When Bert Burns suffered a life-changing injury in his 20s after being thrown from his car during an accident, no one would have blamed him if he decided life as he knew it was over. Facing his future as a quadriplegic, he could have easily viewed the outcome as the end rather than a beginning.

Instead, Bert discovered his spinal cord injury to be a blessing in disguise, allowing him to realize dreams that he never would have had before being injured.

After completing rehabilitation, Bert went on to:

• Meet the love of his life, Joy, and raise two beautiful children with her
• Compete as a wheelchair athlete on a global scale for 15 years. He won many gold medals in international wheelchair racing events over the years. Bert won one gold medal in a 4x400 relay in wheelchair racing at the 1992 Paralympics.
• Create and lead one of the largest urology medical supply companies in the country
• Positively influence hundreds of disabled youth and adults through motivational speaking programs over the last 20 years

Bert tells us about the top three factors in his life that have helped make him successful despite the challenges he faces. “The three biggest things that have contributed to my success in life are: 1. The ongoing support of family and friends; 2. God; 3. Getting involved in things like sports that helped me strive toward goals, build confidence and realize accomplishments.”

Burns offers advice to other individuals who have just become disabled. “Don’t give up on trying to do things you may not be able to do today. It may not work today, or tomorrow, but you’ll adapt and find a way to make it happen even if it’s a month from now. For example, after my injury, I couldn’t play baseball anymore. So I found a new sport – quad rugby. What does quad rugby have in common with baseball? Competition, camaraderie, and the chance to excel as an athlete. Adapting to a new sport let me be an athlete again.”

Today, Bert is renowned throughout the healthcare field as the founder of UroMed. It’s an industry-leading catheter supply company that assists thousands of people nationwide who face similar circumstances and challenges due to Neurogenic Bladder, Spinal Cord Injury, Spina Bifida or Multiple Sclerosis.

Bert’s work now primarily centers around UroMed’s non-profit, educational program called Life After Spinal Cord Injury. It’s a motivational program that takes place in rehabilitation hospitals and other locations, to assist disabled youth and adults who have recently learned they will be permanently using a wheelchair. In 2010, the Life After Spinal Cord Injury program helped more than 600 medical professionals, patients, former patients and family members with information, advice and encouragement.

Bert has come up with his “Top 10 Blessings of a Spinal Cord Injury”, an irreverent list of common misperceptions that some people have of those who use wheelchairs. It also includes powerful, honest observations on the many ways an unforeseen tragedy can bring incredible transformation to yourself and those around you.

Yes, Bert Burns is paralyzed. However, he is also a father, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, 3-time paralympic gold medalist, community activist and an influential Atlanta business leader.

This successful businessman and family man has laid out his goals for the future. “I’ve accomplished a lot of my personal and professional goals in life, but now my goals are focused around my children. I want them to grow up well, to be happy and successes in their own lives. My family and my marriage are incredible and I hope they continue to be as wonderful as they are right now. I also hope UroMed keeps growing so that we can keep helping individuals with what we do. And personally, I hope to be able to travel more with the Life After SCI program to work with rehabilitation programs and peer support groups as much as possible.”

Email lwells@uromed.com or call 1-800-841-1233 or visit http://www.uromed.com/Company/BertsStory for more information.