A career in the entertainment industry, as an actor / Daredevil Illusionist, which spanned over 20 years. Live international stage, television & movie appearances. Performer of the largest illusion ever attempted in history. Successfully performed the one escape that eluded even the great Harry Houdini, being buried alive. And it all came to a crashing halt in 2014, while rehearsing an escape stunt for my own reality show, which was set to premiere later that year. The equipment malfunctioned, resulting in neck, spinal & multiple brain injuries, leaving me paralyzed & not expected to live. Yet, all these years later, while my recovery is still ongoing, I have made tremendous progress & am now working on finishing up the book to tell the entire whirlwind of my life story, with emphasis on my life since the accident & how I have learned to adapt. The main focus is to inspire others, no matter what the challenges they face, to work hard, keep pushing, fight & most importantly, to NEVER GIVE UP...! All proceeds will be donated to paraplegic, quadriplegic & neurological injury research, in general. I look forward to getting the finishing touches on this wrapped up & if reading it changes the outlook for even one person, then my entire journey will have been well worth it...! never.give.up.

My Life: From Hollywood to Quadriplegic… 🎥♿️ Getting “The Runaround” Vanish on stage. Reappear in the house. Cue sheets always called it the same thing, no matter who was doing it that night: The Runaround. Sometimes it was just me. Sometimes me and an assistant. Sometimes just the assistant. (One night she lost the costume mid-sprint and… could not complete the reappearance. That story stays in the vault for now.) The effect looked amazing: platform in the audience for the reappearance, flashing lights, fog rolling, music hitting like a freight train. What the audience never saw was the part that actually mattered...me (or her, or both) running like the building was on fire from the vanish point to that platform. I was an athlete my whole life, so no big deal. Peak condition was the job. Still… Old theatres love having lots of stairs. Haunted ones especially. One night in a “reputedly haunted” house I had to fly down a flight of stairs in the audience to hit the platform. Crash. Boom. Bang. Wiped out hard. Stood up, never broke stride, hit the cue by a sliver. I swear nobody even noticed. Another night: stairs into the basement, through a tunnel, up into the back of the house. You already know. Down I went. Got up. Made it. Dozens of those stories. Stairs, dark hallways, whatever the venue threw at us. I made the reappearance every single time. Including the night they wouldn’t let us install the platform and insisted I pop up on top of a grand piano sitting in the audience. Fell down the stairs that night too. Still made it. The second-wildest (after the missing-dress incident) was an old Vaudeville house Houdini himself had played. That place was not built for The Runaround. Vanish on stage → out the back door → into the alley → around the entire block → through the box office → sprint the length of the house to the platform. Barely made it. Didn’t fall. They even let me back in the theatre...! 🤣 If I told you how little time we actually had, you wouldn’t believe it. That’s one secret that stays secret. Looking back now from this wheelchair, those frantic sprints feel like a different lifetime. The body that used to treat a full-block dash plus stairs like a warm-up doesn’t work the same way. But the part that refused to miss the cue? That’s still here. Same guy. Different stage. Still making it. Right on cue. Abracadabra...! Poof...! It's magic...! On with the show…Oh, the places I’ll go...!✨🪄♿️ #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #TheRunaround #DaredevilMagic #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #TBISurvivor #HypoxicBrainInjury #NeverGiveUp #EnabledNotDisabled #TheMagicIsBack

Waking up to messages and notes from others in the SCI community is one of the things that keeps me in the fight. ♿️🥊 Parents. Caregivers. Doctors. Scientists. Researchers. And especially the warriors like myself, living this every single day. A lot of those messages thank me for the encouragement, the outreach, the nonprofit work, the advocacy. But the real thanks runs the other way. Without every one of you, this life would be quieter. Smaller. Less complete. I look forward to every message. Every exchange. Every “I’m still here.” To every brave warrior on this same road: I am in your corner. I am on your side. We will cross that finish line together. We can finally see it on the horizon. After everything we have been through, sacrificed, and lost… We have earned it. On with the show… Oh, the places we’ll go...! ✨❤️♿️ #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #SpinalCordInjury #QuadLife #RecoveryIsPossible #EnabledNotDisabled #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #DisabilityPride #SCICommunity

