After Jon Ayers broke his neck in a cycling accident, the scope of the injury – the way it had instantly changed his life – was nearly impossible to process. But then he received a piece of advice that helped him push past the shock.
“Somebody told us to call the Reeve Foundation,” he says.
Bernadette Mauro, a longtime Information Specialist for Reeve’s National Paralysis Resource Center, helped Ayers and his wife, Helaine, begin to map out his recovery. A steady voice on the other end of the line, Mauro not only offered an overview of the complex injury, but critical details about the rehabilitative process that would come next.
“She gave us the information we needed,” Ayers says, adding, “I knew a lot about medical technology. I knew a lot about the body. But I had no idea about spinal cord injuries.”
Ayers tackled his C6 injury in the same way he had run IDEXX Laboratories, a leading developer of diagnostic software and products for veterinarians: he identified fixable problems and got to work. Over the next few years, with intensive physical therapy, he was able to regain control of his rotator cuff, along with some muscle movement in his back and triceps.
“I’m very determined,” he says. “And I’m the most disciplined person you will ever meet.”
Eventually, Ayers turned his energy to the wider world. He funded the renovation of a rehabilitation center at a hospital near his home in Florida and established The Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of wild cats. And, remembering the help he had received at a critical moment, he reached out to the Reeve Foundation.
In 2024, Ayers became a supporter of SCI Ventures, co-founded in a unique partnership between Reeve and leading spinal cord injury organizations including Wings for Life, the International Spinal Research Trust, the Promobilia Foundation and Shepherd Center. The groundbreaking initiative is the world’s first philanthropic venture fund dedicated to spinal cord injury treatments.
And, driven by his own experiences with secondary conditions, Ayers also helped Reeve fund a clinical trial targeting a key quality of life issue for people with paralysis: bladder health.
"Every spinal cord injury is different, but I have seven henchmen that I try to keep at bay: bladder, bowel, blood pressure, spasticity, skin integrity, respiratory, and pain,” he says. “We call the bladder the boss. The bladder controls my day.”
The study, currently underway at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, will investigate whether home use of the Butterfly iQ, a portable ultrasound device, leads to improved bladder management and quality of life gains.
Ayers, who is not part of the trial, is especially excited to see what the results yield; he has used the device himself since a family member who is an emergency room physician suggested he give it a try.
Reeve Foundation President and CEO Maggie Goldberg praised Ayers for his commitment to helping other people living with injuries.
“We hear time and time again that the bladder is a top concern for community members,” Goldberg says. “Jon’s generosity is helping Reeve pursue research that has the potential to improve the health and day-to-day lives of countless individuals and families.”
For Ayers, working to develop solutions that mitigate the challenges of living with spinal cord injury has given him a new sense of purpose.
“It’s the reason why I'm still around, right?” he says. “So that I can have impact in different ways. This study is one of them.”
To learn more about Reeve Foundation research initiatives, including the Butterfly iQ study, please visit here.