My name is Jordan Lukas Ross Ayers and I am a 19-year-old quadriplegic. I was paralyzed on June 8th, 2023, at my job working for a tent and event rental company in Fenton, Missouri. I was at my job and we had just got to the first client who rented a bunch of 8-foot wooden tables and a few stacks of foldable plastic chairs.

My stepbrother had gotten to the back of the truck and started to do the tables as they were in front, standing up and down, along the left wall. My stepbrother had to go to the bathroom so instead, I got up in the truck and started to hand them to my other coworker at that time. Everything was going fine at first but what I did not know was that there were seven 8-foot tall 2 1/2 inch thick flat to the wall and the eighth one was against it holding those ones up.

I attempted to grab the eighth one and pull it towards me and doing so caused all eight to start falling in my direction. I locked every part of my body and pushed it against the tables but it was no use and when I locked my arms I threw my head back and all eight of those tables shoved my neck into the metal lining shattering from C5 to C7.

After my injury, I had to go through a lot of therapy and I have regained only half use/feeling of my arms which means I don't have triceps just biceps and I have everything from shoulder up but anything below shoulder nothing has feeling or movement. Now I have to think of the long run and my future which is what I’m saving for.