Quad 13 Pickleball Open

Fair Expo Pickleball

10901 Southwest 24th Street, 33165, Miami, FL, United States

Quad13 Foundation

0 位关注者

You never know what path life is going to take you on. We hear it many times, live life to the fullest, YOLO, you never know what’s going to happen next, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. After being injured on July 11th, 2010, I spent six weeks in coma. While I don’t remember much, I was told of the struggles my family faced while trying to establish the best care for me and manage life’s regular living expenses. I woke up to hear many stories of how all my friends and family rallied together to pray and help my parents get through their nightmare. Some donated their time, others food and some even put together fundraisers. The first of those events happed on September 11, 2010, when Happy Holidays Travel held a fundraiser, Summer Nights, to raise funds for my medical needs and physical therapy.A spinal cord injury changes not only the life of the injured, but of those loved ones around them. There are a lot of unknowns when someone is injured, in addition to worrying about life post injury, a large burden is the expenses that insurances and the government don’t cover. We’re not talking about wants, we’re talking about needs. Physical therapy being one of the items at the top of that list. When you’re injured, doctors tell you that you’ll regain most of your function in the first year. Yet, on average, insurances cover 10-20 physical therapy visits per year. That’s less than two visits a month. From experience, once you run out of insurance visits, you are forced to pay out-of-pocket which can range from $110-$180 per hour session. Physical therapy is a necessity to living a healthy lifestyle post injury. Regaining independence and recovering from a spinal cord injury is a marathon not a sprint! Fortunately, I was surrounded by a loving network that supported me and my family in ensuring I could always attend therapy, especially that first critical year.In September 2011 a group of gracious women, (angels to me), put together an amazing domino tournament to raise funds for my physical therapy and the result was nothing short of spectacular. It gave my parents a sigh of relief that they wouldn’t have to choose between my recovery and paying the mortgage. It allowed my family and me to focus on me and learning how to become independent with my new normal. I felt the love from my community at that moment, and I am forever grateful to everyone that contributed to the many fundraising events that allowed me to have the therapy I desperately needed and continue to need.This is why I want to give back and help others going through a similar experience. I want to make an impact on my spinal cord community and guarantee that I’m doing everything I can to ensure that everyone feels as supported as I did. I wanted to pay tribute to my domino fundraiser and mirror one of my own. This tournament is a critical component in collecting therapy funds that my grant can distribute to those quadriplegics in need of support. This fundraiser is me living my new path and making my lemonade. It’s me paying it forward and making a difference in the lives of as many within the spinal cord community as I can.- Jordan AlmendralEIN:99-3518882Address:490 SW 123rd AvenueMiami, FL 33184Contact:Jordan Almendral(786) 797-1563Quad13Miami@gmail.com