David Garfinkle became quadriplegic after an accident. He wants people to know what it’s like living in a wheelchair and to support others with life-changing injuries.
While on vacation 10 years ago, Garfinkle tried surfing and fell hard in shallow water.
“I broke my spine in five different places all near the base of my skull and basically made me quadriplegic instantly. My hands don’t move, but my arms do. My legs don’t move and I don’t feel them. I can’t go to the bathroom by myself anymore,” he says.
“I can’t walk, but I can live!”
Garfinkle lives as well as he can with friends and family around him. He supports the Neuro-Efficiency Foundation and Wellness Centre that provides physiotherapy and psychotherapy to people with reduced mobility.
“With equipment for people who are who are paralyzed or stroke victims to help them get some sort of exercise in and maybe even walk again,” he says.
His daughter Emily is a rehabilitation psychologist who says her dad’s injury helps guide her path to that profession.
She specialized in acute brain injury and spinal cord injury rehabilitation, as she knows firsthand the importance and benefits of good support.
She says she wants to provide “more resources to people in those situations and helping families understand what they’re dealing with and how to navigate forward.”
This Super Bowl Sunday at Maison Alcan, Garfinkle is hosting a watch party doubling as a fundraiser for the Neuro-Efficiency Foundation and their support programs.
“It goes to a great charity,” said Garkinkle. “The charity is there to [help] the people who are injured or handicapped have a better life.”
