Jennifer Kayler

Hi my name is Jennifer and I’m Patrick’s mom.  He is ten years old and he has a C4 incomplete spinal cord injury.  He was injured at 14 months old when the driver of a car was backing up and ran him over.

Patrick’s first exposure to wheelchair sports was at camp.  Then he got involved in a year round, wheelchair sports team.  They travel and compete against other teams.  About two years ago, he joined an adapted surfing program.  And he’s just having a blast, enjoying life.

For the last few months, Patrick has been attending therapy at Project Walk in California.  His program entails making the core of his body stronger and building the muscles he has and doesn’t have.  I’ve already seen huge improvements and am really excited about the next couple of years.  My expectation for Patrick is that he gets as well as possible.  If he doesn’t walk, then it’s not going to be the end of the world.  He has a great life in a chair.  He plays lots of sports and has a lot of fun.  But if we didn’t try everything we possibly could to see if he could walk again, then we’d never know.  So, we’re willing to put forth the effort.

Read what Patrick has to say.   Click here