Mountain biking is a passion for 16-year-old Phillip Hawk of Upper Uwchland Township in Chester County, along with working on cars and computers, fishing, hunting, and building remote control model cars.  But his priorities and those of his family shifted dramatically on March 6, 2004, when he vaulted over the handle bars of his mountain bike while on a Boy Scout trip and landed hard on his back, severing his spinal cord. 

His spinal injuries, which were stabilized with rods and screws during eight hours of surgery at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Trauma Center, left him completely paralyzed below the middle of his chest.  On March 12, he transferred to Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital to begin a long recovery process that has required major adjustments because of his decreased mobility.

"It's really hard to see your child suffering and in pain, especially when there is little you can do to stop it," says his mother Joann, who works for the Chester County Schools' Intermediate Unit. Regular visits from friends in his Scout troop have gone a long way toward keeping his spirits high, along with support from his sister Lorraine, a sophomore at Philadelphia University, and brother Daryl, a senior at Westmont Christian Academy. 

Phillip's father, Bill, who is a diesel mechanic for Krapf's Bus Co. in West Chester, began soon after the accident planning modifications to make the Hawk home wheelchair accessible and to create a first-floor bedroom -- modifications made easier by community fundraising efforts and helpful neighbors.

For someone as active as Phillip, it was no surprise to his family that he was eager to tackle the challenges of physical and occupational therapy during his five-week inpatient stay at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital.  He quickly increased the intensity of his therapy from three hours each day to four hours and learned to use a three-wheeled cycle, which is powered by rotating the front-mounted "pedals" with his arms.  As his endurance grew, he soon was able to complete a half-mile circuit on paths around the hospital's rural campus.

Despite his rapid progress, his family was concerned as the day approached for Phillip to go home.  Their anxieties were eased tremendously by an overnight stay in a fully equipped family suite called the Independent Living Unit at the hospital.  There, the entire family, including his grandparents, practiced helping him transfer in and out of his wheelchair and enjoyed watching movies and eating together.  "We felt confident after that overnight stay that we could cope with what Phillip would face at home," Joann says. His therapists also visited the Hawk home to make specific recommendations for ways to make it more comfortable, functional and safe for Phillip.

Today, Phillip is continuing his therapy in Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital's Comprehensive Outpatient Spinal Cord Program.  His favorite activity there is a wheelchair accessible Nautilus weight machine with which he continues to develop his upper body muscles.  He also has joined a support group for spinal cord patients at the hospital, where participants can share concerns and solutions to common problems under the guidance of a volunteer who has long-term experience coping with a spinal injury.

"I'm focusing now on getting back in the school routine," says Phillip, who recently returned to school at CAT Pickering Vocational High School in Phoenixville, where he is enrolled in the Automotive Technology Department.  "One of my goals is to learn to drive a wheelchair-accessible vehicle so I can get a driver's license now that I am 16."  He plans to learn to use hand controls in the hospital's Adapted Driving Program.