“I hope surfing with Making Dreams Come True will help me add a new adventure to my list of possibilities. And it’s also been something I’ve always wanted to try!”
Jessika Kattah is a 30 years young, extra-abled, vivacious woman. She has been a Level T2 Incomplete Paraplegic since 2012 due to a tumor on her spine. The injury was caused by surgery attempting to remove the tumor. When Jessika woke up from surgery, she realized that her life had completely changed.
Jessika started a blog about a year after her injury through which she educates curious minds and discusses issues related to accessibility and services available to those who are protected by the ADA. Jessika wants to show people living with a Spinal Cord Injury that life goes on beyond paralysis. She is a certified SCUBA diver, loves to fish and do anything that keeps her outdoors and near the ocean. She once thought that she would never do the things she did prior to her injury. It took time for her to realize that she can still do those things, just in a different way. Jessika wants to guide others in learning what they can do while being in a chair. We are limitless! Jessika is a peer mentor to newly injured patients and expresses to them that life does go on even if it means they are now in a wheelchair.
Jessika says. “Paralysis may have knocked me down for a while but it didn’t knock me out. I am alive, I am breathing, and I intend on living life to the fullest. “
Reinaldo Maiz is an extra-abled adventurer who sustained a T7 incomplete spinal cord injury paraplegic 8 years ago due to a motorcycle accident. Prior to his accident, he was a firefighter and in 2013 he went back to school and graduated as a medical billing and coding specialist. Renaldo works for Envision Healthcare and advocates in his community helping his peers obtain wheelchairs and other medical supplies. He is also an adaptive scuba diver and environmentalist who is passionate about cleaning up the oceans from garbage and changing the ecosystem underwater to sustain healthy marine life. Through his life experiences, Reinaldo has learned to enjoy life day by day, forgive, and tell the people in your life how much you love them. You just never know if you`ll see them again. Reinaldo’s future dream goals are to travel the world, meet new people and experience their culture.
Rey says.“ I want to let the world know that even people with extra-abilities (disabilities) can contribute to their world and make a difference in their own unique way. “
