Chaz Southard Topsfield, Massachusetts

C4-incomplete, August 2002

On the morning of August 10, 2002, I was like any other active 23-year-old. Living, surfing, beachcombing and working on a barrier island off the coast of Massachusetts; I thought I had found Utopia. Little did I know that hours later an average dive into a swell would snap my neck and bruise my spinal cord by strangely flipping my legs over my head. Since that date it has been a fight for survival -- ongoing battle to keep my health stable, countless hours spent working at rehabbing my injured body, studying for a graduate degree and lobbying for legislation that will help grant future independence and health.

Politics should never be in the way of healing and scientific potential! My family and I can only wish and urge that our leaders will support legislation to end the extreme suffering paralysis causes.