Living Beyond Disability: Personal Stories from People with Disabilities

Justin Thompson

 

As a 16 year-old high school junior, Justin is busy studying for the SAT exams. He’s excited about college and all the opportunities that come with it. On a typical day, he would be outside playing soccer – he’s known for his skills as a right defenseman. However, Justin has been in a wheelchair for the last year.

 

Justin was injured in 2011 in his home town of Brooklyn, New York. He was leaving a party with some friends when a group of armed men wearing hooded jackets approached them. One of the men fired at Justin and shot him in the back. The bullet grazed his spine, bruising the bone. Justin’s doctors are hopeful that he could have a full recovery. For now, he is paralyzed from the knees down.

 

Justin still hasn’t returned to school full-time. When he’s not studying for the SAT or worrying about driver’s education courses, he enjoys playing video games with his friends, seeing movies and watching TV.

 

More information about living with disabilities:

•CDC’s work in Disability and Health www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/index.html

•Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation www.christopherreeve.org

•United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=111

•CDC Video: Bernard Baker - “What’s Disability to Me?” www.cdc.gov/NCBDDD/video/bernard/index.html

•CDC Feature Article: “People with Disabilities: Living Healthy” www.cdc.gov/Features/Disabilities/

•CDC Feature Article: “Twentieth Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)” www.cdc.gov/Features/ADAAnniversary/

 

 

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