My Quadriplegic Journey: House of Pain, Gina's new crown, and a hairstyle that refused to bow to cardboard royalty…! ♿️👑 🔥 Miss Gina and I both knocked it out of the park at the House of Pain today. Same tracksuits. Same fight. Same “please don’t snap us in half” energy. Then the therapists came out to collect us for our beatings. Gina’s aunt (my therapist) takes one look at us: “How cute. Matching tracksuits. You’re like an old married couple.” Gina: “We are not cute. I mean… we are. But no.” Aunt: “We are, but no? Words of wisdom.” Gina, sticking her tongue out: “At least I’m not wearing something that looks like it was cut from Nonna’s couch.” (She was wearing a floral situation that could’ve hosted Sunday dinner and a séance. The evidence was compelling.) On the ride home, we had a plan. Neither of us really does fast food. But that Burger King sign near PT has been whispering “try our new nuggets” at us for weeks like a cartoon devil on each shoulder. They also came highly recommended to me. So we have strategically plotted. Slightly schemed. My uncle, after watching us survive another session, said the magic words: “You both did so great. I’ll get you a treat. Whatever you want.” Gina and I locked eyes. This was it. The heist. The moment. The nugget destiny. Uncle: “I was thinking more like gelato… but if that’s what you want.” Me: “It’s what we want.” Uncle: “Then that’s where we’ll go.” Gina: “WOOT WOOT.” We get home. Garage. Unloaded. Prepared to dine like royalty. That’s when my aunt sees Gina. Wearing. Her. New. BK. Crown. 👑👑👑👑 My aunt loses it. Howling. Roaring. The same unhinged laugh Gina and I run all day like a two-person comedy special nobody booked. Then she looks at me. Aunt: “And where is YOUR crown, young man?” Gina: “We got one for him too! He refuses to wear it! He says it will mess up his hair!” Now they’re all laughing at me and my hair situation. Let the record show: it is no laughing matter. I am currently rocking my late 90s / early 2000s hairstyle again. That hair is not submitting to a paper crown. That hair IS the crown. And now I’m off to spend more time with my beautiful, cardboard-crown-wearing Goddess… while we eat like we just won the Super Bowl of physical therapy. Pain is temporary. Nuggets are forever. Quitting is not in the vocabulary. On with the show…Oh, the places we’ll go…!✨👑♿️ #QuadriplegicJourney #HouseOfPain #SCIWarrior #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #RecoveryIsPossible #EnabledNotDisabled #DisabilityHumor #QuadLife #PhysicalTherapy #AdaptiveLife

To my SCI fam and every warrior still pushing years later… 🚨♿️ As a chronic incomplete quadriplegic myself, I pay close attention when research actually targets people like us…not just fresh injuries. Researchers at UT Dallas developed a tiny implant (about the size of a dime) that sits in the neck and stimulates the vagus nerve. The key part: it only fires when you successfully complete a movement during rehab. That timed “zap” helps the brain strengthen whatever connections are still there. In a study of 19 people with chronic incomplete cervical spinal cord injuries (some injured decades earlier), pairing this with focused arm and hand therapy produced real gains in strength, range of motion, pinch, and everyday tasks. Therapy alone didn’t move the needle for them. Adding the timed stimulation did. This is not a cure. It doesn’t rebuild a completely disconnected spinal cord. It works with remaining function and a lot of hard, specific work. But for those of us who still have something left to build on, it is one of the more honest pieces of progress I’ve seen for chronic incomplete injuries. They are moving toward a larger trial that could eventually lead to FDA consideration. They’ve also talked about looking at pain and lower-body function next. I'm 12 years in and I’m still making gains they said were finished. Approaches like this remind me the story isn’t over for any of us. Keep showing up. Keep fighting for every inch. Our day is still coming. news.utdallas.edu/health-med… #SpinalCordInjury #ChronicSCI #Quadriplegia #SCIWarrior #SCIHope #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #RecoveryIsPossible #NeverGiveUp #QuadLife #Neuroplasticity

