jOE - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I'm jOE. I was born in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1975. I went to and graduated from the Portage school syste....wait a minute. You can see all of this on the left.
Lets start from 1998. That's the year my daughter was born and my life really got meaning. I am a very devoted single father. Paiges mother and I aren't together, but we co-parent rather nicely. From June of '98 to August of '01 I spent my days working construction installing hardwood and ceramic tile, Going to school to get my associates degree in Surgical Technoligies, being a dad, adding a second story onto my house. I was a busy guy, but I still found time to meet new friends and unwind once a week.
Unfortunately, I didn't like the new job or the pay cut that went along with it. I went back to construction full time. And started White and Sons Inc, with my dad and brother.
On July25, 2003 I suffered a spinal cord injury(SCI), when I was thrown from a mechanical bull at the Porter County Fair. The operator "cranked it up a few notches" throwing me 8 1/2 feet and breaking my neck at C6/C7. I am now left with an incomplete SCI. For those of you that don't know, C7 is the vertebrae that sticks out when you bend your head down. "Incomplete" means that I have some sensation and and movement below my injury level, which is my nipple line. I am left with a lot of neurogenic pain, though you wouldn't know it. I get along pretty okay. On the plus side, I can stand and even walk very short distances with a walker.
Since my injury, I have found myself advocating for awareness and education concerning spinal cord injuries. I have rallied for the passage of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act in Washington DC, started the Northwest Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Group, and planned the Spinal Cord Injury Walk 2007 that raised $15,000.
If you would like to learn more about spinal cord injuries, visit carecure.org, u2fp.org, and nwiscig.blogspot.com.
Most recently, I went back to physical therapy and I went back to school for teaching. I'm loving every minute of it, too.
Oh yea, and my obituary will read:
'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

My Interests

My interest are being the best dad I can be, listening to music, living life, handcycling, watching movies, being with the people I care about, learning all I can about spinal cord injuries, educating others and advocating for a cure.

I'd like to meet:

These guys I guess. They're kinda funny....and My friends' friends and the woman of my dreams.(www.strikefile.com/myspace)

Music:

I have an almost endless, eclectic music collection. Lately, I've been listening to the White Stripes, Cake, the Ditty Bops, Spoon, G. Love, Jack Johnson, the Drive by Truckers, and the Decemberists, to name a few. VJ JAREN Pump Up the Doorbell
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Movies:

I love to watch movies... or plays.

The Wizard of OZ, What dreams May Come, Back To the Future I, II, III, The Butterfly Effect(directors cut), The Holly Grail, Life of Brian, Forest Gump, Clash of the Titans, Spider-man, Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind, Garden State, Taxi Driver, Scarface, Rules of Attraction, Fight Club, any Quentin Tarantino flick, Run Lola Run, the Big Lebowski, Super Troopers, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, M*A*S*H, Groundhog Day, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Television:

I rather enjoy M*A*S*H, The Daily Show, the Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Mahr, The Weather Channel's Locals on the 8's, Dexter, and Heroes.

Books:

In high school I almost read Animal Farm and Brave New World all the way through. I have read a few books all the way through now. Before I die I would like to read the Bible, Through the Looking Class, The Great Gatsby, and The Davinci Code.

Heroes:

Spider-man, Batman, Superman, Mr. Furious... and the guy with the 3 foot stream, but seriously I am reminded of a quote by Christipher Reeve. "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles"

My Blog

Spinal Cord Injury Walk 2007

Hello, My name is Joe White and I sustained a spinal cord injury in 2003, leaving me paralyzed from the chest down. Since then, I've been committed to raising awareness, helping out the paralyz...
Posted by jOE on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:46:00 PST

I'm off to DC again- Working 2 Walk 2007

Hey there, It's spring again and that means that it's time for "Working 2 Walk". I wanted to send this email out sooner, but it kinda snuck up on me. Some things are different this year. I am a n...
Posted by jOE on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 01:36:00 PST

My working 2 Walk Symposium/Rally Report

Hello everybody. I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this out to all of you. I hope you have some time to read it. It takes up almost eight pages on MicrosoftWord. I think I included most everyth...
Posted by jOE on Wed, 31 May 2006 10:54:00 PST

Working 2 Walk email

This is an email that I sent to almost everyone in my address book. If you didnt get one, either you aren't in there or I opted you out for some reason. You can go to u2fp.org for more informati...
Posted by jOE on Tue, 14 Mar 2006 12:45:00 PST