Latest / The QuadCast / S7 E4 - Here And Now, With Kenny Salvini
Transcript
- John McAleavey: Salvini, welcome to the Quadcast. How are you my friend? Kenny Salvini: I'm doing well, John. Thanks for having me. John McAleavey: Yeah, after a few technical difficulties, we finally got the show on the road here, which is great. Kenny Salvini: Hey, who says people north of 40 can't learn a thing or two, huh? John McAleavey: That's absolutely the truth. So why don't we start as I start all of my shows at the beginning. So why don't you tell us Kenny, where did you grow up and what were some things you were interested in in your youth? And that will do it for another episode of the QP. If you would like to learn more about the Here and Now project, please visit hereandnow.org. We will be back again in a week's time with another inspirational episode, this one starring Kenny's good friend Ian McKay. Until next time, I'm John McAlevey and I thank you for your time. Kenny Salvini: Yeah? Yeah, you know, I was born in Southern California, but my family moved up to Western Washington when I was very young. And we were an outdoors family, did a lot of camping. My I was really lucky my folks built built a home on Lake Taps. So I had I had a boat in my backyard, a volleyball net in my backyard. And you know, it was this little island community. ⁓ on a man-made lake and it was a spoiled existence to say the least and Yeah, and I kind of became that prototypical adrenaline junkie kid, you know my kid or my parents taught me to to snow ski when I was about three and You know, and then I got into Wrestling and and baseball and soccer all those things and then you know John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: really got into wakeboarding after like, you know, my early teens and became kind of a competitive wakeboarder and had Harvard delusions of going pro in that realm. And ⁓ yeah, but I also, you know, wound up wrestling all the way through college and yeah, yeah. So a lot, lots of, ⁓ lots of late nights where it's like, ⁓ man, that could have ended badly today. John McAleavey: Wow, okay. Terrific. No. Kenny Salvini: kind of thing, know, lots of cliff jumping and rock climbing and yeah, I was kind of that kid that could run up a wall and do a backflip. You know, one of those types. We're very John McAleavey: Yeah. Sounds like you tempted fate one too many times. Kenny Salvini: You know, and I always say that, you know, a lot of times we end up in chairs by making bad decisions and sometimes that still doesn't change after the fact. ⁓ yeah, trying to tone it down now in my 40s, that's for sure. John McAleavey: Yeah. Absolutely. You know, I didn't realize you were from Washington. My college roommate ⁓ was a basketball player and he played a couple years for the Seattle SuperSonics. Yeah, yeah, he was sort of your journeyman power forward center. His name was Marty Conlon and ⁓ he did two years with the Sonics. So I can remember he lived up on Queen Anne Hill, which was awesome. ⁓ Kenny Salvini: Really? Who was that? Okay. Yeah. John McAleavey: And we used to go to Key Arena where they played and I had never been out West before. I'm a Jersey guy. And so when I flew out there going over those mountains, I mean, we have some mountains around here and in Pennsylvania and whatnot, but I was like, oh, I'm looking out my window. My mouth was wide open at these snow capped mountains, the cascades and Mount Rainier and such a beautiful life out there. So you were really, yeah, you were able to take advantage of that. That is awesome. Kenny Salvini: Okay. Yeah. ⁓ yeah? It is. Yeah. And you know, like where Lake taps is situated, it's kind of, you know, in the shadow of Mount Rainier. And I mean, I've got the photos of me out on the lake and the backdrop is the mountain. And I mean, you take it for granted when you live here. And I've had caregivers that move from like Wisconsin and like every time they turned around, turned a corner, it's like, ⁓ my gosh, how do you get used to this? Well, you kind of do so. John McAleavey: Sure. Yeah, well you went from two great places. Southern California, I'm a San Diego guy. I've been there a few times and if I could win the Powerball, I would move out there ⁓ for the beautiful weather and just such a ⁓ beautiful atmosphere. But ⁓ yeah, you have to sort of win the Powerball to live out there and then, no, it's not cheap at all. Kenny Salvini: Okay. ⁓ buddy. Yeah. Yeah, it's not cheap. John McAleavey: So you've had an active childhood and you're doing a lot of stuff, rassling and all of that. How about now is you mentioned you wrestled in college. Where did you go to school? Kenny Salvini: I went to Central Washington University, that's a Division II school, kind of walked on and wound up wrestling all five years. And yeah, I got to travel all over the country and get the crap kicked out of me by a bunch of really good athletes. I was 149, largely. Yeah, so kind of a medium size. I always say three inches past a little man syndrome. I was about 5'9". John McAleavey: This is it. What was your weight class? Okay, alright. Okay. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. So, you you'd come in weighing about 175 in the off season, cut down to about 149. John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say, tell me some horror stories about cutting weight. had one of my best buddies around here wrestled at the Naval Academy. So I know he used to run in those, ⁓ like not a wet suit, but one of those suits that you would put on and you would just sweat, lose 10 pounds in an hour. Really healthy for you. Kenny Salvini: ⁓ yeah. Oh, Oh, yeah. I'm sure I started my growth, you know, especially in my, you know, later teens and early 20s. Yeah. John McAleavey: Of of course. How about what did you study in school and what were you planning on doing with your life, work-wise and whatnot? Kenny Salvini: You know, I, ⁓ I joked largely that ⁓ I majored in staying eligible for the wrestling team is, is, is, kind of how it worked to an extent. And, ⁓ but I, you know, my dad was a, ⁓ a carpenter turned elevator mechanic and he pointed me in the directions of, of like electronics engineering. I was a, yeah, I was a math kid, so I could, I could do all the math and, and, ⁓ John McAleavey: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Cool. Kenny Salvini: But yeah, I got really good at regurgitating information and forgetting it. And yeah, I sat at graduation with a degree in electronics. I think I had a minor in math, a minor in computer science. And I was like, oh shoot, I gotta use this? yeah, yeah. So I wound up actually getting through a wrestling teammates, you