Sammamish man receives grant for necessary funding from the High Fives Foundation
THIS IS THE FIRST EMPOWERMENT FUND GRANT AWARDED TO Conrad Addison FROM THE HIGH FIVES FOUNDATION
(Truckee, California, November 3, 2016) — California’s High Fives Foundation is awarding Sammamish resident Conrad Addison an Empowerment Grant for twelve hours of physical therapy weekly at Pushing Boundaries to help in his recovery process from a life-altering injury he received in May of this year.
The injury occurred while Addison was mountain biking in Bellingham, Washington and went off of a platform jump. He went over his handlebars hitting his head. The impact paralyzed his arms and legs. He was stabilized at St. Joes in Bellingham; then was flown to Harborview due to the extent of his injuries.
He suffered a burst fracture of his C-4 and fractured his C-5 vertebrae leaving him in the ICU for 10 days. He is still currently in Harborview inpatient trauma rehab.
“My goals range from being able to eat a meal completely by myself to returning to the trails with my incredible wife and dog,” said Addison. “Every day I aim to get a little more movement and sensation with the hope that small miracles will lead to bigger ones.”
His physical therapy at Pushing Boundaries will reeducate his nervous system and muscles. He will work on muscle mass, strength building, endurance, and flexibility with a combination of repetitive movements, electro-stimulation and gait therapy to help him regain movement and function.
“Conrad has a long road to independence, and the High Fives Foundation can certainly help him and his family in this trying time,” said Roy Tuscany, executive director of the High Fives Foundation. Tuscany was injured in a ski accident in 2006. His recovery process catalyzed the development of the High Fives Foundation.
