Brandon “Shane” Crider
Brandon “Shane” Crider had a rough start from the beginning. His mother passed away when he was only 6. Thus, leaving him in the alternating care of his father and grandparents. From early on, he developed a strong work ethic and a mentality of, “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done.” After high school, he found work in the oil business, working on oil rigs in Texas. However, at 19, everything would change for Shane.
It was 2001, a few days after the tragic events of September 11th. Shane had finished the day’s work in the oil fields. He sat on the tailgate of his truck with a friend discussing the tragedy and enlisting in the Marines. His next memory was waking up in a hospital, his body damaged and his future uncertain. Apparently, while driving home, for unknown reasons, his vehicle crashed and rolled off the road. Another friend found him later and rushed him to the hospital. Shane suffered trauma to the C-6 and C-7 vertebrae. The injury paralyzed him from the chest down. Today, Shane is a quadriplegic, but still retains a good amount of mobility in his hands.
After 12 weeks of medical care and rehabilitation, Brandon “Shane” Crider attended the University of Texas at Arlington. He received a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, then a Master’s in Political Science. Afterwards, they accepted him into law school and he received his Executive Juris Doctor Degree. Today, he works as a paralegal for the United States Small Business Administration. He specializes in disaster response. He has recently handled cases from Hurricane Harvey and Irma. Shane finds this work both overwhelming and rewarding. Yet he wouldn’t change a thing, as he enjoys helping people through crisis.
These days, you can find Shane playing adaptive sports. These include wheelchair softball, basketball, skiing, and aquatic sports. Through the Dive Pirates Foundation, he hopes to add scuba diving to his already impressive portfolio of skills. Trained with Rich Thomas of International Scuba.