Client Bios

In 2009, John was living in New York City and commuting to Connecticut for his job at Bridgewater Associates. He had recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a major in mechanical engineering and minors in math and business. For July 4th weekend, he visited the Jersey Shore with his sister and some of his friends. While he was body surfing a big wave came and threw him head first into the ground, breaking his C6 vertebrae.

After the accident, John moved to Staten Island. He is currently going to grad school part time at Baruch College for a Masters in Financial Engineering. He loves going to school there because he says it is nice to be back in the city again. He hopes to finish up his Masters in a year and a half and start working somewhere in NYC as a quantitative analyst at a major bank or hedge fund.

John comes to Push to Walk once a week. He likes coming to because he says that they make him work hard and they do not assume that he can or can’t do certain things based on his level of injury. At Push to Walk he focuses a lot on core balance and stability, which includes sitting balance and posture, kneeling, crawling, standing and walking on the treadmill. In addition to his work-outs at Push to Walk, John frequently goes to a local gym with his cousin to work on upper body strengthening. He also owns a standing frame and an FES bike which he uses several times a week.

John loved to run before his accident, now he has taken up hand cycling. In 2010 he participated in the New York City Marathon. He needed some assistance to finish, but he considers it a great experience for him. He has been involved in several other races as well, and plans to do a half marathon with Team Push to Walk in the New Jersey Marathon in 2011. He wants to do other races in the future too. In addition to hand cycling, John has recently started playing quad rugby and he enjoys spending time hanging out with his friends.

Videos of John’s Progress:

• John Client Testimonial