George was featured in our Member Spotlight post in September 2017.  We thought it would be fun catch-up with him and his fiance, Alex.

Life is good. I hit my two year SCI anniversary last month and I’m happy to say I haven’t missed a beat. I’m not saying it’s been easy by any means. I still find myself reminiscing from time to time about days before my injury; days when I took the simple things in life for granted, but I don’t let this bring me down, instead I use it to my advantage. I believe that it is important for us to remember and want to do the things we used to do before our injuries.  Reminiscing motivates me to create new memories, to take on new adventures and to try and accomplishing new goals. We need to continue to do the things we love no matter how difficult it may seem. So let me fill you in on some of this year’s milestones!  Here it goes….

Adaptive Sports

I joined the Long Island/New Jersey rugby team.  GO WARRIORS!  It is great to be competitive again and to be a part of a team. The people I’ve met through playing rugby have been awesome. I’ve learned so much from them all.

I was able to continue my passion for skiing. My friends at Jack Frost Mountain in Pennsylvania offer an awesome adaptive program.  Being able to cruise down the slopes and carve it up makes me feel so ALIVE!  My friends even rented a ski house that was fully wheelchair accessible for a weekend to celebrate me and my friend’s 30th birthdays.  See the video.

Alex and I attended the Shepherd Center’s adaptive sports camp in Alabama. This was an awesome experience.  We were able to spend time with old friends, other couples and families all while trying new sports like water tubing, water skiing, scuba diving and canoeing. It shocked me how much is actually out there in the adaptive sports world.  Water skiing was my favorite though, I think because I’m a little bit of a speed junky.

Fairy Tale Wedding

The highlight of this year has to have been my wedding. Alex and I have definitely started things off on the right push. We got married on June 16, 2018 and exchanged vows on a rustic dock where the boat we met on was kept for the summer. It was the most beautiful day and I couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. We are both so excited to begin this new chapter in our lives together. I am definitely blessed. For our honeymoon we traveled to St. Lucia where we went snorkeling, sailing, made new friends and got some much needed R&R.  (Click to see more about this sweet love story.)

Sailing

I’ve been continuing my passion for sailing. Taking advantage of as many weekends as possible to sail with Alex, friends and family. The summers up here really are too short though.

Travel

We had a family Euro trip. This was a big step for me personally for obvious reasons, but with the help of my awesome wife, family and the Freewheel that NYC Spinal helped me get, we rolled right through. We spent two days in Rome, Italy where we saw all the historic sites. It was really amazing! Then we hopped on a cruise ship that sailed the Mediterranean visiting Greek islands like Crete, Mykonos and Korfu. Each island was even more beautiful then the next. Swimming in the Mediterranean was my favorite, they even had these neat chairs that coasted me into the water at all the beaches we visited. Our trip concluded in Athens where we visited the breathtaking Acropolis and had a rooftop family dinner. We will always remember this trip.

Back to Work

I’ve been back to work now with my company as a assistant project manager for several months. It feels great to be back at it. Construction sites aren’t easy to navigate when you use a wheelchair but my company and co-workers have been extremely accommodating. They even built a deck in front of our on-site office so that I can easily get in and out and interact with the field.

Next Adventure: NASCAR

Check back next month and see what happens when George tries his hand at driving an accessible NASCAR race car!