Getting Ready To Go Back To D.C.

Sorry I have not written in a while. I have been catching up and gearing up to head back to D.C. May 12-15th for The GI Film Festival and Ibot work. Stay tuned, i am just getting started.

We need to make sure those who protect us get the care they need.....

Back Home




Today was an interesting day as yesterday’s events begin to set in. I am so honored the The Reeve Foundation let me be part of this groundbreaking study that should lead to changes in how people with Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis live. If the story about my 21 year journey can help others, I will continue to make sure this stays in the public eye.



Here are Pictures from Yesterday of Alexandra Reeve and me speaking at The National Press Club.

What A Great Day



What a great day. I am back at the airport heading home. Today should open up many peoples eye's to the the problems we face day to day and be the start of change to get people the help that they need to live quality lives.

Here is Alexandra and Matthew Reeve at The Congressional Briefing* Senate Dirksen Senate Office Building


If you missed the webcast here's the link http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=57681

WFOR Miami http://cbs4.com/video/?cid=5

WCBS New York

Today Is The Day......

10am press event at The National Press Club, watch it live http://www.visualwebcaster.com/Reeve-Foundation-Prevalence-Study/ then off to Congressional Briefing at the Senate Dirksen Senate Office Building,
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

I will try to keep you updated on how its going today, if not I will fill you in tonight. Here is the first of stories that will run today http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/ap_on_he_me/us_med_paralysis_2

Here is video piece from WCBS-TV New York http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=126819@wcbs.dayport.com

ATB is in DC

I am DC and am ready for tomorrow's 10am press event, watch it live http://www.visualwebcaster.com/Reeve-Foundation-Prevalence-Study/. you will be able to see news interviews in Miami CBS4 and New York on WCBS starting at 5am. Follow my blog at http://alantbrown.blogspot.com/

Let The Countdown Begin


I had a great weekend with family and friends. I am ready to go, you will be able to see news interviews in Miami CBS4 and New York on WCBS starting at 5am. Here is a picture of me with my friend Gill 20 mintues before my accident.


Check Out The Press Release

Over a Million More Paralyzed Than Previously Estimated;
Five Times More People Live With Spinal Cord Injury


Newswise — On Tuesday, April 21st at 10:00 a.m. a first-ever, independent survey of over 33,000 households will be released. Join us to learn specific details of the survey, which was initiated by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and conducted by the University of New Mexico’s Center for Development and Disability. More than 30 experts from fourteen leading universities and medical centers and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set the parameters for the research.

WHEN: 10:00 a.m. ET, Tuesday, April 21, 2009

WHERE: The National Press Club; 14th and F Streets, NW, Washington, DC
WEBINAR ACCESS: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/Reeve-Foundation-Prevalence-Study/

SPEAKING:
• Peter Kiernan, Chairman of the Board, Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
• Dr. Edwin Trevathan, MD, MPH, Director, National Center on Birth Defects and Development Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• U.S. Congressman James Langevin, (D-RI), the only spinal cord injured member of Congress
• Alexandra Reeve Givens and Matthew Reeve. Children of Christopher Reeve
• Kris Gulden; former Alexandria VA Deputy Sheriff, spinal cord injured in 1984 when hit by a car.
• Alan T. Brown; business executive from Hollywood, FL, paralyzed from chest down when hit by a wave in 1988.
• Raul Pedraza, Spanish-speaking business executive and veteran from Miami, FL, paralyzed in 2002 from a tragic fall.

Available for interview on site: study principal investigator Anthony Cahill, Ph.D., University of New Mexico; study project director for Reeve Foundation Joseph Canose, VP Quality of Life; Mike Murphy, from McLean VA, a marathoner and recent college grad who became paralyzed in 2007.

Contact us for more information, advance interviews, embargoed copy of survey, broadcast-quality b-roll and/or high resolution photos: Jennifer Dickson, Suzanne Turner 202-466-9633.



About the Reeve Foundation
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy. For more information, and to review the entire list of Quality of Life grant recipients, please visit our website at www.ChristopherReeve.org or call 800-225-0292. www.christopherreeve.org

Getting Ready

Today i have been preparing for special a special announcement April 21 from the Reeve Foundation. This is a very exciting for people with disabilities. I have been dealing with media interviews and getting ready to tell the world my story in order to help others.

I want you to be a part of an extraordinary announcement we will make next Tuesday, April 21st at 10:00 am ET at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

You can go online to participate through WEBINAR ACCESS, I will post the link before. Stay tuned............

"Never Say Never"

THIS IS HOW I ROLL.....

GETTING TO KNOW ME

THE ALAN T BROWN FOUNDATION GAVE ME A PURPOSE
My family established The Alan T Brown Foundation to Cure Paralysis (ATBF) within a year after my injury. In the early years ATBF primarily funded spinal cord injury research. Soon after when the need became apparent, the ATBF Outreach and Peer Mentoring Program was created, and has become the core of the Foundation's work. This program reaches out to the spinally injured and their loved ones providing focus, hope and the spirit to move forward. ATBF is a vibrant force in the spinal community changing attitudes, routines and lives through guidance and example; confirming emphatically that there is life after paralysis.

WHAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED PROFESSIONALLY
I have built a career that has included working for Slim·Fast Foods, organizing advertising campaigns for top celebrities, managing community affairs for the Florida Marlins, and starting a Sports Radio Station. Today, I am the proud owner of my own public relations firm, PrimeTime Public Relations & Marketing in Hollywood, Florida.
Personally I have achieved many of the goals I set for myself, not the least of which was completing two New York City Marathons, skydiving, scuba diving, and more. Married after my injury, Susanne and I have two sons, Max who will be eleven, and Sam who will be six. I am hopeful that the world in which Max and Sam grow up in will view people in wheelchairs positively. I may be confined to a wheelchair, but I am a whole person.... a son, brother, husband, father, and friend. "Never say Never" is an integral part of my philosophy.

NEW FOCUS
In 2009 the Outreach and Peer Mentoring Program will begin to focus on Quality of Life. ATBF will partner with researchers that are conducting studies targeting specific problems associated with prolonged confinement to a wheelchair and paralysis.

ALIGNMENT TO OUR MISSION: A POSITIVE MOVE
The Alan T Brown Foundation will continue to change lives and help families cope with the traumatic changes that effect all facets of life when paralysis occurs. We are all vulnerable and hope that relatives and friends remain healthy. In this fragile world things change and lives can be altered. Your allegiance to The Alan T Brown Foundation will ensure that ATBF will be able to respond immediately to those in need.