Living Life to the Fullest

Less than one week before beginning his freshman year at Humboldt State University, Alex Uppenkamp was mountain biking near his home in San Diego. He attempted a 32-foot jump, but overshot the landing and fell on his head, breaking his C4-C6.

“I was instantly paralyzed from the chest down,” recalls the 22-year-old. “The following day, I had neck surgery to rebuild and stabilize my neck and then spent the next month in the ICU connected to a feeding tube and a ventilator.”

His father, Mike, adds “We basically wasted those first 35 days in the ICU before we could get Alex moved to Craig Hospital. But once he transferred to Craig, the healing finally began.”

Because family support is extremely important at Craig, the close-knit Uppenkamp family quickly banded together to support Alex. In fact, not only did Alex’s parents, Mike and Tina, take family medical leave to move to Colorado with Alex, but his two older brothers, Michael and Thomas, put their college studies on hold for a year to support their little brother after his accident.

Paying It Forward

Alex spent almost four months at Craig. “I felt like things really started to turn around at Craig. I had a great care team and a very supportive community surrounding me,” he says. “And I tried to take advantage of every therapy and every program I could, including the TRAC Adventure trips, scuba diving and the PEAK Center.”

He adds, “Everyone at Craig showed me that life was not over after a spinal cord injury. I was very athletic and outdoorsy before my accident; however, I had no idea what my life would look like after a SCI. But my team knew. They focused on helping me get back to my life—including getting back to the sports I once loved, like biking and surfing.”

And it was this support and encouragement that inspired the Uppenkamp family to give back.

“When Alex was first injured, we were a brand new SCI family that had no idea what to do,” Mike says. “We were completely lost and trying to manage so many different pieces of the challenging SCI puzzle. We knew our lives would be very different but had no idea of what to expect. But once we got through it and came out on the other side, we felt it was important to give back to others in the same position that we were in after Alex’s accident.”

That entailed helping families in the San Diego area modify their homes, find wheelchair-accessible vehicles, navigate the often-frustrating insurance maze, and emotionally support others by providing hope and advice.

“When we left Craig and returned home to San Diego, we wondered why there was no Craig in California,” Mike says. “So, helping SCI families is our way of giving others a little bit of what Craig gave to us.”

No Holds Barred

Today, Alex is living life to the fullest. He is studying engineering at San Diego State University and recently moved into his own apartment near campus. He regularly takes part in numerous adaptive sports, and this past summer, he embarked on a great adventure, spending two months driving 6,000 miles around the west coast in his Sprinter Van.

“After my accident, I had to relearn how to live and how to adapt to a new life. And while I still struggle with my body and my mind, I am happy with where I am,” Alex explains. “The SCI community is not one you want to be in—but once you are part of it—it’s definitely a family.”

Mike adds, “Alex is a role model for so many. He refuses to let his accident control his life and has created an impressive village for himself. He’s a true inspiration.”