Wheel World News Issue 10 July | Page 3

Letter from the Director:

Letter from the Executive Director

In September of 1997, Wendy Mortensen Gilbert went into the hospital for corrective surgery to lessen her pain due to a severe case of scoliosis. Unfortunately the doctors over corrected the spine, causing a blood clot to form in her spinal cord with the end result being a spinal cord injury.

As tragic as this was for the Mortensen family, everyone with a spinal cord injury has a similar story of the beginning of their new life after injury.

In order to learn more about spinal cord injury and assist others with the injury, the Mortensen family founded an association and on April 1, 1999, the association received a grant from the Governor’s Council on Spinal and Head Injuries to fund the Arizona United Spinal Cord Injury Association.

Although restricted by funding, the association has continued to grow and develop since 1999, but the many wonderful people who have served, and are serving, on the board of directors have kept the same goal in mind; Provide educational, peer services and quality of life improvements for those with spinal cord injury, their families, and the professionals who work in the field of spinal cord injury.

Please feel free to contact us with any ideas or suggestions you have on how our current programs can assist you in improving your quality of life.

Sincerely,

Paul Mortensen

Executive Director

1