Brooke Ellison was just a regular eleven-year-old girl growing up in Long Island New York. On her first day of middle school, while walking home, she was suddenly struck by a passing car. Instantly her life was changed forever. She became a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down, dependant upon a ventilator to breathe. The girl who ran, laughed and played was now confined to a wheelchair, unable to move. This is a reality unfathomable to most of us.
Yet Brooke decided she was not going to let a disability prevent her from achieving her dreams. She continued her schooling, aided physically by her devoted mother, Jean. Brooke graduated from Ward Melville High School with high honors in 1996. She was then accepted to Harvard University, and became the first quadriplegic to graduate from that institution, receiving her bachelors degree in cognitive neuroscience, and receiving the distinction of magna cum laude.
Brooke has made numerous appearances speaking to the public all over the United States, offering a message of hope in the face of adversity. In 2002, she co-authored the book The Brooke Ellison Story, so that others could be inspired by her spirit of determination. Christopher Reeve then approached her with the request to tell her story on television in a made-for-T.V. movie, starring Lacy Chabert, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and John Slattery. The program first aired on October 25, 2004.
With all these commendable accomplishments, you’d think Brooke was ready to take a break from publicity and service. Certainly not. Brooke’s latest undertaking is to run for the New York State Senate in the 2006 election. She has formally entered the race, with her campaign slogan: “OVERCOMING CHALLENGES FOR NEW YORK.” If anyone knows about overcoming challenges, it’s Brooke Ellison.
Take a look at her website, (click here) because Brooke is truly an inspiration for all of us. How often do we make excuses for ourselves, as able-bodied people, for not achieving our personal goals? How can we look at a quadriplegic running for the Senate and not be motivated to work just a little harder? Thanks to Brooke, every wheelchair-bound child can have great hope for the future. With her example of hard work, dedication, leadership, encouragement, and courage in the face of adversity, she has paved a path of optimism that others can now travel.