University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital PresentationQuadriplegic Cross-Country Speaking Tourhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU3QJtw623YOn August 6, 2015 I had the pleasure to present to an inspirational group at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital. The Quadriplegic Cross Country Speaking Tour, began on July 23rd and there were several presentations within my home state of New Jersey. Following two great presentations, one at Kessler Rehabilitation Hospital and the other for the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce foundation, Charles Fleisher and the cross-country speaking tour got underway. On August 6, we arrived at the hospital towing our 20-foot handicap-accessible trailer. I was blessed to be able to tow my 2013 GMC Sierra pickup truck. It was converted for handicap use by two of my major sponsors. Ryno Mobility in Pinellas Park Florida and Drive Master Corporation in Fairfield New Jersey.

Thank you to all of my sponsors for the support we received. Upon arriving at the hospital we were shown into a back loading area to park the pickup truck and trailer. Lee Tempest, a program coordinator on the spinal cord unit at UMPC Mercy Hospital was there and guided us. He then showed us into the hospital and gave us a quick tour of the rehab and spinal cord injury facilities. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital is a beautiful facility. It’s specialty is spinal cord injuries and rehab in general. It’s part of the much larger University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center system.My projector and laptop were quickly setup and we were introduced to many of the audience members . The level of injury and experience with spinal cord injuries varied greatly. Some of the audience have been injured for 20 years and others for only a few months. It was inspiring to see how all of these individuals are moving forward and dealing with their new challenges. I spoke with Michael who has a farm and just purchased a brand-new truck. We spoke about options he might have to convert it for wheelchair accessible.We look forward to keeping in touch with everyone we spoke to and hope that they find inspiration and support by following The Cross-Country Speaking Tour.