Be
Loud.
Heard.
Driven.
Make an impact this May during National Mobility Awareness Month.
Stories
of impact.
From a second shot at a life of adventure to fulfilling dreams of an active family lifestyle, mobility vehicles and equipment do more than get you from here to there. Wheelchair accessible vehicles change lives. These stories, collected from our community, are evidence of that fact. Read on for inspiration and a drive to take action.
Andrew Scott
For Andrew Scott, his 2003 accident may have saved his life. It certainly changed it and put it on a different direction. Not just physically, but in every aspect of his life, including his career.
When the rollover accident happened, it left Andrew paralyzed without the use of his legs. At the time, Andrew had dropped out of college and was working at a car wash. He didn’t plan to go back to college at the time, but after his accident, he realized to be successful from a wheelchair, he would have to utilize brain over brawn.
Andrew had hired a reputable personal injury firm to assist him with his rollover accident case and the lawyers involved motivated him to go back to school. He received both his undergraduate degree and master’s degree from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi and attended law school at The Pennsylvania State University.
Today, Andrew is a personal injury litigation attorney in Garland, Texas and says he is blessed to have his life come full circle. He focuses his work on clients who have been through similar trauma with an acute understanding of what they are going through and a strong desire to help clients navigate catastrophic life changing events.
“After the accident, I was grateful to have attorneys who advised me on the importance of educating myself,” Andrew says. “If I was going to be independent again, I would need to become my own best advocate”.
Andrews said that although there are many levels and options for adaptive driving, having the opportunity to enjoy a fully equipped ADA truck has made it much safer and more enjoyable to travel and maintain his independence.
“I was 22 when I first became paralyzed. Back then it was much easier to climb into a SUV and to jump out into my wheelchair. Now, as I am older and heavier than back then, safety is my number one priority.”
Knowing he needed a vehicle that was better suited for his evolving needs, Andrew started doing his research and found the NMEDA dealer, Access2Mobility based in Tyler, Texas. They featured a heavily modified truck on YouTube that caught his attention. They worked with Andrew and designed the best adaptive vehicle for his needs.
“I have a friend who has been in a wheelchair all his life and he showed me something important, that if I didn’t remember where I was before, I wouldn’t be upset with where I am today,” Andrew says. “so, I focus on where I’m going, not where I’ve been.”
John Mezydlo
It’s truly difficult to comprehend what it is like to go from being independent to having to rely on others as your complete mode of transportation. But for nearly 18,000 Americans every year who experience a spinal cord injury, this is exactly what happens.
Madison Powers was a senior in high school traveling with a group of friends to the state championship when the driver lost control, flipped the car, and ejected Madison, leaving her a paraplegic.
John Mezydlo was in college when he jumped into a river, hit the bottom the wrong way, and became a quadriplegic.
Today, both Madison and John live full lives in part because they have wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
“I couldn’t have raised my children the way we have been able to without our van,” states Madison.
Over the years, John has become a national competitor in wheelchair rugby. Today he is married with twin daughters and works with United Access, a NMEDA member, providing wheelchair-accessible vehicles, because he wants to help empower others.
“People need to understand there are options out there,” John says. “There’s a big world ready for you to be a part of by using these vehicles.”
Paul Hopkins
Far too many people know what Paul Hopkins has gone through. One minute, he’s living his best life and – in a split second – your life changes.
Paul, who lives in Woodbridge, VA., was playing high school football in 2004 when he became paralyzed after tackling an opponent at a Hayfield Secondary School junior varsity game.
Immediately after the accident, Paul had a significant support group with his family and friends. They would take him where he needed to go and had a full-time nurse. Eventually he decided to move away for college and work on becoming independent.
“I had to grow up at school and it was a great opportunity to take care of myself because I didn’t have my mom right there,” Paul says. “I had to figure it out and taking an Uber back and forth made me know I needed more independence.”
He received his first adaptive vehicle from Alexandria, Virginia based MobilityWorks – 13 years after his injury.“It changed my life a lot by helping me become independent,” states Paul. “I can drive and go out of town, travel and meet new people.”
Today, Paul plays competitive wheelchair rugby. He went back to coach his old high school football team and teaches at a local middle school. Paul got married last year to a woman who lived in Minneapolis that he met while travelling.
