You never think things happen to your own family. In July of 2000, my 17 year old nephew dove into shallow water and broke his neck. He is a quadriplegic and will be paralyzed for the rest of his life, unless a miracle occurs.
In our family, we realize that a miracle already has occurred - he is alive. For Jake's story, go to http://www.forjake.com . My mother (his grandmother) wrote the whole story down. The really cool thing is that if you asked him what he'd do, if he was able to do anything in the world - he wouldn't "fix" himself. He's mentioned how sad Parkinson's Disease is, and how terrible Alzheimer's is. He will say that his life is pretty awesome, all things considered. He wants to be a public speaker - to talk to people about life and taking all you can out of it.
My nephew is an amazing young man, who took what was given to him and saw a tragedy not as an ending to life - but simply as a new way of living. He looked up to Christopher Reeve so much, as a man and as a spokesperson for paralysis. Christopher Reeve took being a quadriplegic into the spotlight and made it real to many people that just don't see it in their lives.
The idea that someday, the Christopher Reeve Foundation might donate money to some brilliant scientist and make it so my nephew could use his arms again - use his legs - walk...is amazing to me. Although Jake would never ask for it himself, we ask it for him.
So, my favorite charity is the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Just because it gives hope. So do many others, of course, but this...well, this is personal. :)
http://www.christopherreeve.org
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