know, connection. wound up. John McAleavey: Go- ⁓ Okay. Where do we go from here? Kenny Salvini: of all places working at the radio stations in Seattle. ⁓ Yeah, yeah, it started out with an engineering gig where I was setting up like remote broadcasts and live broadcasts and doing kind of some of the, the backend. then, ⁓ we kind of figured out that, ⁓ I belonged to kind of more in front of the thing instead of, ⁓ behind the scenes. I started doing a lot of promotions and, know, we had this gig that, ⁓ we had these four. John McAleavey: Very cool. Wow. Kenny Salvini: brand new Vita Beatles that were painted like John Paul Jordan, George and Ringo. Cause I worked, I worked for the oldie station back in the day. And, ⁓ yeah. So we drove these Beatles all over Western Washington to parades and fairs and, and, ⁓ yeah. And, and it was at some of those events that the advertising people, kind of got a hook in me and they're like, you should, ⁓ try to do sales and advertising. And so I, ⁓ John McAleavey: Okay. ⁓ Cool. Kenny Salvini: Yeah, I had interviewed for the job and I was supposed to start that job like a week after life had other plans, right? John McAleavey: Yeah, you know, I have to tell you, it's funny, you and I sort of had ⁓ similar journeys in a way. was, I was a communications major and for me, I always wanted to be on television. I want to do sports TV and ESPN for me back in the early mid to late eighties was the Holy grail. And so I had actually interviewed for a job with ESPN about a month before I had my accident. And then Kenny Salvini: Yep. ⁓ yeah. John McAleavey: I was, they called me my first week of rehab at Kessler and said, John, you got the job. And I'm like, yeah, now I can't even wiggle my toes or move my fingers around. But yeah, isn't it strange how life has a way of sort of pulling the rug out from what we're trying to do? Yeah. Yeah. Kenny Salvini: Oh yeah. You know, yeah. The universe definitely had a different plan than I had in mind. know, because yeah, before you said you were injured at 24, that was, mean, I was six weeks out of my 24th birthday. Yeah, it was 23 and just eight months. John McAleavey: It sure did. Yeah. So why don't you tell us? Yeah, tell us about the day that changed the trajectory of your life. What sort of do you remember before, during, and after? Kenny Salvini: Yeah. So, uh, you know, I'd gotten back into snow skiing after I took about eight years off to wrestle and, um, you know, winter sport, you couldn't really, there wasn't much time to get back on the slopes. And that's when the terrain parks got really big, like the X games. And, uh, you know, they, the, the, one of the main, uh, Hills that we've got on snow, call me pass here. Uh, back then it was called ski acres. Now it's a summit central. John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kenny Salvini: it, ⁓ yeah, they had a half pipe and a handful of jumps that, ⁓ yeah, that it took me a while to get kind of my ski legs under me to figure out timing and all of those things. And so, yeah, my dad and I would go up night skiing on Wednesday nights. And, ⁓ it was probably my fourth or fifth time up there. And, ⁓ and of course I went right for the, the terrain park every time. And yeah, and, ⁓ John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Sure. Of course. Double diamond. Black diamond. Kenny Salvini: ⁓ yeah, yeah, this this deep. I grew up on like old Warren Miller films, you know, in all, you know, like, yeah, the steeper the better in the wilder the better. And ⁓ but yeah, the fateful night of February 11 2004 was, ⁓ yeah, we actually on a different hill to add slightly, you know, a couple of better runs within the chairlift broke. And it's like, well, let's go across the way. And it was the first rundown that night. John McAleavey: Okay. Kenny Salvini: And, ⁓ Yup, you know, it's, ⁓ yeah, the universe funneled me in that direction and I hit the jump and I'd finally gotten my timing back. But yeah, before I wasn't able to clear kind of these tabletop jumps, they were built really wide. And so I hit it with the same amount of speed and it launched me. I overshot the landing by about 60 feet fell about 40 feet onto my head. Yeah. So, you know, I John McAleavey: That damn chair lift. Kenny Salvini: I jumped I dislocated at C three four which causes the majority of the damage. ⁓ And then I broke like T four T seven and my right femur on one shot. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah, you know, that's that was kind of our our line and the families go big or go home. But sometimes you go home in a wheelchair. So yeah, yeah. So John McAleavey: Yeah. Well if you're gonna do it you might as well do it all. Do it right. Ha ha ha ha. Yeah, ⁓ gosh. Did your father see it all happen? Was he there? Kenny Salvini: He was on the other side of the mountain. So I was with a couple of buddies. One was a longtime friend of his and coworker and another one of my buddies that we camped with, ⁓ like on family trips quite often. And, ⁓ you know, I blacked out on impact and, ⁓ but then I woke up like within seconds and I was still sliding through the snow and yeah. And so I, I look up and lights out nothing. Yeah. John McAleavey: ⁓ okay. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ man. ⁓ Yeah, Unbelievable. And what do you remember, like when I ask people, they say, ⁓ you know, I felt a burning sensation. I don't know about you, but I was just completely numb. I felt nothing, numbness. Right? Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember looking up and it was like, it was like an out of body experience. You know, I look up and there's like, like, you know, I've got vivid memories of it. It's like, I see all my ski clothes, my boots, everything. And it's like, that's not my body. And ⁓ yeah, and there were there was a dull ache in the back of my neck because it was like, it didn't really hurt. ⁓ yeah, it like because I dislocated John McAleavey: Yeah. Hmm Kenny Salvini: And, of course, you know, I didn't understand the nature of spinal cord injuries and levels and things. And so my assumption was that I broke my back. had no idea that, you know, three vertebrae down, I was still moving my head. So who knows what damage I was causing at the time. Yeah. And yeah, and I remember the ski patrol got to me and they're like, can you squeeze my fingers? like, what effing fingers are you like, I have no idea. Like I John McAleavey: Yeah. I know, I know. Same thing, yeah. What? Kenny Salvini: Yeah, there was it was just lights out and then they put me on a sled took me down and then that's when my dad finally saw me at the at the ambulance and that's the story that we always tell is that's how he knew it was bad. They they went to pull my right boot off and my whole leg flopped just grotesquely because the right femur is broken. My dad had to hold my leg while they pulled it off. when I when he looked up and I didn't flinch, he's like, that's not good. John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: Yeah, I could have been screaming. John McAleavey: Yeah, wow. And then a whole new world began for you right then and there at the bottom of that hill. so did you have surgery? What did your doctors tell you initially? What the story was? And ⁓ how did that all sort of compute with you? Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Yeah, you know, they they ⁓ medevac made a Harvard view Medical Center, which is the level one trauma center in Washington. And ⁓ yeah, I mean, they did surgery on on my neck. They fused me at C three, four. ⁓ And ⁓ and then it's it's pretty spotty, you know, naturally. After that, they start drugging. Yeah. And then I was intubated. Yeah. Innovated because my diaphragm was shutting down at C three, four and. John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Of course. Hmm Kenny Salvini: wound up on a ventilator. I was tricked and ⁓ yeah, and that's, we talk about that a lot with the newly injured folks is the doctors asked where I was going when it was, you when I was still in the ICU and we're trying to figure out where which rehab and stuff and my, yeah, they asked my folks, where's he going after this? And my folks said home and they're like, they don't go home. And my parents were like, watch us. John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Kenny Salvini: And yeah, and I mean, they told me I'd never breathe again. I'd never get off the ventilator. Yeah, it's like a two solid good two solid months to wean off. But and that's what I always tell people like what I didn't regain in function visibly because I'm still basically, you know, I got shrugged. I got nothing from the collarbones down. But I always say, you know, I got my lung capacity enough. I've got a strong voice and to get off the ventilator, mean, that was, yeah, I always say I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. But now I got buddies that live on ventilators full time and it doesn't even bother them. it's just, yeah. John McAleavey: Ugh, huge. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Kenny, that's one thing I always say to people, because I work today. I'm the peer mentoring coordinator at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation up here in Jersey, where Christopher Reeve did his rehab. ⁓ I go around to all the rooms and I see the folks that are on the ventilators. I just think, I don't know if I could do that. That would be something that would take me a long time to Kenny Salvini: Okay. ⁓ wow. John McAleavey: wrap my brain around because that is something that thank goodness I don't have to face right now. ⁓ they're strong people, man. I tell you, really, really strong people. So how about your in therapy now? How important are family and friends to your recovery? Were you close by that your buddies could come and see you? I was lucky enough. I rehabbed seven miles from the house that I grew up in. So all of my boys would come in from the city on the weekends. Kenny Salvini: Yep. Yeah. John McAleavey: They used to joke with me because all my therapists were all women and they were all around my age. So they say, Hey, let's go visit John at the sorority house. I'm like, come on, I'm trying to rehab here. This is not some sorority deal. did, ⁓ did your buddies, ⁓ stay active with you? Kenny Salvini: OK. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah, man. I did. I had a good solid cohort that stuck with me and I did rehab probably relatively the same distance from my home as well at Good Samaritan in Puyallup. ⁓ My parents brought me there and weaned off a ventilator. We're pretty social family as it was, between wrestling teammates and school. John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. Kenny Salvini: baseball and soccer teammates and you know, you know, family. mean, my tribe showed up in math, you know, like they had to open up a whole different waiting room for people when I was in the emergency room and ICU and stuff. And yeah, so that, that's the other thing too. That's like, yeah, what I didn't get in some ways, I was blessed with a massive tribe of support. So yeah. John McAleavey: Good. I love that, yeah. Yeah, you need it. I don't know how I see, as I mentioned, I'm in the hospital twice a week and I see some people that have that great support and then I see others that who are in the room and no one comes to see them. And I just, I don't know how I would have been able to process that. And thank God, neither one of us didn't have to do that. Which brings me to the question, know, these injuries robbed so much from us physically. We heard ⁓ what it did to your body and what you weren't able to do any longer. But what people don't realize is how they affect us mentally. And I know that it twisted me up for a while there after all this happened, but ⁓ I know your story is sort of in the same way. How did this affect you once you're home and you're out and you're coming to grips with the fact that I'm not gonna walk anymore and I'm not gonna do X, Y, and Z and it's like, whoa, mind blowing. So tell us how that... sort of went for you and how your journey went from there. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Yeah, you know, I visit a lot of people with the Here Now project and I always, I always tell them that yes, this is a this is a physical injury, but it's a mental, emotional and spiritual crisis as well. You know, it's an absolutely an identity crisis, especially as a young man, you know, ⁓ a kid, I mean, I look back at 23, that means so young. And yeah, and it was impossible for me to wrap my head around it. You know, I came home, to the house my dad built, you know, and rolled past the pickup I had just bought and not made a payment on, ⁓ and up a ramp that shouldn't be at the front of our house. you go in the front door and you have these massive bay windows that look out on the lake where I was, you know, that dude that was doing flip-flops all over the place, and that was my lake in my mind. And... roll right past the staircase to my room on ever go back up to and ⁓ and yeah, then my my parents let me have the master on the main floor and and I always say it was it was a was a deep dark hole that I that I was stuck in for a long time, you know was it was a good solid six years of ⁓ you know, not seeing anything out in the world for me ⁓ and John McAleavey: Yeah, yeah. Was it anger? Was it anger? Was it fatigue? Was it, know, I can't do this or people are going to look at me differently? I was it a lot? Because I've had all of the above. will, if I could raise my hand, Kenny, which I can't do, I would raise my hand because I went through all of those emotions and I got to a point where I thought, you know what, if being this down and angry and sullen would make my situation better than clear me out of spot. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. John McAleavey: and I will do that all day long, but it just made me worse. And so I just kind of moved along. And so what was sort of the emotions that you were going through and then what was the impetus to sort of pull you out of that rabbit hole as I like to call it? Kenny Salvini: Yeah, you know, it, like you said, all the above anger, massive depression. ⁓ Just, yeah, not knowing how to move through the world. ⁓ And, know, like, like, you know, the spiritual aspect, they're like, why did God do this to me kind of thing? And, and, and, yeah, you know, I always think of it like the Linkin Park song I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, it didn't matter. And that's really how that stuck with me. And yeah, well, and there were ⁓ health complications. I battled pressure sores, I, ⁓ you know, double ischial pressure sores within six months after getting home. They kept me in bed for a year. They were stage four. ⁓ And then I, and then like four years later, I got one that kept me in bed for close to two and a half years. yeah. John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. Sure. ⁓ wow. Good grief. Kenny Salvini: And that'll break you want to be in a shot. And like you said, you know, like at some point you you cry until you can't cry anymore. You know, and and I chased therapies. I chased the, you know, waiting on the cure because that's what they told me. They're like, hey, if any time is a good time to be paralyzed, it cures only five years away. And so, yeah, I did the exercise therapies and I was I spent two hours driving to John McAleavey: Me have, right? Kenny Salvini: kind of Redmond in Microsoft's backyard to do two hours of therapy and then drive two hours home. And at some point it was like, you know, I'd rather go to movies with my buddies than spend all this time doing this and not seeing progress. John McAleavey: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. That's the thing. You you, you invest all that time and energy and effort and it's like, I'm not getting any better, you know, but, but what we, what we don't really see, cause we're living in the moment is that we sort of are getting better. It's just not like we're not going to run around anymore. You're not going to, you know, get out of there and water ski and I'm not going to throw a baseball anymore and all of that stuff. But it does. And I'm finding out in real time. I mean, you and I spoke before we hit the record button about Kenny Salvini: Yeah. John McAleavey: aging with a spinal cord injury and the old move it or lose it man. I tell you when COVID rolled around and I was locked up here, I atrophied. So my doctor said, John, you got deconditioned and it's kicking my tail Kenny. And I'm still trying to get back to square one and you know, pushing 60 and really move it or lose it is, is so, it's so important. So we have to do something. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Oh yeah. You got to maintain the machine. you know, I didn't do myself any favors in those first six years, you know, uh, with the stores, with the, you know, everything else. I think the pride, the biggest thing that I, you know, I did have going for me is just my athletic career. So my body was in really, really good shape before I got hurt. And I'm still really limber. Um, and you know, don't have contractures or any of that stuff. And, uh, John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. That's terrific, yeah. Kenny Salvini: Yeah, but you asked about kind of the impetus. It was a threefold thing, I would say. You know, I'm one of the lucky ones that it just so turned out that the jumps that were built on that mountain were built horribly designed and there were, you know, there were lots of signs of injuries prior to my injury. So we had a lawsuit that we wound up winning and, you know, and that cleared John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: some of the financial hurdles that all my people face. ⁓ yeah, and so that kind of got me even more like re-engaged. It's like, man, I got a lot to be grateful for. And then of course, you know, like most dudes, it wound up being a girl that I chased out an old nurse from rehab that came back into my world. And we figured out it was more than just friends. ⁓ yeah, and she dragged me out to on our first date to... ⁓ John McAleavey: Great. Kenny Salvini: fundraiser to meet her dad and stepmom. I'm at this Kiwanis fundraiser and up here dude that's 40 years post-injury. He's a C5. We start talking. He was hurt in 1970 and a car accident. His girlfriend was 17. He was 19. They got married and just went out and lived their life because nobody told them they couldn't. John McAleavey: That's amazing. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. And then we got to talk and he's like, what do do for fun? I'm like, nothing. I'm sitting at home with a pressure sore. He told me about the ride cushion, which is a custom molded cushion that offloads your ischial bones completely. And that wound up getting me healed. And that, you know, it was the all three of those things kind of converged within a year. And it that was kind of the light bulb moment. That's like, ⁓ I, know, my, my chair's not dangerous anymore. John McAleavey: Right. Kenny Salvini: ⁓ me to be in and I can chase this girl around and and ⁓ I might want to you know learn a thing or two from other wheelers kind of thing and Yeah, and and that started a very long journey of me trying, you know working my way back out and Yeah, and it was a it was very clunky execution ⁓ and yeah, there was a lot more ups and downs and John McAleavey: Yeah. But it will. Yeah. Well that sounds like that three-pronged attack. That was awesome. I guess the best part of that was that you had found a girl. I can't tell you how many of my PTs and OTs I threw myself at for all of these years. Unfortunately, I haven't found that one yet. I'm still trying to find somebody. It's not easy when you're in our position, you know, because we look different, we act different, we walk different. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. John McAleavey: You know, it's, it's, and a lot of that is an excuse. I'll readily admit that it's an excuse. And I just don't, you know, have the stones sometimes to put myself out there and to, approach anybody. And, but I'm, so thankful for you that, that you were able to find that. mean, that, that is huge. ⁓ and so all of this comes together in, ⁓ in, ⁓ and that couple that you, that you met, they sound like dynamos and what a blueprint for you to sort of follow. Like, look at this guy. mean, if he can do it. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, it was as great as it was. You know, the missing piece is I had a dude that was 40 years post injury as a peer mentor in the hospital, and I wanted nothing to do with him because I wasn't ready. You know, and this this guy was a heavy hitter. He was actually hurt the same year as the other dude was. And but because he was like a C5 at the time and had more function than me, I like all I could see were the differences and not the similarities. John McAleavey: and ⁓ Mmm. Right. Right, right. Kenny Salvini: You know, and all I saw was this this quad that's been doing it for 30 years. And, you know, after seeing that right, right out of the gate of being injured, it's like that that's not who I'm going to be. And yeah, so kind of. John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. know, Kenny, I run into that when I go into rooms and I walk in the room. I use a rollator now. I used to not use anything, but now I'm using one of those rollators, which I despise and I hate it. You know, being a guy, we don't want to have to have anything. And ⁓ I do have an amazing service dog that I bring with me. I got him from K9 Companions and he's the best. So he comes with me. sometimes when I walk into the room, it gives the Kenny Salvini: Yeah. ⁓ yeah. Thanks. John McAleavey: person in the bed, like, you know, not false hopes or whatever, but they're like, you know, can you send somebody in that I'm not going to walk? Can you send somebody in here? And I'm like, Hey man, I got an injury too. I'm not doing this to, to, you know, throw it in your face. I'm a C three four is just these accidents are all different and also, ⁓ you know, that's sort of what we run into. ⁓ so let's, let's move the ball a little bit forward. The here and now project was founded in 2013. So. How did it come about and what is your main mission? Because it's amazing. Kenny Salvini: Well, yeah, thank you. Yeah, you know, our mission is to connect and empower the people with spinal cord injuries and mobility disabilities in the Northwest. And yeah, you know, it was not long after I met and connected with that first couple. ⁓ I met ⁓ another guy that was a high quad like myself. And yeah, it was kind of these organic connections. it's ⁓ yeah, he's one of my. One of my best friends and board members now his name is Todd Stobble felt and and he was paralyzed by a gunshot at eight years old when him and his cousin were playing with guns and yeah and this was in the 80s you know and yeah that guy had to you know go through a lot and ⁓ but yeah he invited me out to the 25th anniversary of his injury and John McAleavey: Okay. Kenny Salvini: Yeah, and he just had a big wedding tent at his kind of compound where him and his family and his grandparents lived and and the the couple that I had met earlier ⁓ came and there were four other quads and there were seven of us sitting under a tent, you know, telling different versions of the same story. And yeah, and I had gotten kind of by way of that that first gal. John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: I've gotten kind of plugged into the 12 step community because you know, we dealt with some drug addiction and but yeah, as I sat there in this circle of seven individuals, it felt like a call step meeting where it's just, you know, to use their parlance, they call it experience, strength and hope, you know, that you share between one another because you've all been down similar paths. And I was like, wow, this is seems like something that should be replicable and I am one of the other guys that's also one of my other best friends his name is Ian McKay and he he He when I rolled up to this guy that he had dreadlocks down to mid-chest He was a San Diego dude, you know, Southern California guy injured a mountain bike accident being adrenaline-junkie and he's a c2 sleeps on a ventilator and You know and and that really John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: forced perspective as well. That's like, ⁓ this dude sleeps on a vent and doesn't even care. And John McAleavey: You know, it's funny Kenny, truth be told, I was able to get your name and contact information from Ian Rooter at New Mobility. And he also sent me Ian's as well. So for all the quad cast listeners, Ian's going to be my next guest. having him on, I think I'm going to talk to him on the 23rd. So yeah, I'm looking forward to getting, getting both of the, my West coast friends on here. And so yeah, so that, so it sort of came together in that first night, you guys kicked some ideas around and then. Kenny Salvini: Okay. ⁓ yeah. That's all. Yeah. John McAleavey: ⁓ to actually put this whole project together took, I'm sure, a lot of heavy lifting, not only on your part, but others to get it off the ground. Kenny Salvini: It did, you know, it started as barbecues in each other's backyard. So we did Todd's ⁓ house in 2012 and then we did my house because I just bought a new place in 2013. And then, yeah, you know, I'd had the idea, you know, the name of the Here and Now project is because everybody was so focused on the cure and nobody was focused on today. And ⁓ John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. And then I found a website called I had cancer.com that was just a Google map that was searchable by age, location, diagnosis, relationship. And I'm like, well, why can't I have that? And so you can see the Washington map behind me on the wall. actually, I brought that to the, to a spinal cord injury association of Washington event. That was a nonprofit that got started by a personal injury lawyer and they did a walk and roll every year. John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: And so I made a bunch of t shirts with our logo on it and kind of our slogan that's do life in on the front and, and ⁓ popped up a tent and brought a prize wheel. And I put that map on a nasal and I said, give me, know, every, every wheeler that came by said, what, know, let me know who you are, where you are, what you're up to, what's your level of injury. And yeah. And, and, know, John McAleavey: Okay. Kenny Salvini: My mom would go up to the University of Washington when