Coming in hot to close out the week…! 🔥♿️ Headed to the House of Pain (aka physical therapy) with Miss Gina for our final beatings… er… um… sessions of the week. Side by side. Same fight. Same goal. This is the real work. Not a highlight reel. Not the miracle moment. The unglamorous, necessary grind that gets me across the finish line of this quadriplegic journey. Every time I push, my body answers. A little stronger. A little more mobile. A little more flexible. A little closer to what I know is possible. It isn’t fun. It isn’t pleasant. It is required. And I’m here for every second of it. If you or someone you love is on this road: recovery is possible. Not maybe someday. Not in theory. Possible. I’m in your corner. I’m on your side. And I will NEVER give up on YOU. On with the show… Oh, the places we’ll go…! ✨♿️ #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #TBISurvivor #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #SpinalCordInjury #RecoveryIsPossible #EnabledNotDisabled #DisabilityAwareness

Lakeside with Miss Gina… and the fingers that refused to accept “impossible.” ✨♿️ After dinner we rolled out to the water. Cooler air, a little breeze, that perfect lakeside hush that only happens when it’s just the two of us. Pure peace for my beautiful Goddess and me. We started talking progress. The kind of talk two warriors have when the world thinks the story is already written, but we know otherwise. There’s this one range of motion in my fingers I’ve been chasing for months. It showed up, got better, better, better… then stalled. Everyone told me to be grateful. “That’s more than they ever thought you’d get.” I wasn’t grateful. I was hungry. Gina saw the frustration flash. So I started moving them the way I wanted. Got as far as I always get… Then I pushed. Harder than I thought I still could. Until... I felt a snap. Horrible pain. We ended up having to go to urgent care, where we learned that I had broken my finger. Just kidding...! 🤣 But...! I had achieved near full range. Gina’s eyes went huge. “Oh my God! You’re doing it!” Me: "Meh. Not quite. But close." For the record… wow. That hurt. The good kind of hurt. The kind that means the body is still listening, still arguing with the specialists, still rewriting the script twelve years later. Pain means I’m still in the fight. Still proving “impossible” is just an illusion that hasn’t met the right stubborn quad yet. If you or someone you love is on this road: recovery doesn’t have an expiration date. I’m 12 years post-injury and still making gains they said were done. If I can keep moving the needle, so can you. Never settle. Never stop. The show isn’t over. On with the show… Oh, the places we’ll go…! ✨♿️ #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #SpinalCordInjury #RecoveryIsPossible #QuadLife #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #EnabledNotDisabled #DisabilityHumor

My Life: From Hollywood to Quadriplegic. 🎥♿️ Going through old footage for some upcoming projects and rediscovered this 1950s-themed show I used to do. The whole concept was inspired from looking at pictures of my father when he was young… right around the time he got “straightened out"...er...um...his amazing life in the 50's and 60's. Let’s just say the family photos from those years have a certain energy and definitive vibe. If those pictures could talk... Atomic-age designed props. All 50s music. Later we cut it down to a 30-minute segment in the live show. Still have most of the props. Need to dust this one off and see it in person again. One routine in particular used: Chubby Checker. The Twist. Me and the assistant...doing a slightly steamier version of The Twist as part of the choreography. Closer. Faster. And a lot more "hip" than the original... 😉 Gina watching the video: Gina: I don’t like the way you two are dancing. Me: Gina, that was like 20 years ago. Gina: Don’t care. Did you and her… date? I sit in silence. Gina: Oh my God, Nico...! You did. Me: I didn’t say I did. Gina: You didn’t deny it! Me: What do you want me to say? Gina: That you didn’t...(censored..you're welcome! 🤣) Me: Okay. I won’t say it. Gina: I am not happy about this. Me: It was forever ago. Gina: And I am not happy about it now. Some things never change. My legendary father. The Twist. The props. My hair. And Gina. piped.video/watch?v=-CCgDvUM… #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #Quadriplegic #TheTwist #Sicilian #FamilyBusiness #AtomicAge #BehindTheMagic #TheMagicIsBack

