…due to a spinal cord injury from a car accident. I was diagnosed T-10 complete, which if you’re reading this… you likely know exactly what that means. IF you don’t, it means I was paralyzed from my T-10 vertebrae (belly button) down and had no feeling or movement. I was like this for 3 whole years. Doctors told me if I didn’t get anything back in the first year, then I would never get anything back. I sat around that first year and waited for myself to heal, and when nothing happened, I went into a dark hole of depression. There was a lot going wrong in my life at the time, so fighting my body constantly wasn’t helping the situation. I also have mental health issues in my family, so I eventually made the decision to start working on myself, and got help. I started seeing a therapist who helped heal my nervous system and that was when I finally started understanding the power of our minds. I saw I was approaching recovery all wrong, and I knew it wasn’t about sitting around waiting for a miracle. No- like anything in life, I was going to have to put in the work.

That’s when I really started seeing results. I already had learned much of what goes into paralysis recovery because I had been deep diving into what was then “Project Walk” and eventually started attending SCI-FIT Fresno where I spent 6 hours a day learning every ounce of information I could as well as implementing it into my life. My first big gain was being able to stand up and hold my knees locked out, which was 3 years post injury. Then I regained sensation below my belly button. After achieving those 2 big milestones, I gained more hope to keep trying.

In 2021 I made my parallel bars, and that gave me the confidence to really push myself. I knew what I had implemented was also working, so I kept at it. In 2021, I also had the idea to create this course, and I thank God that I didn’t because boy oh boy was I not ready. Around that time I went through a divorce, lost everything, and was suddenly 23 years old living alone only working part time... going into debt, broke, but still my normal positive-self. I didn’t give up. I also moved out when I was 17 and freshly disabled, so I understand struggle. Having to figure out how to keep a job as a girl who really needs to just stay near a bathroom all day to avoid peeing her pants, was not easy. But, I am strong, and I did it. I was also strong enough to leave a marriage. I survived a car accident that should’ve killed me, and now I am breaking the stigma of not being able to be a business professional as a disabled person and using my story and my experience to help thousands of others heal their bodies and re-wire their minds. Long story short- I played the victim for a little bit in life, and then realized that really wasn’t going to get me anywhere. 

Changing my own brain to always look for the positive and then using the joy that brings me to continue to uplift others is what life is all about. I promise. A higher vibration attracts a higher vibration. Good always brings good.

The independence that regaining function has given me, as well as the freedom in my body, is something I will forever be grateful for. After being told (and accepting) that it was never gonna happen, what I have gotten back is nothing short of a blessing. I continue to implement everything I have learned everyday to keep recovering, and I am excited to reach more milestones… with you! I am by no means fully healed, and I hold it heavy on my heart sometimes thinking if I just knew everything I knew now, when I was first injured I would be so much further along.

I also have had so much struggle since becoming paralyzed: from dealing with chronic UTIs, being in an abusive relationship (for 7 years), having no support from my parents, getting divorced at 22 years old, having my house robbed, and then being homeless for a bit, moving to an entire new city all by myself to get back to doing what I love… life has been scary and I hold a lot of grace for what I have been through on top of trying to recover, just as you should hold grace for yourself. But, the reality is the sooner and more often you can focus on recovery, and implement these exercises/habits… the better. I now am finally in such a good place being able to jump back into a routine with my recovery, and seeing the results makes me feel so incredibly grateful but it also just solidifies that I am doing the right things.

I want people to understand the power they hold in their minds. I want people to stop take what doctors tell them as their reality, and I want to help as many people as I can change their minds, and then change their lives.

Enduring a spinal cord injury isn’t easy, or any sort of paralysis. I have no desire to take away from that. My goal here is to share my knowledge and experience to hopefully help someone else believe in themselves. I think back to that young girl only receiving recovery advice from doctors and random strangers online who usually had a better chance of recovering than me, or so I was told, and I just want to fill her brain with all of my knowledge. 

I think about joining a neuro rehab facility finally at 19, and really diving into the science behind paralysis recovery, and wishing I had that information sooner. Then I start thinking about how much time I wasted. I know it happened for a reason, but I want to go back with everything I know now and help her. She knew nothing about becoming paralyzed. This truly is why I created my platform. 

8 years of my life I will never get back. 8 years of research, testing out devices, testing out exercises, and then waiting to see results.

I have tried so many things. I laugh thinking about the year 2021. I invested in a pair of headphones that were supposed to stimulate your brain to make it more receptive to neuro plasticity. They cost me $350 at the time, which was all the money I had… but I was determined to heal. I still am. I lost those in my divorce, but I understand the concept now and can carry it over without the headphones.

ANYWAYS. My point is- I AM dedicated. And when you are dedicated, you will invest in your goals.

Is this process easy? No. But is it worth it? Absolutely.

Being able to just stand up whenever I want to… is something I didn’t understand how valuable would be. Even being able to just connect to my body has made every day life so much easier. Walking down the aisle at my wedding was a dream come true. A dream I thought at one point would never happen.

I’ve put everything I’ve learned—years of trial and error, expert advice, real-world experience—into one place. I created 'Wheelchair to Walking' because I wish something like this existed when I started my journey.

I call it, “Wheelchair to Walking” because for most that is the driving motivation, but the end result- is 100% up to you.