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Written by Melissa Donovan

38 years ago, Hector Del Valle was involved in a drunk driving car accident.  He was only 17 years old and was battling a major substance abuse problem. He hit two cars and a brick wall, leaving him with a life altering Spinal Cord Injury. Hector is now in a wheelchair and is paralyzed from the chest down. 

“Today almost 38 years later I could honestly tell you that this injury has impacted my life by the power I give it,” Hector said. “Sometimes it’s my chariot of entitlement thinking I have every right to abuse myself and others and other times I’m humbled by it.”

Since the accident that caused his Spinal Cord Injury, Hector has been a major advocate against drunk driving. While he lived in New Jersey, he was a part of the effort of raising the drinking age from 18 to 21, and this gave him his first job in the New Jersey department of highway safety. Later, he moved to New York and landed another job as a Minority Outreach Coordinator for an independent living center. In 1997 he moved to Orlando in pursuit of his Masters degree in Social Work at UCF. At that time he was also working at one of the biggest substance abuse programs in the area where he was a major advocate for equal access to substance abuse treatment for people with addictions and disabilities on a national level. This later led him to become involved at CIL. 

Knowing that this injury has left him to be dependent on others which also places him in a vulnerable position, he has created a “medical support network” of people he knows he can trust. As a board member of CIL, he hopes to be someone who others may be able to relate to and trust.

“CIL does their best to address and to advocate those rights of people with disabilities and caregivers who take care of them,” Hector said.  “The world is changing every day, our climate is changing, we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and we are already changing how we do health care. Hence, why we will need more individuals with SCI’s and other types of disabilities to provide mental health counseling to keep us all balanced as we navigate these world wide changes and how it’s impacting all of our communities.”

As someone who has faced the challenges that comes with a Spinal Cord Injury, Hector has some  words of advice and encouragement for anyone who may feel they can relate to him.

“Stay in motion and express yourself however you can,” Hector said. “Find your purpose for today, for tomorrow will take care of itself”

Written by Melissa Donovan

September was designated National SCI Awareness Month by the US Senate in an effort to raise awareness about SCI, the need for better treatments and education on prevention. According to themiamiproject.org, 17,730 new spinal cord injuries occur each year in the United States alone.

Christopher Pruitt, a current CIL Board Member, found himself as a part of that statistic when he was involved in a traumatic boating accident six years ago. This accident happened in the blink of an eye and left him with spinal cord injuries that have paralyzed him from the neck down. He relies on friends and roommates to help him with day-to-day tasks such as getting food, driving, and bathing. 

Before his injury, Christopher worked as an event planner. He was the person in charge of making memorable and welcoming corporate events, weddings, concerts, and more. After the accident, he realized that he was not able to perform the necessary tasks that event planning required. This was just one of the many changes that he had to make to adjust to his new life. Christopher says that his injury has placed insane limitations in his home life and the real world. Although Christopher has learned to adapt to a new version of his life, he still finds himself adapting to new changes constantly.

“You know life is always changing and you have to change with it and if something doesn’t work try something different,” Christopher said.

Christopher has become very passionate about working with non-profit organizations, such as CIL. After discovering about the work of CIL in the community, from a friend, Christopher knew that he wanted to get involved with the organization that shared his values and drive to better the disability community. 

“When I got the opportunity, I wanted to go ahead and jump at it and get on their board and see what I can do to help further their agenda,” Christopher said. 

Christopher has noticed that through his time with  CIL, that he has a unique understanding and real perspective on the needs and challenges of people with disabilities.

“There are tons of people out there that do not have the equipment or the access to people that can help, so I think that was one of the biggest things that drew me to CIL.”

Although Christopher’s accident has altered his life completely in countless ways,  he realizes that he has become stronger because of it, and he hopes that people who may be going through what he went through will not be discouraged.

Christopher had the ultimate platform to tell his story on February 20, 2020- when he told a crowd of over 500 people about how his disability has not only affected him, but also how it has allowed him to think and interact with his world in a whole new perspective. He also described how important it was for him to make relationships with organizations like CIL, so that he could offer his unique perspective to better help the people that these groups serve. Ultimately, Christopher’s story resonated and touches the hearts of the competition’s attendees, as CIL won third place and $10,000.

“I think that it’s very important for people to know but while people might stare at you, nobody’s really judging you, it’s more curiosity than anything else,” Christopher said.

Meet Christine,

Christine Hunter, 58, is retired and lives in her home with her husband and pets. She uses her walker or wheelchair to get around, but the stairs outside of her home were problematic and inaccessible for Christine. With steep stairs, she was worried about how to remain independent while also staying cautious about falling. After recently suffering a fall, she knew she needed some improvements and modifications to her home to stay safe and maintain her peace of mind.

Mrs. Hunter first learned about the Center for Independent Living during a brief hospital stay, when her nurses communicated and recommended that she reach out to CIL for some of the home modifications that she was looking for. When she first got in touch with CIL, she was asked some simple, preliminary questions about herself and her current living situation. The main focus of the conversation was the goals that Christine had for herself. Her main goal was simply to live more independently with less fear of going through another accident or fall; it was now CIL’s mission to help Christine meet this goal. After this initial conversation, CIL sent their friendly and knowledgeable building technicians to visit her home, assess the situation, and configure a plan of action. It was ultimately decided that CIL would be able to grant Mrs. Hunter the peace of mind that she was looking for- a new ramp at her front door to replace the dangerous steps.

Life before the ramp for Christine was dependent on her husband, who helped her use the stairs on the outside of her house. She would hold on to her husband’s arm and lean on him for support. She grasped for her independence when trying to leave her own home and was ready for some change. “My husband would have to help me down and up. He would balance me and have to put my walker at the bottom of the stairs.” Christine said. Before the ramp, the concrete stairs created a risk for falling easily since they had no hand railings for her to rely on. CIL was quick to remove Mrs. Hunter’s old, wooden stairs and replace them with an aluminum ramp; which will withstand the harsh weather conditions and last a longer time.

In just one day, Christine’s new aluminum ramp was completed. She now feels more independent and in control of her own life. The ramp was added to the front of her house so she could either use her walker, wheelchair or she could walk by herself. She described the process and installation as quick and easy. “When the workers came to my house they determined they couldn’t add the ramp to the side door, so that’s why they decided on the front door,” Christine said.

With her newly gained independence, thanks to her ramp, she is now able to complete simple tasks like walking in and out of her house as well as doing her own laundry. “It’s a lot easier with the ramp now. It’s great.”

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