Alex Mask is a student of DeVry University.

On January 15th, 2001 my life changed forever. I was a seat-belted passenger in a single car accident. When paramedics arrived at the scene of the accident I was in a coma, Glasgow Coma score of 3, where it was decided that my best hope for survival would be air-evacing me to Memorial Regional Hospital where I could receive quick medical attention. The neurosurgeons did the best they could to ensure my survival but the final decision on my life lay, not in their hands, but in the hands of fate.

5 days after the accident I had my 18th birthday, where family and a few friends gatherd around my motionless body to sing Happy Birthday in hushed voices. One by one friends would come up and wish me a happy birthday, perhaps my last birthday or perhaps one of many where I was a "vegetable". My prognosis for survival was bleak. However, I did wake up after 15 days total in a coma and although I was "awake" in medical terms I still could not walk, talk or control any of my muscles. I was the proverbial "vegetable" I spoke about earlier.

After months in the hospital and inpatient therapy, followed by years of intensive outpatient physical, occupational, speech, vision and recreational therapy, as well as a plethora of non-conventional therapies, I have moved past the point of being totally immobile and unable to speak to being able to speak and competitive on a racing tricycle, but still a horrible singer (not that I was anywhere near decent before my accident).

Through this endeavor towards making the U.S. team to compete in the Paralympics in Beijing I hope to inspire people, both able-bodied and disabled, that even though one may have to deal with a major setback in their life, they can do much more with their life than what anyone thinks possible of them if they put their mind to it and aren't willing to accept "No" as an answer.

One day, in the city of Weston, Florida while out riding my recumbant trike I met an individual by the name of Stuart Flacks with relativley the same disability as mine. He rode a racing tricycle similar to the one that I ride now.

After speaking to him I found out that he was also disabled because of a car accident and that he now competes professionally on a racing tricycle and has attended the Paralympic games in 2000 and 2004 where he won the Silver Medal in both the Time Trial and Road Race where he provided me with his coaches's contact information.