Joseph Zinski Voorhees, NJ, USA

C-7 Quadriplegia, June 2005

On June 12, 2005, I dove into a swimming pool like I had done a million times before. I loved the water and was a competitive swimmer all my life. I played soccer, skied, and rock-climbed with my friends and my younger sister. But at the age of 19, all that and more was taken away in just a split-second.

It has taken 18 months of intensive therapy and two surgeries so far, but I have made it back to the University of Connecticut to continue my studies in the honors program in Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engineering. Next semester, I will be involved with a stem cell research project at UConn and intend to focus my honors thesis in this area. Along with the demands of my academic program, I continue to do daily therapies like riding the FES bike and standing frame as well as bi-weekly PT sessions. My life-goal after I earn my degree is to help find the CURE through stem cell research. It is so close. It is my hope that our government will begin to support all of the people who persevere daily, with unwavering determination to stand on their own two feet again.