Joseph

Joseph

Age: 69

Location: Washington

Injury or relation: Spinal cord injury, T2 for 10 years

Hobbies/Interests: Listening, playing and recording music. I play piano. I also like to read, be outdoors, spending time with family, cooking and going to concerts and movies.

Why did you become a peer mentor? I became a peer mentor due to my own experiences. I was 59 when I fell and injured myself. I had enjoyed an entire lifetime of being athletic and always on the move. After I fell, I was so depressed that I felt that I would rather be dead than paralyzed. With time and hard work, that changed. Now, I measure my life based on what I still have instead of what I lost.

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This project was supported, in part, by grant number 90PRRC0002, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.