My Quadriplegic Journey: Progress is not linear. ♿️ I fell today. And that’s okay. When you keep pushing this hard on recovery, the risk comes with the work. Falls happen. The win is that they happen less. Before today, I hadn’t fallen since July 26. I’ll take that streak. This one barely qualified. My aunt was working with me, bumped into me, and… well. Let’s just say the fall had an accomplice. (On purpose…?! Hmm…! 🤣) I went down in slow motion, took her with me, and landed on her. I told my uncle I was just getting her back for falling on him yesterday. Instant payback!🤣 Gina saw the whole thing and immediately went into full freak-out mode. She worries about me constantly. I keep telling her: don’t be the worrier in this relationship. Let me worry about you. I’ll be just fine. It didn’t hurt. Nobody was actually wrecked. They got me back in the wheelchair, and my uncle asked if I was comfortable. There was only one acceptable answer: “I make a living!” 🤣 A fall is not a failure. It’s a reminder that I’m still in the fight hard enough to risk one. Then you get back up… or get picked back up… and keep going. On with the show…Oh, the places we’ll go…!✨❤️♿️ #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #TBISurvivor #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #EnabledNotDisabled #SpinalCordInjury #DisabilityAwareness

My Quadriplegic Journey: It was always in the cards. My life has never felt random. It has felt like a series of extraordinary “coincidences.” Including paralysis. Growing up, I heard stories about a cousin on my mother’s side who left the rez in the 1930s and became a Hollywood actor during the golden age of film. I always thought that was so cool. Another family member who chased the same dream I did. He died young. No one really knew what happened. After my accident, my mother started digging. She found the truth. He suffered an on-set accident while filming a movie. It left him a quadriplegic. Sound familiar? He didn’t live much longer. Complications from the injuries took him. A cousin. An actor in Hollywood. An on-set accident. Quadriplegia. Wild. It doesn’t stop there. Also on my mother’s side: a great-grandfather. He had an accident that left him paraplegic. Doctors said he would never walk again. Different injury. Same family. Same refusal to accept the sentence as I've had. He defied the doctors. He walked again. He lived. That part feels familiar too. Then, years after my own accident, the hardest chapter. My mother...my primary caregiver at the time...had an accident of her own. She became a quadriplegic. She passed from her injuries. Some people will call all of this coincidence. Random luck. A grim family pattern with no meaning. I don’t buy it. Too many echoes. Too many similar injuries. Too many people who came before me on this exact road. I believe they were pointing me somewhere. Toward the work I do now. Direct outreach. The nonprofit. Live speaking. The book. The documentary. Every project still coming. It feels like I was led here. Like those who were on this path before me...and those who didn’t get to stay...handed me the assignment. I will never give up on my own recovery. And I will never give up on this community. Work hard. Fight harder. Never. Ever. Give up. #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #EnabledNotDisabled #SpinalCordInjury #DisabilityAdvocate #NeverGiveUp #TBISurvivor

My Quadriplegic Journey: OT first… then the part that actually fills the tank. ♿️✨ Hitting OT for a quick sesh and eval. Boo...! Hiss...! Still not my favorite plotline. I know it matters. I know it’s a real piece of the recovery puzzle. That doesn’t mean I have to pretend I love rolling into it. Then I roll home and then a call with the coordinator for my next live speaking event. Next week...! Every time it still hits the same way: what an honor. Not just to share my story… but to sit with other quadriplegic warriors and their rockstar families and hear THEIR stories. That's the fuel which keeps me going. That’s the reason I keep showing up for the work I don’t love and the work I do. I fight for me. Then I fight harder for them. And I always will. On with the show…Oh, the places we’ll go…! ✨❤️♿️ #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #EnabledNotDisabled #SpinalCordInjury #OccupationalTherapy #DisabilityAdvocate

