My name is Erika Franco. I was injured on November 1st, 2018. I was stabbed in my sleep. My level of injury is T6&7. Be Perfect has helped me find a new vision for therapy. It has challenged me to push my independence and regain more confidence. The Be Perfect Foundation re-instilled my hope in being able to live an independent life in the future.
Read MoreBefore the day that changed my life, I attended St. Lucy’s Priory High School and played basketball for the city of San Dimas. Basketball was everything to me. I loved the feeling of the ball in my hand, dribbling it at my control, and hearing the sound of the net whishing when it made it in. But it all changed in a single moment.
I was denied to return to St. Lucy’s because of my disability but I did not give up on my education. I finished off my junior year by home schooling and then enrolled at San Dimas High School for my senior year. I was able to maintain a 4.0 GPA and continue my physical therapy.
Read MoreI am very grateful for my scholarship from the Be Perfect Foundation. Without it I could not afford to workout with a trainer at The Perfect Step (TPS). Over the years with TPS I have developed my upper body and core strength, so I could get out of my power chair and into a manual wheelchair. My wife has a neuromuscular disease, so she is limited with how much she can move and assist me. With my membership to TPS she is able to go into The Claremont Club to workout to stay in the best shape that she can and slow down the impairment that she has. As I get stronger I become more independent and I don’t need to ask her for as much assistance for everyday tasks.
Read MoreJason's story is familiar. It has all of the elements common to the stories of the people we help. He had lived decades of life with a fully functioning body. Then, in an instant, in the middle of a normal activity – something familiar, something routine – everything changed.
Jason was enjoying time at the pool. He decided it was time to get back in, and took a dive. His body collided with the concrete, resulting in a C-4/ C-5 spinal cord injury.
Read MoreJohn started working at Coca-Cola in 1983, where he was employed until he was injured. John married his wife, Georgia, in August of 1984. John has two sons, Michael and Patrick. Prior to his accident, a typical day for John started at 4 in the morning, rushing home at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, then out again taking the boys to baseball, soccer or whatever activities they where involved in. Most of the time, John was the one coaching their teams. Even in high school, John was involved with the sports boosters club to help with events.
Read MoreWhat were you doing at the age of 13? Were you playing youth sports? Going out on the weekends with friends to do outdoors things? Certainly, many of the fortunate ones, who are reading this in fact, are people who had that luxury. For young Jared Avalos, of Whittier, California, these luxuries are something that he does not get to take full advantage of on the weekends—they are simply his goals and dreams.
Read MoreAndy was injured in an unfortunate skateboard accident 10 years ago, which left him with a traumatic brain injury. Andy continues to smile each and every day that he wakes up. He is a constant light in people's day and always is able to bring a good laugh to the room anywhere that he goes.
Read MoreThe Perfect Step has taken him to the next level. He has a lot more confidence in the things he can do. Be Perfect has given him the support that he needed to make progress. He wants to say to the donors “THANK YOU is people like you that make people like me be able to make improvements in our lives”.
Read MoreAfter so many "no’s" from insurance for assistance, it brings back hope that there are still good people in this world who truly want to help. The Perfect Step and their staff has helped me with confidence in my walking ability and just overall outlook on things. Flexibility, strength, balance and form.
Read MoreB.P. has provided weekly (exercise base therapy) which has helped me continue to regain what i lost after my accident. Exercise is medicine, which gives me the wonderful life of independence.
Read MoreDue to a lack of options and exhausted medicaid benefits I had a six plus year wheelchair that was causing me great discomfort. BE PERFECT granted me a custom wheelchair that is safe and durable.
Read MoreLife threw me a curveball that literally knocked me flat on my back! It rocked me to the core of my very soul. Two short months after giving birth to my daughter, a massive tumor was discovered growing inside of my spinal cord. I underwent a nine hour surgery to have the tumor removed. The benign mass, an Ependymoma, was successfully detached in its entirety. However, it was entwined within my nerves. Therefore, my spine had to be severely manipulated in order to completely eradicate the growth. As a result of that procedure, I became an instant quadriplegic – paralyzed from the neck down – and fully dependent upon a respirator to help me breathe.
Read MoreThe Be Perfect Foundation has given me a scholarship to be part of The Perfect Step, where every day in every session I work on the recovery of my damage muscles due to my injury. Without the Be Perfect Foundation help I wouldn’t be able to afford this training program that I’m hoping it’ll help me to walk without the braces. I know is a long road but thanks to B.P.F. I know every day I’m closer to reaching my goal.
Read MoreI come from a country where help for people in my situation is very rare. When I found out that I was getting a scholarship, my family and I cried because we couldn’t believe that B.P. didn’t even know us and they were helping me. I knew then that they're people who truly care.
Read MoreBe Perfect is a charitable organization that has provided me with financial assistance during stressful and taxing times in my family’s life. They have helped pay for my therapy and by doing so, they have offered me the opportunity to benefit from attending more days out of the week. They have re-instilled hope in my life by giving me an opportunity to do what I love to do. Working out and exercising my body has been a life-long passion, which had been ripped from my life. Now, the organization has allowed me the chance to actively work towards my goals.
Read MoreBe Perfect has provided me financial assistance towards physical therapy and a new wheelchair. This has helped me regain an independent and active lifestyle by giving me access to this type of therapy and giving me more independence with a custom wheelchair that I can push.
Read MoreBe Perfect has provided me with the ability to get stronger as well and has also given me the confidence to soon start driving.
Read MoreMy name is Raul Garcia and I am a C7/ T1 Spinal Cord Injury. I was a victim of a gun shot on February 1st, 2017.
I have not been in The Perfect Step the program long, but the few therapies I have had have been very aggressive and I really like them. I feel like I am getting sore in areas, where I had not been sore in over one year. The therapies, advice from the physical therapies, and the employees at the front desk have given me tremendous hope for my future and my recovery.
Seeing other people in my condition and seeing them regaining their life styles is very motivating. I am hopeful to be completely independent again.
Read MoreI would like to thank the foundation for giving me this opportunity to do this amazing therapy program and the scholarship. I would not have been able to do this without your help and support.
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