I was a shut-in. They have a spinal cord injury forum that's awesome. ⁓ Used to be one of the model systems here on the West Coast, ⁓ but she would see nothing but manual chair users. And so it was like, well, why go if there's no one like Kenny out there? But then my nurses would come attach my wound back and they'd be like, well, we got nine in this county. And so I started showing up to everything. John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kenny Salvini: You know, it's like, if you don't see me there, then you won't know I'm out there kind of thing. And yeah, just kept kept chasing people. And then 2014 is when we kind of launched our real first event. And it was just a guess like two months after we lost Dan, that first quad that I actually connected with. Yeah, we were kind of in his wife, him and his wife's backyard. And there were 27 of us in this barn. John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yep. ⁓ I'm sorry. Kenny Salvini: from C1 all the way down to T11. I think it was 13 months ⁓ post-injury to 44 years post-injury and we added it all up and it was 355 years of spinal cord injuries under one roof. John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Wow, that's unbelievable. And I'm sure a lot of the stories you kicked around were the same as you mentioned before, you know, because, you know, our injuries might be very dissimilar, but all of the problems we're left with are pretty much the same because the body works a certain way. in our cases, it doesn't work the same. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Yeah. Right, right. Well, and you know, you get to ⁓ glean all the wisdom of people's hard-earned lessons without having to suffer the setbacks. it becomes kind of that rising tide that lifts all boats. And I found an African proverb that we put in our care journals that now we bring to the newly injured. And it just says, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ⁓ John McAleavey: Absolutely. without question. Mm-hmm. ⁓ I love that. Kenny Salvini: Yeah, yeah. So now it's grown from, you know, the seven of us that were under that tent. We've we've chased down a good 800 or so folks in Washington. Yeah, Ian actually was had started a support meeting even before I met him out in his neck of the woods out on the peninsula. And so we just started carbon copying that. And, you know, we started one in my backyard and then one close to Todd's house. And, you know, the next thing you know, John McAleavey: It's unbelievable. Mm-hmm. Kenny Salvini: You know, flash forward to today, I think we're up to 15 or 16 meetings, ⁓ virtually and in person from we've got the Bellingham at the very Northern border all the way down to Vancouver, ⁓ down by Portland. ⁓ yeah. Ian's got kind of Port Angeles squim out on the peninsula and we're making inroads in Eastern Washington right now with like Wenatchee, Spokane. Yeah. John McAleavey: Wow. Kenny Salvini: And, you know, so we do the support meetings and then we bring care packs to the newly injured, just like you do. it's, it's coming into the hospital and saying, you don't have to go through it alone. John McAleavey: Yeah, well that's, yeah. I wanted to get into some of the things you're doing, but I do want to point out that the, I went on your website, which is terrific. And I saw on your board of directors ⁓ that the director of outreach and operations, her last name is Salvini. So yeah, tell us first of all, how proud are you of her and is it great working with your wife and having her a part of this journey? Kenny Salvini: Yes You know, she she wandered into my life about 2014. You know, not long after we had started the Here Now project, that first relationship didn't didn't make it very long. And ⁓ yeah, this girl wanders into my world for an interview as a for a caregiver. And she's occupational therapy assistant student that that I got. I had spoken at the school a couple of times and I sent the professor message like, send me send me some prospects. And apparently, John McAleavey: Okay. Okay, yep. Kenny Salvini: she thought something might happen when she sent this one down. yeah, lo and behold, yeah, it was about three months later after she'd been working with me that she puts me to bed one night and she's a, have a secret. If you weren't my boss, I might want to date you. And I emailed her the next morning. I said, so you're fired. Is that how this works? And that was 12 years ago. John McAleavey: You're fired. Get your stuff out of here. Now that's great. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Yeah, that was 12 years ago and she has been, you know, my, my right hand woman that, you know, I, yeah. So now we've just kind of transitioned in the last couple of years now that, you know, here now starting to take off and getting starting to get grants and stuff so that, you know, went from a Vaughn to all volunteer position to now, you know, she and I are getting paid and we have a small staff as well. And yeah, I John McAleavey: Yeah. Good as well you should. Kenny Salvini: Yeah, and I purposely made her take that role of director of outreach and operations because I basically like she's the one running this joint. Let's be honest. I'm the talking head man. I'm just the guy that blows smoke and she's the one that remembers all the details and keeps me in line. ⁓ John McAleavey: Of course. You're just the pretty face out in front, Kenny. Come on. Yeah, the wizard behind the curtain pulling all the strings. Absolutely. Tell us, ⁓ tell us some of the events and fundraisers that you guys sponsor for the community and how they can, and then also I want you to, for my listeners that are out on, out on the left coast, how they can find out more about your project and better yet, as you like to say, become a member of your tribe. Kenny Salvini: For sure. Yeah. Yeah. So, know, like it's organically grown, you know, from the support meetings and ⁓ you know, care packs. But yeah, that one kind of meetup that we did in the barn has just kind of expanded over the years. And now it's a two day event ⁓ every year that, ⁓ yeah, kind of the first day we've, we've kept it largely private where it's just people with spinal cord injuries, other mobility disabilities and their families. John McAleavey: Mm-hmm. Kenny Salvini: to kind of have a safe space to connect and we'll, we have breakout meetings on dating and travel and you know, ⁓ you name it, adaptive clothing. We're actually doing our first car show this May to show off some adaptive vehicles and we've got a, we've got a adaptive motor home that we're gonna kind of let people take a look at as well. And then the second day, that's