In April 2015, Shawn was hiking along some cliffs overlooking the beach in northern California with some friends. They decided to hike over an exposed ridge that required some brief climbing. During the climb, Shawn grabbed onto something that did not hold his weight, causing him to fall over 20 feet onto the beach. The fall fractured Shawn’s T-12 and L-1 vertebrae and caused a contusion to his spinal cord. He was immediately flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he underwent spinal fusion surgery.Fond of all things outdoors, Shawn’s goal is to recover to the point where he can safely return to snowboarding, hiking, camping and all of the other activities that he loves