On August 11, 2011, Cole was with some friends on the James River and, after diving into the river, struck his head on a submerged rock. Fortunately, he was quickly noticed and pulled from the river. Cole suffered a “horrific” fracture of the spine leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. He initially went into traction at the Medical College of Virginia at VCU to align the vertebrae; then surgery to stabilize the spine. Once stabilized, Cole was airlifted to The Shepherd Center for 122 days of rehabilitation. Prayers, financial support, letters of encouragement and visits from friends were crucial to him during his recovery.
This link shows a video of Cole during the first months of rehab and our incredible support network of friends and family who saved him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0NLBdBiJ2s&t=1s
After 7 years, Cole realizes his journey is far from over; he has much to accomplish in life and is determined not to let this injury prevent him from achieving his goals. He works hard to recover as much physical function as possible and continues to seek meaningful clinical trials for additional spinal cord injury recovery. Since graduating from the University of Richmond with a degree in Psychology with NeuroScience Concentration he has started 2 businesses. Cole is a special young man facing huge challenges. He doesn’t want to do this alone; he still needs your love and support and thrives on making his family, friends and amazing community proud of him. We thank God for everyone who has committed time, talent and treasure to restoring Cole. We ask that you continue to “RollwithCole” as he strives to focus on supporting and encouraging OTHERS transitioning into their new normal after catastrophic injury through our non-profit, RollwithCole NFP.