On June 1st, 2013, when Casey was only 26 years old, he had an accident at Jones Beach that forever changed his life. After diving into the ocean, he fractured his C4 – C6 vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
Face down in the water and unable to move, Casey was rescued from the ocean by Emergency Medical Technicians and air-lifted to Nassau University Medical Center. The distance Casey traveled for his very first helicopter ride was a half marathon (13.1 miles).
Casey had two lifesaving surgeries: spinal fusion C4 – C5 and a femoral graft. He spent months in the hospital, surviving 45 days in the ICU on life support while also battling multiple life-threatening conditions.
Casey was then discharged to Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where he had to re-learn to breathe and talk on his own. Casey spent 13 weeks at Kessler fighting to better himself and gain maximal functional independence.
Casey recently started a part-time job working for a nonprofit helping children and young adults with disabilities. Also he was a peer mentor this past summer for a newly injured people with spinal cord injuries.
Currently he is organizing a fundraiser to help find him a place to live on his own because none of the organizations through the government are helping
Having trouble finding a place to live
