It was about a year before I could truly adjust to my new normal. Because of the strong support of friends and family, I didn’t have any major depression issues during that time. They seemed to always keep me busy. Having that support system made all the difference in my recovery and adjustment.

After high school graduation, I enrolled at the University of Oregon and majored in business. One of the advantages of going to the University of Oregon was that the campus was pretty hilly. Those hills helped me build up my physical strength, besides the exercising I already was doing at physical therapy. Eugene, Oregon is very accepting of all types of people. That city was a great place to learn to adjust to my new body.

I have also enjoyed peer mentoring other people who may be living life after SCI. I tell newly injured people in wheelchairs to be prepared for the first year after their accidents to be the most difficult. I tell them to remember that just because they’re injured, it doesn’t mean that their worlds have to change that drastically. They’re still the same persons they were before the injury.

Josh Continues His Love Of Extreme Sports With Para-Bobsledding

In 2014, I went to Austria to learn how to bobsled and compete among other para-athletes. I’ve also trained and competed at the Olympic track in Calgary, Canada. This sport is a pure adrenaline rush. With its high-speed descent down a frozen twisting ice chute, the sport of Bobsleigh and Skeleton tests an athlete’s strength, finesse and courage. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation offers this same challenge to elite athletes who have a disability through its Para-bobsleigh and Para-skeleton sport disciplines.

I’m proud to be part of such an awesome sport and to have the opportunity to represent U.S.A. Our goal is to eventually get the Olympic committee to approve having Para-bobsled included as a formal Paralympic sport event in the next Olympics. If I want something, I’m the person who has to go after it.