My Life From Hollywood to Quadriplegic: A call to action...! 🚨🎥♿️ In my old life in Hollywood and the entertainment industry, I was an actor and stage illusionist, and was filming my own TV show, when an on set accident left me as a quadriplegic, thus changing my life forever. And while the stage might be different now, as an advocate for the SCI community, the fight in me has not changed. If anything, it has grown stronger, but this time, for a cause which truly matters. Right now, I and the SCI community in general needs YOUR help...! On September 29, the SCI community has a rare shot to speak directly to the FDA at the Spinal Cord Injury Patient-Focused Drug Development meeting. This is how we push for more clinical trials, better treatments, and a real path toward a cure. They’re at 840 registrations. They need 1,000. If you can and find this a cause which means something to you too, please consider registering to help change and save lives. Even if you can’t stay for the full day. Logging in for part of it still counts. Caregivers, family, clinicians, researchers, and supporters should register too. Numbers matter. Voices matter. WE MATTER. This meeting becomes a Voice of the Patient Report that the FDA, researchers, and drug developers use. If we show up, they can’t ignore what living with SCI actually costs us. Register here: scipfdd.org/register If this matters to you, please share it. Let’s make this the largest PFDD turnout they’ve seen. #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #SCI #SpinalCordInjury #SCIPFDD #CureSCI #PatientVoice #FDA #ClinicalTrials #Quadriplegic #Paralysis #SCIAwareness

My Quadriplegic Journey: Home life just jumped on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, stole the wheel, floored it and refused to give it back…! ♿️ It’s barely lunchtime and this house is already operating at cartoon-physics levels. I thought a smooth at-home therapy session would set the tone. Cute theory. The universe heard that and said, “Hold my espresso” ☕️ Locksmiths showed up to swap every entry knob at my house. Different keys for every door. One door that didn’t even lock anymore (deadbolt still worked, so we weren’t living in a sitcom burglary episode… yet). They finish. Everything shiny. All keyed the same. Bellissimo...! 🤌🏾 The guy tells my uncle, “There are a couple extra keys in the box. You’re all set.” Uncle opens the box. Now mind you, my house DOES have a lot of entry doors...but... It is not a couple. It's a whole box. He counts and it is ONE HUNDRED TWENTY KEYS. One. Hundred. Twenty. It's a big house and like I said, a lot of doors. But...! We do not run a hotel. We do not need a key for every molecule of oxygen in this building. Why. So. Many. Keys. ?!?! 🤣 Then my uncle reaches for something and just… wipes out. Full send. Down he goes. Not hurt. Just dramatically horizontal. The language that followed? Sicilian. Born in NYC. You can do the math. It was poetry. Violent poetry. 🇮🇹 Gina and I are sitting there vibrating, trying not to explode with laughter. My aunt asks if he needs help getting up. He says no. She insists. And immediately falls ON TOP OF HIM...! That was it. Gina and I lost every last scrap of composure. Roaring. Howling. Crying. The kind of laugh that hijacks your whole body and doesn’t care that you can’t exactly wipe your own tears without it being a full blown production. They get up. Nobody broken. Uncle maybe a little more compressed than he started the day. If THIS is what happens before lunch… the rest of the day might require a stunt coordinator. Never let anyone tell you quadriplegics don’t get entertainment. We get front-row seats to the most unhinged live comedy on earth. And if you know a warrior whose sense of humor is running on fumes? Send them to my house. Give it five minutes. They’ll be crying-laughing too. 🤣 On with the show… Oh, the places we’ll go…! (Even if we get there sideways.) ✨♿️❤️ #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #EnabledNotDisabled #QuadLife #SpinalCordInjury #DisabilityAwareness #AdaptiveLiving #QuadriplegicHumor

