Nathan Ogden training for his families upcoming journey.
For Nathan Ogden, life changed dramatically when he broke his neck coming off a ski jump in Oregon 15 years ago. He became paralyzed. Over the next year he made excellent progress and regained some upper body strength and mobility when he was hit with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. While there and unconscious, he was dropped from the X-ray table and broke his neck a second time, causing additional loss of his upper body function.
Now, as a quadriplegic, he lives a full life and wants to help others do the same. Ogden has set out to put his wheels to work this July during a 2-week family bike ride from Mt. Bachelor Oregon (the site of the first break), to Los Angeles California. CHAIR THE HOPE spawned from an idea Ogden’s wife had – a bike ride, roughly 1,200 miles in length, and relay-style with their family of six. In true Ogden family fashion, they’re ready to roll with it.
The goal of CHAIR THE HOPE is to inspire others to get outside and keep moving despite disabilities, fears, or excuses, while raising $100,000 to donate to the Wheelchair Foundation. During the past 17 years, the Wheelchair Foundation has gifted over 1 Million wheelchairs to people in need all over the globe. Ogden is passionate about getting kids out to play, and fathers back to work to support their families, and overcoming the barriers of immobility.
The Ogden Family
Ogden is an inspirational speaker, trainer, and coach. In 2016 he published the book, Unfrozen – Superior Systems to Move from Paralysis to Progress. He resides in Boise Idaho with his wife Heather, and their four children Seniya (18), Kyler (16), Malani (12), and Cortlyn (10).
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For more information, please contact Nathan Ogden. (208) 761-2770
og*********@ho*****.com Nathan Ogden Facebook www.nathanogden.com
Inspiring story! So proud to have Nathan and the Ogden Family supporting Wheelchair Foundation and spreading the word of what it takes to be “Unfrozen”
Hi my name Natalia pillay from south Africa Durban i am 39 years of age i am looking for help i have tried every were my last place now is with you guys .I am paraplegic with some upper limb involvement power in left arm is 4/5 currently wheelchair bound .i sustained C6/C7,T4/T5 and L1L2 injuries .I just stared a foundation to empower people in my community
I have a friend that is in need of an electric wheel chair. After having surgery, she is a quadriplegic and can not afford to purchase an electric wheelchair. The insurance she has and is about to loose, refuses to help. She just received disability and will not get Medicare for another 18 months. Is there any way your foundation can help? This lady has lost both of her sons, her husband is not in good health, he can not push her in a regular wheel chair. She is desperate for some help so she might have a little bit of a normal life.
Hello and thank you for the comment. We’re deeply sorry to read about your friends’ situation. For any wheelchair requests please submit your information to in**@wh******************.org. We do offer only manual wheelchairs through our foundation but you might be able to find some further resources here on our site https://wheelchairfoundation.org/programs/more-organizations/