when we bring in as many resources as possible. John McAleavey: Wait. Kenny Salvini: ⁓ you know, cause I want people to see the things that I didn't know were out there at the time. ⁓ cause I know full well that, you know, all it takes is one connection and whether it's one piece of technology or one piece of information that can absolutely change or save your life because that was my experience. And, ⁓ yeah, so we'd bring about 30, 30 plus different organizations to have tables. kind of a mini abilities expo. ⁓ and then we do adaptive sports. John McAleavey: Yeah. Wow. Kenny Salvini: demos. We get all the local sports organizations. We've got, you know, ⁓ wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, power wheelchair soccer, pickleball tennis, fencing, golf, bowling. Yeah, yoga, weightlifting. Yeah, I think we got a circus crew that's coming this time. ⁓ Yeah, because I just want people to find their thing. I don't care if it's underwater basket weaving or or jumping out of planes. Like it's you got to find something that will if it reconnects your story and unlocks the path that you see forward. John McAleavey: Yeah, that's terrific. And how do you locate all of these ⁓ outlets and people that do all this stuff? Who does a lot of that legwork? Kenny Salvini: Well, you know, it's I'm a big proponent of it's not what you know, it's who you know. And, you know, we've built up our board pretty strong over the last couple of years. We really expanded it. And but yeah, I mean, it's it's it's the not rocket science. It's just showing up, you know, and there's just a really great community that's getting get, you know, we're really supportive of one another. You know, we've got multiple sports organizations. John McAleavey: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Kenny Salvini: And we're making really good inroads with the hospitals now to kind of network. We're trying to network most all of Washington because, you know, like with this day and age, I know in the 90s, you got to get six months of rehab and I got three months. And, you know, now I'm visiting people that are getting days and weeks. I meet a C1 quad that's, you know, probably been dependent for the rest of his life, but he only got four weeks in rehab. John McAleavey: Yeah. That's right. Kenny Salvini: they can send you home to a skilled nursing facility to try to wean off a ventilator. And yeah, for me that it's tragic. Yeah. John McAleavey: It's Kenny, it's, stunning. It's stunning. Like you said, I was at Kessler for about five months, almost five and a half months. And if people now get five weeks, that is an eternity. I don't know how they're sending them home. mean, these families all walk around in the hallways and everybody, and you can attest to this being, in this game for, for a number of years now, everybody sort of has that same look on their face. Like, all right. Kenny Salvini: Yeah. John McAleavey: Can somebody please get the license plate of the train that just destroyed our world? And they're looking around thinking, you know, how am I going to take this person home? What are we going to do? Where they going to go? I mean, ⁓ my gosh. So yeah, that's a Kenny Salvini: Yeah. Yeah. I always tell them when I visit people, like, I know the family's drinking from a fire hose right now. You know, and yeah, I remember visiting one individual that like, yeah, the family was white as a ghost as they were getting trained on how to use a ceiling Hoyer with a ventilator circuit because he was going home like four weeks to the day of his injury. And it's like, John McAleavey: Yeah. Right. Kenny Salvini: Yeah, so, you know, like what we're seeing is it's like you might get hurt in Bellingham, Washington, but your home might be in Spokane. And it's like, what good is a peer mentor in Bellingham if you're going home somewhere else? And so we're making lots of inroads with our peer support program that's really starting to kind of grow organically as well. John McAleavey: What is your website for folks out there that want to learn more about it? Kenny Salvini: Yeah, it's just here and now project.org. ⁓ Yeah, you can find us on all the social media stuff as well and. John McAleavey: Okay. Kenny, do you work in conjunction? I'm sorry to interrupt you. you work in conjunction with any other outfits like yours? I'm here on the East Coast and I haven't done my research to see. I'm sure they have something equivalent to that maybe around here. Do you work with any folks out here in the Midwest and down South, that type of thing? Kenny Salvini: No, no, no, you're fine. Yep. Yeah, we have you know, we were a longtime chapter of United Spinal and ⁓ we're connected with a lot of different outfits there. But we've actually formed a little more strategic alliance with a whole bunch of West Coast ⁓ spinal cord injury nonprofits. We're kind of calling the spinal cord injury Alliance really grassroots kind of organizations. It's ⁓ Oregon. spinal cord injury connection. It's a NorCal SCI Triumph Foundation spinal network. Actually, we're going to be leaving in two weeks. We're, going to the abilities expo in Long Beach with the Alliance. And so there's going to be a handful of nonprofits kind of right across the aisle from Triumph Foundation. And, know, Andrew's got a pretty awesome contingent down there that, yeah, we're just going to go hang out and John McAleavey: great. Kenny Salvini: It's been a great opportunity to kind of share ideas and strategies with other nonprofit leaders. Yeah. John McAleavey: Great. The community needs it. The community really needs it. There's stuff that's out there and a lot of times people can't find it, you know, and to have something like this at their fingertips is terrific. How about last two from me, Kenny? Well, three, excuse me. If you could go back right now and speak to the newly injured Kenny Salvini over those six years that you sort of checked out for a while there, what Kenny Salvini: Mm. John McAleavey: you know, sort of words of wisdom would you share with him to ⁓ bring him out of that self, you kind hid yourself away for a while to get you out of that sooner. Kenny Salvini: You know, I think about that a lot and I don't know that there's a thing I could have said, John. And, you know, yeah, you know, the path is the path. And ⁓ and I think about that a lot because it's like, yeah, you know, even if I rolled in and told this kid like, dude, you're going to be just fine. Here's a picture of your wife. Here's a picture of your five-year-old daughter. ⁓ Here's the life you're going to have. John McAleavey: Maybe you just had to go through it. That was the way it was. Kenny Salvini: He didn't