Nick Struthers

In August 2004, Nick was 42 when he had a mountain bike accident in the hills above Los Gatos and was initially paralyzed below his chest. He was airlifted to SCVMC where he was diagnosed with a C5-6 incomplete SCI and underwent surgery. Nick experienced a lot of return over the days and weeks after his accident and coupled with what Nick would describe as an obsessive attitude towards his rehab, he was able to get back to almost the same physical condition he was in before the accident. Nick, who is originally from Scotland, still continues to enjoy mountain biking in the Los Gatos Hills.

Since the summer of 2014, Nick has volunteered as an SCI Peer Supporter at SCVMC. “Since joining the Peer Support Team, I continue to be humbled and inspired by my fellow Peers and the patients that I have had the privilege to meet and work with. If there was one thing I know now that would have helped me in my recovery is the realization that my condition did not just affect me but also had a huge impact on the people closest to me.”

Nick teamed up with Ron Sidell and Franklin Elieh in the Spring of 2015 to support the Patterson Network before making the transition to co-founding NorCal SCI.

Nick credits his interaction with Dougy Johnstone, former Peer Support Manager of Spinal Injuries Scotland for providing the inspiration and framework to better serve the SCI Community in Northern California.

As well as volunteering at SCVMC, Nick is a trained Reeve Foundation and United Spinal Association SCI Peer Mentor.