If you go
› What: 13th annual Siskin Possibilities Luncheon.› When: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, March 22.› Where: Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St.› Admission: $75.› Phone: 423-634-1208.› Website: www.siskinrehab.org.
Siskin Hospital's 13th annual Possibilities Luncheon will be held Tuesday, March 22, with keynote speakers Grant and Shawna Korgan detailing how they came through Grant's paralyzing spinal cord injury.
Grant Korgan, world-class adventurer, nanoscientist and professional athlete, undertook the greatest challenge of his life on March 5, 2010. A day that started with a snowmobile outing with friends in the Sierra Mountains of California ended with a helicopter ride to Reno's renowned medical center.
Korgan overshot a jump and the landing fractured his L1 vertebra - or, in the words of a close friend and eyewitness to the accident, "exploded his L1 vertebra [sending] shrapnel into his spinal cord." Korgan underwent nine hours of reconstructive surgery to repair the damage.
Eventually, he recovered to the point he could reclaim his active lifestyle. From wheelchair to walker to crutches to two canes, Grant progressed until he became the first spinal-cord-injured athlete in history to ski 80 miles to Antarctica's South Pole.
Today, he is the emerging face of spinal cord recovery and heralds his message of choosing positivity through adversity.
"We are all survivors," Korgan says. "Although my body has been broken, my spirit never will be."
Shawna Korgan took her husband's recovery head on, drawing upon her 15 years as a certified personal trainer and her bachelor of science degree in health ecology. She worked with doctors and therapists to devise a rigorous plan to reach Grant's goal of 120 percent recovery, integrating traditional forms of therapy with spiritually inspiring techniques.
Through blogs, webinars and private coaching, Shawna Korgan empowers individuals, with and without injuries, to reach their health, fitness and life goals. She is writing her first book about her journey through Grant's recovery, as well as developing a guide for caregivers. Grant has chronicled his injury and road to recovery in the autobiography "Two Feet Back."
Their program includes a multimedia presentation with footage of Grant Korgan's skiing, snowmobiling and kayaking expeditions, including his fateful snowmobile accident.