NorCal SCI Samurais: ready to serve the SCI community

One of our 2018 goals involved building out our team of individuals with a spinal cord injury/disorder who can meet with the newly-injured while in an acute stage at a rehab or hospital so that they can be supported at any stage of their new journey.  We're pleased to launch NorCal SCI's Samurais that will help us accomplish that goal.

The meaning of Samurai is basically translated as "those who serve" or "to serve and attend" and that's our objective and to help us on that front, we're pleased to introduce Krystina Jackson, Ran Tao and Char Vine, three individuals who are volunteering their time in order to make a difference for the newly-injured and their family by serving and attending to their significant needs while navigating the many challenges they're likely to face.

Left to right:  Char, Krystina and Ran

Krystina was 19 years old when she suffered a devastating C 4-5 SCI in a snowboarding accident at Bear Valley ski resort, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. 

Ran was 21 years old when he sustained a C8 SCI while snow boarding at the Northstar Ski Resort, Tahoe.

Char was injured in 2000 when she took a 65-foot jump on a snowboard and landed unexpectedly on her back, breaking her T-11 vertebrae and leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. 

While all three coincidentally had their injury occur doing snow-based recreational activities, the common theme among them involves their drive and determination to not let their disability define them.  All three of them have made incredible recovery, perhaps not necessarily physical but, more importantly, moving forward with their lives and thriving while doing so.  And we feel that they can help others accomplish the same objective.  We're proud to call them not only Samurais but good friends, too.

Our goal at NorCal SCI is to have as many Samurais as possible throughout Northern California to help the more than 600 individuals who will suffer a spinal cord injury each year.  We hope you would consider joining this cause so that we can help others thrive equally.  If you or someone you know would like to talk to us about how you can help, send us an e-mail to info@norcalsci.org.