want it. He wanted the body that could run up a wall and do a backflip. He wanted the girlfriend he had at the time. He wanted his truck, he wanted his life. And until I mourned those to the best of my ability, I don't know that... It's hard for me to... I don't say, oh, I wouldn't change a thing, but looking at my kid, it's hard to imagine a different path of getting there. John McAleavey: Yeah. Sure. Sometimes as they say, the only way is through. You know, you got to go through it. So how about now personally and family wise, what is next for you? And also the project, do you have any fun events coming up? Kenny Salvini: Yes, sir. Yeah, we got a 5k for today. That's the other event that we do. We started that during the pandemic. ⁓ You know, it was like, well, we can't get together. So we started shipping bibs and and swag all over the state and all over the country to see how many people we could get out walking and rolling. And ⁓ yeah, and so we're on to our seventh event. That's going to be in August. Yeah. And then our annual meetup is ⁓ going to be in May this year. And ⁓ yeah, so those are the The next big events, but man, got, you know, my wife's doing a helping coordinate adaptive pickleball with Seattle adaptive sports. And she's also coordinating with Rainier adaptive sports, which is out of Tacoma. We got a dance church event coming up where it's, it's an hour of music and no talking allowed. You just got to move. And it's, it's a blast with this, this great dance troop. Yeah. John McAleavey: What the? No! Kenny Salvini: You know, like my short line is I always tell people as I throw parties with with wheelchair users and it's not far off. ⁓ But now, you know, but there's a big caveat with that. It's like I'm quickly learning. I threw parties with privileged paralyzed people. And like if you don't have a van, if you don't have a high speed Internet, you're not getting your stuff. And especially as of late, we've got a handful of folks that have been, you know, John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: falling through the cracks of the system and they're in skilled nursing facilities and we're trying to walk through them through that process of how to get them back out. ⁓ so it's kind of, yeah, it's the sour in the sweet with this job. So. John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you have certainly got a lot on your plate. You're spitting a lot of plates, Kenny. Kenny Salvini: Hey, you know, I call it a herd and paralyzed cats. you know, it's a yeah, cats alone are are enough. But yeah, it's a lot. it's good problems to have. Yeah. John McAleavey: Right. It's a labor of love. Yeah, it's a labor of love. And so it'll bring me to my last question. It's one that, that I'll tell you the story behind it. I was waiting in a long hallway to see my physiatrist. This has got to be about 10 years or so ago. ⁓ and I'm waiting with one of my best buds from high school who, unfortunately, he also had a terrible spinal cord injury. He was wakeboarding something that you probably did back in the day. Yeah. And he got wrecked. Kenny Salvini: buddy, lots of it. John McAleavey: And his name was Tommy, used to call him T. So we're waiting there, said, hey T, if I could snap my fingers right now and you would be completely able-bodied again, what do you think the first thing you would do would be? And I look over at him and he wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. And I could see the smoke pouring out of his ears as he's coming up with something. And I heard from behind me a woman say, I would go out and garden in my yard, I miss doing that. And then there was a gentleman off to my left that said, I'd go out in the garage and... Kenny Salvini: Yeah. John McAleavey: fix my car and tinker with my old Mustang? And I thought, you know, that's a pretty interesting question because everybody's going to have a different answer. And so I pose that to you. If, if, ⁓ what do you think if you would be completely able-bodied again, what's the first thing you would, ⁓ you would do? Kenny Salvini: Yep. Yeah. I would grab my kid and throw her up in the air and catch her. I'd tell you that right now. You know, that's the, she loves my little neck hugs, but to squeeze that little girl, you know, and to give my wife a hug, I think those would be the first things. Cause yeah, you know, at least my wife made the questionable decision to marry a quad, but this kid, this kid had no choice. And, ⁓ and, she's, you know, she's a fantastic kid and John McAleavey: Yeah. Yeah. Kenny Salvini: You know, I know it's going to be it's going to be a mixed bag that she inherits from this having a quad dad, you know, ⁓ but. John McAleavey: She's privileged to have someone with your outlook and with the strength and all that you embody. ⁓ She will, and she'll be better for it. have, I don't have any kids of my own, but I have a niece and nephew who've grown up around me. They don't know me other than, you know, spinal cord John, and they're so compassionate and they're so, you know, I see them around other people and ⁓ it's something that sure she'll miss out on certain things, but Kenny Salvini: Yeah. appreciate it. ⁓ yeah. John McAleavey: She's going to gain so much from being around you and learning from you. it's a great answer. Really. Kenny Salvini: course. Thank you. Yeah. You know, and I've got that preview because my sister's got three kids, three girls that are now 23, almost 21 and almost 17. And yeah, I had one of my foot pegs, one on my lap, one hanging off the back at all time. And, lo and behold, these girls are, you know, at least a few of them, a couple of them are gravitating towards, you know, the healthcare nursing side of things. And, and, but yeah, it's yeah, they don't, they don't bat an eye at nothing. John McAleavey: Yeah. Kenny Salvini: with me. John McAleavey: You were the cool Uncle Kenny. Let me tell you, they got to ride. How many, how many uncles do you get to ride on the back of a rig for? Kenny Salvini: ⁓ yeah, especially the youngest man. was my hood ornament. She was a fixture on my lap growing up, John McAleavey: Wow, well that's terrific. Kenny Salvini from the Here and Now Project, thank you so much not only for all you do for the community out your way and around the country because I know it's something that's catching on in a lot of different spots but also ⁓ joining today and telling my story, or telling your story, excuse me, ⁓ your story of triumph from And it's been a pleasure getting to know you and hopefully can stay in touch and remain friends. Kenny Salvini: Absolutely, I'll let you know next time I'm out in Jersey, so I'd love to hook up.