my back. It took me a long time to realize that I needed to do something more and I could not live my life letting the chair hold me back. I moved to Austin and started attending Project Walk Austin now Easter Seals Life Center. Attending the facility and receiving the therapy and exercise I desperately needed has helped me out tremendously. I am mostly independent now and am able to do many things that I never thought I would be able to do again. My goal is to walk again and although I am not there yet. With the help of the Press On Foundation I know through my continued determination and hard work I may one day reach my goal.

Helen

Thank you, Koben and your Press On Foundation for sponsoring me at the Life Center Easter Seals of Central Texas. The recovery journey I am on with Chad Steed at the Life Center is and has been amazing and your recent involvement in this physical therapy with me is deeply appreciated. As Chad may have mentioned to you, my therapy funding has become a challenging issue. You also know, our physical therapies are crucial to recovery!

I look forward to hearing from you and how your recovery is “pressing on.”

Very best to you,

Helen Whitcraft