My Quadriplegic Journey: Those muscle spasms, though… ♿️ When most people hear “quadriplegic,” they picture complete, motionless paralysis. The truth is a lot messier, more complex… and a lot more human. It’s a wide spectrum. Some of us walk to varying degrees. Some use our arms and hands. Some of us drive. Some of us can do none of those things. All of us are still living full lives (At least I hope!). One thing a lot of us do share? Involuntary muscle spasms. Arms. Hands. Legs. Torso. Me? I get the deluxe package. All of the above. Leave it up to me to get the whole package. Story of my life...!🤣 People sometimes see a spasm and think, “Look! He’s moving again!” Not quite. If I can’t move a limb on purpose, I also can’t stop it when it decides to throw a tantrum on its own. Some of those spasms are strong enough to launch me out of my wheelchair. I’ve been airborne more than once. Straps help. A lot. They love to show up at night. Thankfully I’ve never actually fallen out of bed… credit to a very good bed that knows how to keep a guy from becoming a human projectile. Lately a few of them have been so violent they’ve actually scared me...including one really bad incident last night Admitting that might sound “wimpy.” I don’t care. Showing the real, unfiltered truth of this life is something I’m never ashamed of. What sets them off? Bladder issues. Bowel problems (yes, we’re going there… charming topic, I know). Stress. Skin issues. Pressure sores. The usual suspects that we deal with. Right now I’m not dealing with any of those except some weird acne that’s apparently joining the chaos. PT and meds can help, but therapy isn’t quite winning this round. I may have to go back on medication. If it keeps me from launching out of my chair and into the lake while I’m trying to relax with Gina… I’ll take the pills. Gladly. On with the show…Oh, the places I’ll go...! ✨❤️♿️ (But hopefully not flying through the air!) #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #EnabledNotDisabled #QuadLife #SpinalCordInjury #DisabilityAwareness #Spasticity #AdaptiveLiving

Post-quad support group meeting shenanigans… and the rails? Completely gone. 🚨♿️✨ As if the meeting itself wasn’t already unhinged enough… the second we rolled back through the door, home life refused to take a breath. Because of course it had to stay wild. My life has never met “relaxed.” It wasn't in Hollywood and even quadriplegia hasn't slowed me down (much). Gina, after lunch: “Oh my God. I am so full. I am literally never going to eat again.” Me: “You mean today?” Gina: “No. I am seriously never eating again. In this life. Ever. Not once.” Me: “We’ll see…” Five minutes later... Gina: “I’m hungry.” Ahhhhh…! 🤣 I love this woman so much it hurts in the best way. And honestly? I am just happy to see her eating. Appetite has been a real fight since her accident. As far as I’m concerned she can eat the entire kitchen, the pantry, and the neighbor’s fridge if she wants. Progress on the plate is still progress. Then the plot thickened like it had a personal vendetta. The mystery of the unknown people who somehow joined our quad group chat just went full soap opera. One of them dropped a message… addressed to me… announcing they are “madly in love with me.” Whattttttt...?! To. The. Entire. Group. I mean, I know I’m quite the catch (heavy sarcasm, friends)… but did we really need the group-wide press release...?! Miss Gina is not amused. Gina: “Who the **** is this ******* *****. Who does this ***** think she is?” That’s my girl. Protective, fiery, and absolutely not here for the chaos. But in all seriousness… who is this person...?! This club none of us asked to join keeps handing us the wildest script. Drama, hunger-reversals, surprise love declarations, and the people who actually matter, right next to you when it all goes sideways. We didn’t choose the injury. We still choose each other. Every messy, spicy, off-the-rails day. On with the show…Oh, the places we’ll go...! ✨❤️♿️ #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #EnabledNotDisabled #QuadLife #SupportGroup #DisabilityHumor #SpinalCordInjury

Quadriplegic support group… perfetto…! 🚨♿️ ✨🤌🏾 That weekend “drama”? Literally nothing. A text misunderstanding. Just like I suspected. 😂 Then the meeting did what our meetings do best: Went completely off the rails. Something comes up. I shrug it off with a little NYC in my voice: “Don’t worry ’bout it.” Gina, already grinning: “No. Say it how you normally do.” Me: “I did.” Gina: “No. You know how you want to say it.” Me, painfully slow, every syllable polished, zero New York: “Forget. About. It.” Gina: “That’s not how you talk. Say it normal.” Me: “Alright… if you insist.” Gina, eyebrows up, biting her lip: “Oh, I insist.” Me: “Fuggedaboutit…” Gina, unintelligible low growl: “Isn’t that hot when he says that…?!” Um. No? I can’t help how I talk. 🤣 After that, the cool kids rolled out for lunch. Half the group mysteriously defected to another restaurant. Naturally the coolest of the cool (I mean… duh) hit our usual Italian spot and partied like the out-of-control rockstar quadriplegics we actually are. 😁 We didn’t choose this club. We still choose each other. Every messy, spicy, fuggedaboutit week. On with the show…Oh, the places we’ll go…! ✨❤️♿️ #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #EnabledNotDisabled #QuadLife #SupportGroup #DisabilityHumor #SpinalCordInjury #Fuggedaboutit #RockstarQuads

