Life After Paralysis with Tiffiny Carlson

In 2012, Sgt. Justin Teagardin (Army Infantry Sergeant deployed to Iraq in 2010) found himself paralyzed in a motorcycle accident at the age of 25. Paralyzed with a C5-6 injury, Teagardin underwent extensive physical therapy, occupational and speech therapy until he was able to home.

After he was discharged, he moved to South Carolina where he founded Handicap Help LLC, an online portal that offers resources and community as well as assistive technolog advice to over 20,000 people. He also became a disability advocate, is an author and a consultant, helping create personalized emergency plans for his clients. Teegardin shares his story with us for our last interview of NDEAM.

— Follow Jordan:

https://www.instagram.com/handicap_help

— Visit Handicap Help:

https://www.handicaphelp.net

In another interview for National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2026, we spoke with Zack Collie, a C4 quadriplegic and therapist from Yorba Linda, California. Paralyzed in 2010 in a diving accident, he was unsure of his employment future post-injury and landed on becoming a therapist while in college.

Currently working the necessary hours to become licensed, he is working part-time and specializing in trauma, disability, anxiety and motivation. He also offers a disability support group for anyone with a disability in California. Learn more by exploring his links.

— Follow him at @the_paralyzed_therapist and @zackcollie7

— Contact him directly:

[email protected]

In our fourth interview for National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2026, we spoke with Kortlund Natterstad.

Paralyzed six years ago in an off-road accident, this former medical device salesman pivoted and is now the COO/Co-Founder of NeuroBridge Solutions, a platform that helps people with spinal cord injuries find grants and other funding opportunities for assistive technology and medical devices.

Also becoming an Engagement Services Consultant for the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium post-injury, Natterstad stays busy. Getting married and moving to southwest Florida as well, he is truly living life on his own terms.

— Visit NeuroBridge Solutions/Funding Finder platform

— Sign up to beta-test Funding Finder for free (for a limited time only)

— Follow Kortland: https://www.instagram.com/kortlund/

In our third interview for National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2026, we spoke with Norman Tucker, a retired entrepreneur originally from California who ran a successful ticketing agency for several years, specializing in VIP seating at concerts and other events. Paralyzed the age of 19 in 1979, he was able to recover most of his mobility, although he still walks with a cane.

Norman shared his journey with us, including his injury story, how he started his successful business venture in the ticketing world, as well as to his world travels post-retirement with his wife.

— Purchase his memoir: "Ticket to Life: The Crash That Should Have Killed Me"

Paralyzed over 30 years ago since he was a teenager, Humberto Gurmilan, a C6 quadriplegic from San Diego, has thrived professionally in the communications world. Currently the Communications Manager at San Diego Gas &Electric, he is also the former Press Secretary for the San Diego County Supervisor. He's also written two books and is a former sports anchor and reporter at Telemundo San Diego.

Also the Founder of the Gurmilan Foundation. He helps the spinal cord injury community in San Diego County by giving adaptive grants for adaptive sports, equipment and accessibility needs.

He shared his professional journey with us in our National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2026 Podcast Series.

- Follow him on IG: https://www.instagram.com/humberto_gurmilan/

- Follow his nonprofit (Gurmilan Foundation):

https://www.instagram.com/GurmilanFoundation/

#spinalcordinjury #communicationscareer #quadriplegic

For National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2026 we're profiling people with spinal cord injuries and their careers. For our first profile, meet Samantha Thomson from Florida, paralyzed since 2023 in a car accident. Now a C6-7 quadriplegic, she has been working incredibly hard to run her marketing and product design business post-injury, Blue Rose Designs.

From creating bespoke designs for businesses, such as banners to creating wholesale and e-commerce products, Thomson shares how she has continued to run her business post-injury, as well as how she has incorporated her love of books into her business and hosts "Bookish" events and book crawls.

—Follow Samantha: https://www.instagram.com/samibbyrolls143/

https://www.instagram.com/samibbyreads143

https://www.instagram.com/bluerosebookish/

— Visit her online store: Blue Rose Designs

https://bluerosellc.shop/

In San Pedro, California, you'll find Juan Rodriguez, owner and operator of Loko's Hot Dogs, a hot dog food stand business he started two years ago. Paralyzed at the age of 15, he is also one of the few people in the country owning and operating a food stand as a wheelchair-user.

He shares his story from becoming paralyzed as a teenager to discovering a passion for food/cooking after years of doing customer service. And god willing, he hopes to open a food truck soon.

- Follow Loko's Hot Dogs: https://www.instagram.com/lokoshotdogs

In episode 68 of SPINALpedia's podcast Life After Paralysis, we catch up with Destiny Floyd from Missouri, a 26 year old model who's been paralyzed since the age of 19 in a drive-by shooting and was recently crowned Ms Wheelchair Missouri 2026.

She's also an ambassador for Disabled But Not Really, an amazing nonprofit in Kansas City that promotes accessible exercise, and has an accessible gym and a robust SCI community.

She shares her journey of depression after becoming paralyzed and how she was able to break through, and also talks about her new nonprofit as well as her experience running for and winning Ms. Wheelchair Missouri and her important platform issues of accessibility and redefining ability. 

- Follow Destiny on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hi_itsdestinyy/

- Disabled But Not Really: https://disabledbutnotreally.org/

We've featured several people with disabilities who've dedicated their lives to helping the disability community, and Art Aston is one of these selfless individuals. Born with spina bifida in 1981, he grew up in a time when disability awareness was lacking.

Fourty years later, he's changing the way the world sees disability through his foundation Our View, a nonprofit that offers workplace disability awareness trainings, educational assemblies as well as builds accessible playgrounds in the New Jersey area. They also sponsor an adaptive baseball league, the Camden County New Jersey Miracle League, that is open to all disabilities, with volunteers available to assist.

- Follow Art: https://www.instagram.com/artaston81/

- Follow/learn more about Our View: https://our-view.com/

Paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in November 2024, Holden Howell, a 21 year old college student from Ohio, promised his grandma when he got his motorcycle he wouldn't kill himself. So when his injury occurred, Holden was just grateful to survive.

Holden is now home, back in college and is on a life mission to make exercise as accessible as possible for people with paraplegia and has created a fully accessible workout routine that can be done in any mainstream gym. His channel is called "One and All Fitness."

He discusses his injury, transitioning home, and his passion for accessible fitness in our March 2026 episode.

Follow Holden on social media below:

- https://www.youtube.com/@OneandAllFitness

- https://www.tiktok.com/@howell_holden

- https://www.instagram.com/howell_holden

See past episodes here: https://spinalpedia.com/blog/category/spinalpedia-podcast