TJ Griffin grew up in Euless, Texas playing sports of all kinds, one day dreaming of being a coach. He was living a real life Friday Night Lights existence, great friends, fun times, a senior football player dating a cheerleader, when one particular Friday night in 1990 tragedy struck. Just before halftime on a special teams play he was not even supposed to be in on, TJ suffered a subluxation of his C 4/5 vertebrae tackling the return man.
Just like that, life as a C 5 quad began. Following high school and after graduating college, TJ went looking for a career. He worked for 10 years as a sales representative for IBM but wanted more. After spending time as a motivational speaker and volunteer at Baylor Rehab, The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation came calling. They were looking for someone to work the Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma area, and that someone became TJ Griffin. He is now the Program Coordinator with the Foundation's Peer and Family Support Program, as well as this week‘s guest on the QuadCast!