To my SCI fam… follow-up on my previous Keio University. 🚨♿️ Last month I wrote that they’d already shown iPSC-derived neural cells were safe in early (subacute) spinal cord injury, and that they were moving toward chronic injury next. The long-term paper is now out. Four people with complete subacute cervical SCI received transplanted iPSC-derived neural stem/progenitor cells. They were followed for 2 to 4 years. What matters first: no tumors. No graft-related harm. Imaging of the graft sites stayed stable. On function, this was a small safety study, not a proof-of-cure trial. Median motor-score improvement from about 2 weeks after injury to week 52 was 13 points (range 10–40). Two people improved on the AIS scale: A → C and A → D. Those numbers looked better than typical spontaneous recovery in a comparison registry group…but four people is still four people. This was subacute injury. Weeks after the hit. Not years later. I am a chronic incomplete cervical quad from a 2014 injury. This protocol is not written for me. Why I still care: you cannot get to chronic trials if the first human grafts are unsafe. This paper is that safety brick. It says the approach can be done, the cells can sit in the cord for years without becoming a tumor, and some motor change is possible. Larger trials still have to show whether it actually works well enough to become a treatment. Not a cure yet. Not approved yet. Not for chronic SCI yet. Important safety data for the road ahead. Curious. Cautious. Still rolling. On with the show…Oh, the places we’ll go…! ✨❤️♿️ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4248… #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #SCIWarrior #EnabledNotDisabled #QuadriplegicJourney #SCI #SpinalCordInjury #iPSC #StemCellResearch #KeioUniversity #SCIResearch #NeuroRegen #ChronicSCI #Paralysis

My Quadriplegic Journey...! ✨♿️ Miss Gina is here. We had breakfast together. Now we’re getting ready to hit the road for our weekly quadriplegic support group. A little drama popped up in the group over the weekend. I’m biting my tongue, playing it cool, and showing up anyway. That’s the move. This group means a lot to me. It means a lot to Gina. I believe it means a lot to every other warrior in that room. I wish it were 100% drama-free. It isn’t. And that’s the point. Even as quadriplegics, we are still just people. We have disagreements. We have friction. We have messy weekends. Then we roll in, talk through the struggles, the wins, and the failures… and love each other like family anyway. We didn’t choose this club. We choose each other. Every single week. On with the show...Oh, the places I'll go...! ✨❤️♿️ #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #QuadLife #SupportGroup #DisabilityPride #EnabledNotDisabled #SpinalCordInjury #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic

Amazon is a magician now. Poof...! ✨🪄 Not the good kind. The “watch this hand while the other one pickpockets you” kind. 🤣 Last night I ordered two adaptive tools. One for me. One for Gina. Zero urgency. Pure “hey, let’s see if this works better than what we’re already using” energy. No rush. No drama. Just curiosity. Amazon’s shipping menu: Friday… free Thursday… $6.99 Wednesday and Tuesday…more expensive, but I don't remember the prices. Monday… not even on the menu So I did the responsible quad thing and picked free Friday. Because I’m not paying extra for something that can wait. Again, we did not NEED these tools. (Maybe we do? We'll see how they work out...) We get home from PT. Package on the porch. Monday. The day they swore didn’t exist. For free... Those mamalukes looked me dead in the algorithm and said “nah, no Monday option” while the driver was already practically circling the block with my stuff. They weren’t offering faster shipping. They were running a little psychological experiment to see if I’d cough up a few extra bucks for a delivery they were already going to make. Plot twist: I didn’t. And the universe still handed me the box early anyway. Twelve years into this quad life and I still get surprised. Sometimes by progress. Sometimes by Amazon’s wonky little hustle. Either way… the tools are here. Gina and I get to try them sooner than planned. And I didn’t pay the “please don’t make me wait” tax. never.give.up. #QuadriplegicJourney #SCIWarrior #SpinalCordInjury #FromHollywoodToQuadriplegic #DisabilityHumor #EnabledNotDisabled #AdaptiveLife #AmazonWeirdness