LIVE QUICKIE BLOG

The biggest thing that helped me regain some normalcy in my life was getting back into hunting, fishing, and the outdoors. Before my accident I was very active in high school sports and the outdoors. When I did have free time I was doing something outdoors. When I had my accident at the age of 15, all of that changed. I did not think I would be able to do what I could before.

My journey started while I was still in high school. I wasn't a model student. To be honest I didn't even like school, and I didn't even have a plan for life after graduation. One day during my junior year the school was doing testing for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). I had no interest in going into the military, but it got me out of class for a few hours so I took it.

Growing up, Bob and his family spent as much time as possible together in the water – boating, swimming, water skiing, you name it. In fact, Bob has always considered himself a "lake guy." Returning to school after a trip to the lake in his second year of college, he was injured in a car accident that left him paralyzed, but no less a "lake guy" at heart. This meant Bob and his parents had to get creative when it came to their favorite pastime.

My name is Arturo Valdez and I am from Mexico City. Almost 23 years ago I had a motorcycle accident which caused a spinal cord injury at the T7 level. I have Luque wires in my back from T2 to T12. At the beginning of this journey, my life was like people told me it would have to be, as the medical books say: dealing with pressure ulcers while seated in a large, heavy hospital wheelchair. One day I decided I could, and must, do things differently.

When I was 12 years old, my dad and younger brother were in a car accident. My brother was killed and my dad was paralyzed. The only reason I survived that is because people around us showed us that my dad had a future as a quadriplegic. He now lives completely independently, drives himself to work every day, and even danced with me at my wedding.