---
title: Voices From The Community | Spinal Cord Injury & Paralysis | Allen Rucker
description: Allen Rucker was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and has an MA in Communication from Stanford University, an MA in American Culture from the University of Michigan, and a BA in English from Washington University, St. Louis.
---
[Community](https://www.christopherreeve.org/community) [Voices From The Community | Spinal Cord Injury & Paralysis | Allen Rucker](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/author/allen-rucker/page/1)
# Voices from the Community
Our blog offers stories from the community, updates from the Reeve Foundation, and breaking news on research.
The opinions expressed in these blogs are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
[Latest from our community](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en) [Reeve Round Up](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en?cat=reeve-round-up) [Life After Paralysis](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en?cat=life-after-paralysis) [Research](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en?cat=research)
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[-2.png)](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/writing-as-salvation)
## [Writing As Salvation](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/writing-as-salvation)
March 30, 2026
A few years back people who experienced or thought about adversity were talking about something called “Post-Traumatic Growth.” Along with the... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/writing-as-salvation)
[ National Paralysis Resource Center](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/looking-back)
## [Looking Back](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/looking-back)
February 5, 2026
I just turned eighty recently. For many people, this is a celebration of a life well lived, or at least a life lived. For me it was a mixed blessing.... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/looking-back)
[.png) National Paralysis Resource Center](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/a-conversation-with-myself)
## [A Conversation With Myself](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/a-conversation-with-myself)
June 11, 2025
If I rolled into the hospital room of my 51-year-old just-paralyzed self, I would be met with two opposing reactions. Then-Allen would first smile,... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/a-conversation-with-myself)
[-1.png) National Paralysis Resource Center](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/whats-the-difference)
## [What's The Difference?](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/whats-the-difference)
May 7, 2025
I will be eighty in just a few months. I know I will never catch up with those hardy paras already eighty or more, but I do feel like I’ve already... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/whats-the-difference)
[%20copy-1.jpg) National Paralysis Resource Center](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/christopher-reeve-a-fortuitous-encounter)
## [Christopher Reeve: A Fortuitous Encounter](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/christopher-reeve-a-fortuitous-encounter)
September 25, 2024
When I became paralyzed in December of 1996, only 18 months or so after Christopher Reeve’s horse accident, he was a ubiquitous presence in the news.... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/christopher-reeve-a-fortuitous-encounter)
[.png) National Paralysis Resource Center](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/a-shift-in-focus)
## [A Shift In Focus](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/a-shift-in-focus)
June 5, 2024
For most of my paralyzed life, certainly, on my darker days, I’ve thought of myself as one of life’s casualties. Despite any post-para... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/a-shift-in-focus)
[-1.png)](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/the-nursing-home-experience)
## [The Nursing Home Experience](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/the-nursing-home-experience)
May 30, 2024
Back in my younger days, one of my favorite books was a 1961 non-fiction account called “Black Like Me,” by John Howard Griffin. Mr. Griffin was a... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/the-nursing-home-experience)
[.png) National Paralysis Resource Center](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/52-days)
## [52 Days](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/52-days)
April 26, 2024
I have just spent fifty-two days in the hospital or rehab facility because I was virtually immobilized. Many quads out there will snicker at this... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/52-days)
[ National Paralysis Resource Center](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/another-death)
Relationships
## [Another Death](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/another-death)
February 2, 2024
It is a truism since the dawn of man that a huge cost of getting old is the incalculable pain of losing friends. I have lost two dear friends in less... [Read More](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/another-death)
[1](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/author/allen-rucker/page/1) [2](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/author/allen-rucker/page/2) [3](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/author/allen-rucker/page/3) [4](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/author/allen-rucker/page/4) [5](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/author/allen-rucker/page/5)
The opinions expressed in these blogs are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
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