“Without my vehicle, it would be very difficult to make it to work and I wouldn’t have been able to travel to visit my fiancé and grow that relationship,” Paul says.
Julia and Jessica Bonamassa
When Julia Bonamassa played youth soccer and softball at 10 years old, she started falling down a lot and began having trouble running. A few months later, her identical twin sister, Jessica, started experiencing the same thing.
“When Julia was running in soccer, her leg started to give out and collapse. We all thought it was a growth spurt,” Jessica says. “We were very active, playing soccer and softball and in the outdoor world, kayaking, riding quads and shooting.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a growth spurt. The young twins from Berlin, New Jersey were diagnosed with FHSD, a form of muscular dystrophy. This is a progressively deteriorating muscle disease, which has no cure or treatment to prevent progression.
Today, they live independent lives because of the assistance of their wheelchair accessible vehicle.
Julia says. “Our mom would drive us everywhere – she was so selfless, but it was like we were a burden. When we got our first van last year, it was the first sense of normalcy we felt in years because we didn’t have to rely on anyone and could be completely independent.”
A decade after those first symptoms started, the twins are going to separate schools for the first time in their lives. Julia is attending Rutgers University in Camden, NJ and Jessica is attending Rowan University in NJ both as juniors.
“Today, we can just drive,” Julia says. “It’s just amazing and a blessing because when I get in the car, I don’t need to worry about struggling.”
Madison Powers
It’s truly difficult to comprehend what it is like to go from being independent to having to rely on others as your complete mode of transportation. But for nearly 18,000 Americans every year who experience a spinal cord injury, this is exactly what happens.
Madison Powers was a senior in high school traveling with a group of friends to the state championship when the driver lost control, flipped the car, and ejected Madison, leaving her a paraplegic.
John Mezydlo was in college when he jumped into a river, hit the bottom the wrong way, and became a quadriplegic.
Today, both Madison and John live full lives in part because they have wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
“I couldn’t have raised my children the way we have been able to without our van,” states Madison.
Over the years, John has become a national competitor in wheelchair rugby. Today he is married with twin daughters and works with United Access, a NMEDA member, providing wheelchair-accessible vehicles, because he wants to help empower others.
“People need to understand there are options out there,” John says. “There’s a big world ready for you to be a part of by using these vehicles.”
Tyler Allen
As Tyler Allen laid at the bottom of the dune, he thought he might die. He had been riding dirt bikes since he was 13, but at 25 years old, it was his first-time riding at Dumont Dunes in California. The 30-foot drop caught him off guard and he landed on his bike, breaking his back.
“It really didn’t hit me until a week later when I fully realized what had happened and that even if I walked again, how life changing this would be,” Tyler said.
Today, thanks to the help of MobilityWorks in Van Nuys, a member of the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA), Tyler is living an independent life, focused on his passions of being outdoors – including fishing the lakes around his Santa Clarita home on a kayak.
The past year has shown Tyler’s true spirit and how he is an inspiration to others. To help him gain back independence, Tyler consulted with MobilityWorks, which installed equipment in the back of his truck to help with his wheelchair.
While that started his path towards independence, what really sent him on a new direction was the annual camping trip to Mammoth Lakes with his friends. He was able to camp and spend time with them, but when they went hiking or fishing, he stayed behind.
“That really pushed me because that trip really wasn’t fun,” Allen says. “I’m still as competitive as I used to be. That hasn’t changed.”
He and his friend went to work adding rollers and tiedowns for his kayak. And now, he puts a 12-foot ocean kayak in the back of his truck, brings it to the lakes and fishes without having to hike on trails down canyons and mountains.
“This year, my friends were all fishing places I couldn’t get to,” he says. “Next year, I’ll be fishing places they can’t get to – all because of my truck, my kayak and the help of groups like Triumph Foundation.”
Join the movement.
Whether you’ve found independence behind the wheel of an adaptive vehicle or want to raise awareness for the options available to those with disabilities, we want to hear from you.
Share your story using #nmam2022 and #nmamDriveChange or #nmamBeDriven
Learn more about how disabilities and mobility issues affect people all over North America. Download our National Mobility Awareness Month fact sheet.
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