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Greg Hasterok

I was a manager at a skateboard/shoe store and was going to San Diego State University getting my Business Management degree.  I was playing volleyball, football and basketball with friends and whenever I could get free time.  I was also skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, mountain biking and basically any other sport I could do.

I crashed on my motorcycle coming home from San Diego State and broke my back at T-4 and tore the brachial plexus in my right arm which left me paralyzed from the mid chest down and with no motor function in the fingers of my right hand and diminished muscles to most of the right side of my torso and arm.  I was told by doctors that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, baring some medical breakthrough, and if I were to get any function back in my right arm it would happen within the first 3-5 years.  It has almost been 6 years now and I have had no recovery in my hand so at this point I am not expecting any improvement.

I was in the intensive care unit for about 3 weeks then I went to the Sharp Rehabilitation Center for around 3 months.  The only therapy I received there were the basic life skills I would need now that I was in a wheelchair.   They involved such things a getting dressed while sitting or laying down, getting in and out of the wheelchair, learning to become left-handed since I was right-handed before my injury and just basic mobility skills.   The part I liked was that everyone was friendly and seemed to genuinely care about  helping me to get better and live a productive life.  What I wanted to focus on also, but didn’t receive, was trying to strengthen my body and use the ability I have to try and walk/stand and gain more mobility through intense physical therapy.

I feel I have a very positive outlook on life now and actually do more now that I was doing before.  I am competing nationally in wheelchair tennis and rugby and am trying to make the US Paralympic team for tennis so I can compete in the 2008 Olympic games in Bejing.  The main thing I can say that is different in my life now is that I sit down a lot more.  I am still the same person I was before and still have the same dreams of owning my own business but now I also have the opportunity to compete in sports at the highest level available.  Since I started playing sports my life and overall outlook on life has drastically improved due to the friends I have made and everything they have sown me.  With the profound effect this has made on my life I try to make sure I offer the same opportunity and help to others.  If I can help one person improve their life, then everything I have gone through is worth it.

I heard about Awakenings from a friend on my rugby team and had talked with Heather and Laura about a year before I started the program.  The push that got me going to Awakenings was when they volunteered to have a training/massage booth at the wheelchair tennis US Open in which I was a participant.  We began to talk throughout the week and I told them how I could stand on my leg spasms and that sparked their interest so they asked if I would go to awakenings so they could check me out and see what I could do.  From that day on I was hooked with their program and the opportunity I had been waiting for since my accident.  Finally there was someone that didn’t just focus on using what you had, but focused on using what you have to get you more function, more ability, and more life.  Since I have been attending the program I feel I have gotten stronger throughout my body, have more control of my core, and have much more confidence and control in my ability to stand and one day, hopefully, be able to take steps and eventually walk again.

What advice would you give to someone considering the AHI program? What helpful advice would you give to someone who has recently been disabled?

To anyone considering the AHI program, I would recommend that they try it for a week or two because once you show up at Awakenings and get to know the people and clients, they won’t be able to leave.  The atmosphere there is contagious, and no matter how you feel when you enter you will leave with a smile and definitely some sore muscles.   My advice to anyone recently injured would be just take life one day at a time because it will definitely get better and easier.  Also, try to find things that you did before.  You may not be able to do them in 100% the same way, but the sooner you get back to your everyday life as it was, the sooner you can move on and the better you will feel about yourself.