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| JOHN'S STORY |
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| AN INCREDIBLE, DEVASTATING JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE |
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Alex, John , Tamie and Sami Wassen
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JOHN WASSEN'S STORY
The SCI Hope mission was founded because of John Wassen… because of what came from his tragedy, his will to live and his concern for others suffering from spinal cord injuries.
John, at age 40, suffered a C4-C5 spinal cord injury from a fall on the morning of August 19, 2007 leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. He was in the Neuro Critical Care unit at Methodist Hospital until September 4, 2007 when he was moved to Select Specialty Hospital. This is where John worked on weaning off the ventilator. He was finally successful and was transferred to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (RHI) on October 30, 2007. John was at RHI for many weeks working on physical, occupational and recreational therapy. After this long, emotional journey, John was released from RHI and went home on December 20, 2007 to his wife Tamie and daughters Alex and Sami.
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John’s experience inspired him to help others suffering from spinal cord injuries, and in March 2009, he co-founded the SCI Hope Fund, along with his wife Tamie, and good friends Jim and Skip Tennancour, to provide financial assistance to individuals and families in need.
John had no use of his arms or legs. The only movement he had was a slight shoulder shrug and limited head motion. But even in this circumstance, John managed to continue to use his sense of humor to make people laugh and his creative thinking to assist with growing SCI Hope in its infancy. His injured body did not slow him down. With the selfless help of his wife Tamie, John enjoyed visiting spinal cord patients at Methodist and RHI and working with children in the Brownsburg School Corporation on a weekly basis.
On January 29, 2011 John passed away from respiratory complications, leaving a legacy of admiration, hope and inspiration to many. John’s hope was to help as many people as possible until the day comes when research finds a cure for spinal cord injuries. In John’s honor, SCI Hope will continue its mission to spread this hope. |
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