Name: Michael Nevenough
Location: Los Angeles, CA

I was born in December of 1970, which makes me (just) 27 years old. I was diagnosed as a spastic quadraplegic, which seems to have proven to be only minor right hemiplegia in the long-run, at about three years of age, probably due to my impatience with the fetal world, and the resulting birth at seven months. I walked with crutches, and then leg braces as a child. I had achilles and aductor surgery at about eight, and a few years of therapy afterwards. Now, I walk, run, and play virtually without impediment, though one can detect "a little something" going on with my right leg with a little observation. I spent the entirety of my formal education in public schools, (after a rather drippy Kindergarten experience at a "special school"). CP-wise, my life has been fairly uneventful. I got in lots of adolencent scrapes, and rebelled as anxious teens do, but eventually settled on some long range plans after high school. I spent a couple of college terms in Europe, (both Oxford and Paris), and travelled the continent solo afterwards, via trains, backpack, and youth hostels. Eventually again, I returned Stateside, and transferred to New York University. I've recently completed a film degree and returned, (at long last), to Los Angeles, where the film industry continues to dominate. I've been lucky enough to be allowed to join the Motion Picture Editors' Guild, (a labor union), and have become a reasonably successful editor in my own right. I have the time to do what I like, and the means to do most of it. I've written a couple of full-length screenplays, and have many more in mind. It is my hope that one or two of these scripts will eventually sell, at which time I will be able to make a film close to my heart; one involving the subject at hand. In the meantime, I'm just a fun-loving, overgrown kid... I've recently taken to racing "shifter-carts" which get from 0 to about 150 miles in less than ten seconds. (My balance really isn't good enough for motorcycles, which my brother races.)

I have a real love of skydiving, and I have plans to start on a pilots' license in the near future. For exercise, I swim about twenty laps, four times weekly, and lift weights five days.

Though it might seem quite hypocritical, I really must add the following postscipt: Though I am a certified skydiver and I love the sport very much, I am compelled to let you all know that skydiving is not as simple as jumping from an airplane and pulling a string. In fact, it requires vigilance, practice, and fine motor control which is missing from many CP patients. Without them, it can be very dangerous. My own learning curve was exceptionally steep because of my CP, and I would be remiss if I did not say candidly that skydiving is not always something that people such as ourselves "can do like everyone else". The fact is, that a great many "normal" people cannot achieve proficient skydiving skills either. If you are interested in speaking to me about the prospects in regard to your individual situation, (or anything else), please do E-Mail me.

Michael Nevenough (twomiledrop@hotmail.com)