Tasha Schuh
After showcasing her talent as the lead in her high school's production of
Grease, Tasha began to dream of a career in theater. No one knew that the stage itself would steal her dream-and almost her life-during a rehearsal for the next big show.
Just days before her opening night performance in The Wizard of Oz, sixteen year-old Tasha took one step backward and fell sixteen feet through a trap door. On that day, Nov. 11, 1997, she landed on the concrete floor of the historic Sheldon Theater, breaking her neck, crushing her spinal cord, and fracturing her skull. She would never walk again.
For the next three days, Tasha prepared for a surgery that would at best leave her a C-5 quadriplegic. Post-op complications turned Tasha's struggle and ultimate triumph into an unbelievable journey. From loss and grief to self-discovery and achievement, Tasha's faith, resilience, and honesty have allowed her to leave the old Tasha behind while she confronts the new Tasha's life from a state of the art wheelchair.
Survivor, believer, fighter, Tasha is an inspiration, and hope for all who face life's greatest challenges. She was the recipient of the 2012 National Rehabilitation Champion Award, was Ms. Wheelchair USA 2012-13, and author of her book My Last Step Backward. Tasha travels across the nation sharing her story of resilience and triumph over tragedy at schools, organizations, and churches. She lives in Ellsworth, WI with her husband Doug Michaels, former Eau Claire WI TV meteorologist.
After showcasing her talent as the lead in her high school's production of
Grease, Tasha began to dream of a career in theater. No one knew that the stage itself would steal her dream-and almost her life-during a rehearsal for the next big show.
Just days before her opening night performance in The Wizard of Oz, sixteen year-old Tasha took one step backward and fell sixteen feet through a trap door. On that day, Nov. 11, 1997, she landed on the concrete floor of the historic Sheldon Theater, breaking her neck, crushing her spinal cord, and fracturing her skull. She would never walk again.
For the next three days, Tasha prepared for a surgery that would at best leave her a C-5 quadriplegic. Post-op complications turned Tasha's struggle and ultimate triumph into an unbelievable journey. From loss and grief to self-discovery and achievement, Tasha's faith, resilience, and honesty have allowed her to leave the old Tasha behind while she confronts the new Tasha's life from a state of the art wheelchair.
Survivor, believer, fighter, Tasha is an inspiration, and hope for all who face life's greatest challenges. She was the recipient of the 2012 National Rehabilitation Champion Award, was Ms. Wheelchair USA 2012-13, and author of her book My Last Step Backward. Tasha travels across the nation sharing her story of resilience and triumph over tragedy at schools, organizations, and churches. She lives in Ellsworth, WI with her husband Doug Michaels, former Eau Claire WI TV meteorologist.
Little is Huge
Tasha will inspire, motivate, and encourage you to find life in your story by embracing the little things. This message is geared around Tasha's story and how she learned about purpose, attitude, and hope in her journey of being a quadriplegic. Each person is motivated and challenged to know that they can live life to the fullest and overcome any circumstance or difficulty that they may encounter in life.
Tasha will help you:
- Move forward with a renewed spirit
- Leave...
Inspiration and Hope: Knowing That you Make a Difference
Tasha has experience and knowledge the healthcare industry can glean from: the perspective of being a patient. In this message Tasha shares inspiration, hope, and encouragement to all who are in the healthcare field. She will share her personal stories of those who helped make a difference in her life throughout her experiences of being a patient. In this message, listeners will be inspired knowing the difference that they make every day in patient's lives and will be educated...
My Last Step Backward
This message is great for Disability Awareness and/or emphasizing the power of choices. