Here are just a few examples of who the
Fighting Back Scholarship Program helps.

One of the greatest strengths of the Fighting Back Scholarship Program is its long-term impact on people's lives beyond physical rehabilitation by becoming a first step to many other goals and achievements.

Steve Pavlo, a 2003 scholarship award recipient has been involved with Fighting Back for more than two years, having learned about it while in rehab at Bryn Mawr when his insurance ran out. Through Fighting Back, Steve realized that he could still do the things he did before, he just had to learn how to do them differ-ently. "Fighting Back has given me confidence and the realization that there is a life out there." Possibly a more profound change is that being in a wheelchair has ultimately given Steve focus. He recently returned to college, something he says he could never have done without the confidence he gained through Fighting Back, and earned a 3.8 GPA. One day he hopes to help people like himself with physical disabilities. You get the impression, when talking to Steve, that he believes he's been inspired by the Fighting Back Scholarship Program, not realizing that it is he, and his dreams, that inspire others!


As a boy, Joe Johnson did all the things that other boys do. He climbed trees. He swam. He even delivered newspapers. Not particularly remarkable, except that Joe cannot see or hear. Diagnosed with an unknown mito-chondrial disorder, Joe started losing his sight at age three, and by three and a half was legally blind. His hearing started deteriorating when he was just six years old, and by the time he was 13, Joe could only communicate through Braille and tactile sign language. As Joe got older, he started losing his balance. By 25 he was walking with a cane and at 34 was confined to a wheelchair. With limited resources, Joe made some strides but needed additional weight training. In the spring of 2003, a physical therapist told Joe about the Fighting Back Scholarship Program. "The Fighting Back Program has been a marvel," says Joe's mother Jean. "Joe's legs have muscle tone again." Joe agrees. "Fighting Back is great," he signs. "It feels good to get out of the house and use weight machines again. I have a wonderful personal trainer, Steve Zezza! He is learning to communicate with me using the sign language I'm teaching him. Steve is very good to me. I told him soon I will be like The Incredible Hulk."


Sixteen years ago, Scott Davis's life was changed forever as the result of a swimming accident. He suffered a C6-C7 spinal cord injury that left him a quadriplegic. At that moment Scott began his Fighting Back journey. He spent months in the renowned Magee Rehabilitation Clinic and lived with his parents for six years. During that time he continued to progress to the point that independence became a possibility. Scott's life would change once again when he crossed paths with the Fighting Back Scholarship Program and he would never be the same. Scott has progressed to levels that he never believed possible. Sixteen years spent in a wheelchair had rendered him obese. This program, together with a healthy diet, helped him to lose 50 pounds. With the weight loss his breathing improved and transferring difficulties were a thing of the past. This opportunity for Scott has greatly enhanced his quality of life and he can once again participate in many of the activities that he was accustomed to before his accident. Scott owes his accomplishments to his own courage, desire and perseverance, along with the dedication of the Fighting Back Scholarship Program.