🌟 Community Spotlight: Faces of NorCal SCI 🌟
🌟 Community Spotlight: Faces of NorCal SCI 🌟
Welcome to our Community Spotlight section! We want to bring everyone closer together by highlighting the diverse faces and journeys that make NorCal SCI so special. Take a look around, read our latest conversations, and get inspired by the amazing individuals right here in our neighborhood! If you or someone you know lives in Northern California and would like to be featured in an upcoming spotlight, let us know!
In the Spotlight: Justin Milligan
When you chat with Justin Milligan, a few things immediately stand out: his deep commitment to helping others as an attorney for domestic violence survivors, his love for the outdoors, and his companion, a cat named Neptune who loves walking on a leash and riding on his shoulders. A 20-foot fall while playing disc golf changed his physical reality, but it didn't slow his momentum. With a set of clear goals and an unshakable drive, Justin has spent the time since rebuilding his routine, rediscovering his passions, and leaning into the power of patience.
In the Spotlight: John Looper
A passionate motocross racer in his youth, 20-year-old John took on a notoriously tricky jump at a practice track outside Dallas. Landing hard, the impact compressed his spine and resulted in a T11 complete spinal cord injury. In the 46 years since that life-altering moment, John has built a life centered around independence, deep family ties, and continuous personal reinvention.
In the Spotlight: Vandana Vyas
Every story in our community carries a unique blend of resilience, adaptation, and deep personal history. Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with with Vandana, a truly extraordinary member of our NorCal SCI family. From a high-powered career balancing two demanding jobs to navigating the life changes following a spinal cord injury, Vandana opened up about her journey, the support system that keeps her moving, and how she finds light in everyday moments.
In the Spotlight: Karen Lohr
This time, we are thrilled to feature Karen Lohr. Karen is an active, adventuring member of our community who lives with a C5/C6 incomplete spinal cord injury. From white-water rafting to hitting the open water in a sailboat, she is always up for trying new things and jumping right into local activities.
In the Spotlight: Rosa Noya
Life often has a funny way of shifting gears when you least expect it, demanding an entirely new level of resilience and adaptability. For Rosa Noya, that unexpected turn came in the summer of 2024.
In the Spotlight: Saul Alvarez
When life takes an unexpected turn, adaptation becomes the ultimate skill. For Saul, a motorcycle accident on Veterans Day in 2022 completely shifted his reality, resulting in a T4 complete spinal cord injury. But a change in direction didn't mean an end to the journey.
In the Spotlight: Jeffrey Whitaker
When life changes in an instant, the path forward requires an immense amount of resilience, adaptation, and, above all, patience. For 53-year-old Jeffrey Whitaker, that turning point occurred on a dark, rainy night on January 14, 2023. While driving to an extra night shift as a nurse, Jeffrey was hit by a drunk driver just a mile away from his home.
In the Spotlight: Arash Bayatmakou
Arash’s world changed in 2012 when he suffered a cervical spinal cord injury. Faced with a healthcare system that offered very little support, he decided to ignore the negative medical outlook and pave his own path to recovery.
In the Spotlight: Alex Strilets
This installment of our Spotlight feature was written by Alex's wife Dina. Recovery from a spinal cord injury is very different for everyone and Alex's journey highlights those who are fortunate to experience significant return of function below the level of their injury.
In the Spotlight: Shane Tucker
On March 21st, 2023, Shane Tucker was driving on a rainy morning in the Santa Cruz mountains when, out of nowhere, a 100 mph wind moved in from a storm front. This caused a large tree to fall across the road, and the vehicle in front of him drove into it. He got out to assist the driver that struck the tree. While doing so, a large branch from a redwood tree broke out from approximately 150 feet up, striking Shane in the head and back.
In the Spotlight: Josanne van der Wilk
Mission Valley Urban Farm began in 2020 in a small apartment in Santa Cruz, California. My now husband, Matt, and I had started dating a few months before the Covid lockdowns began. We suddenly found ourselves living together while I distance-taught a third grade class and had just adopted an awesome, unruly kitten.
In the Spotlight: Lindsay Ulrey
Lindsay’s entire life changed dramatically when she walked into the ER with severe back pain in late October 2021 that ultimately lead to a complete SCI from T4 level down due to a rare nueroimmune disorder called transverse myelitis (TM). Lindsay had never heard of TM before and was terrified about what this meant for her and her kid’s futures.
In the Spotlight: Jorge Macias
Before my injury, I had just graduated high school and was working in construction as an electrician. Things were looking good until one day when I decided that I was going to go to a party after work. To make a long story short 5 guys wanted to rob me, one thing led to another and I ended up getting shot 3 times: arm, leg, and back. I had 2 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and of course, the bullet burned my spinal cord. I was 17 and a t-7 complete paraplegic.
In the Spotlight: Debra Dobosz
I am a nurse. In 2011, I finished a Master’s Degree in Nursing Leadership and three months into a new job as a tenure track nursing instructor, a tumor at C4 on my spinal cord was discovered.
Surgery resulted in Brown-Sequard Syndrome where I have full motor function and no sensation on my right side and decreased motor with full sensation on my left side.
This could be YOU!
If you, or someone you know, would like to be featured here, let us know! Click here to fill out the form.