MY ACCIDENT
Twenty-one years in a wheelchair…so hard to believe. On January 2, 1988 I was lying in the surf in Martinique, the undertow had pulled my legs out from under me and flipped me upside down onto the hard sand. Face down under the water and unable to breathe I knew something was dramatically wrong. I was in the prime of my life and now immobile...nothing moved. I was paralyzed. How could this have happened? My life flashed in front of me...playing ice hockey, walking around New York City, running races in Central Park, throwing baseballs . . .In a split second my life changed forever. At the age of 21--a quadriplegic -confined to a wheelchair. How would I continue?

THE ALAN T BROWN FOUNDATION GAVE ME A PURPOSE
My family established The Alan T Brown Foundation to Cure Paralysis (ATBF) within a year after my injury. In the early years ATBF primarily funded spinal cord injury research. Soon after when the need became apparent, the ATBF Outreach and Peer Mentoring Program was created, and has become the core of the Foundation's work. This program reaches out to the spinally injured and their loved ones providing focus, hope and the spirit to move forward. ATBF is a vibrant force in the spinal community changing attitudes, routines and lives through guidance and example; confirming emphatically that there is life after paralysis.

WHAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED
Professionally I have built a career that has included working for Slim·Fast Foods, organizing advertising campaigns for top celebrities, managing community affairs for the Florida Marlins, and starting a Sports Radio Station. Today, I am the proud owner of my own public relations firm, PrimeTime Public Relations & Marketing in Hollywood, Florida.

Personally I have achieved many of the goals I set for myself, not the least of which was completing two New York City Marathons, skydiving, scuba diving, and more. Married after my injury, Susanne and I have two sons, Max who will be eleven, and Sam who will be six. I am hopeful that the world in which Max and Sam grow up in will view people in wheelchairs positively. I may be confined to a wheelchair, but I am a whole person.... a son, brother, husband, father, and friend. "Never say Never" is an integral part of my philosophy.

NEW FOCUS
In 2009 the Outreach and Peer Mentoring Program will begin to focus on Quality of Life. ATBF will partner with researchers that are conducting studies targeting specific problems associated with prolonged confinement to a wheelchair and paralysis.

ALIGNMENT TO OUR MISSION: A POSITIVE MOVE
The Alan T Brown Foundation will continue to change lives and help families cope with the traumatic changes that effect all facets of life when paralysis occurs. We are all vulnerable and hope that relatives and friends remain healthy. In this fragile world things change and lives can be altered. Your allegiance to The Alan T Brown Foundation will ensure that ATBF will be able to respond immediately to those in need.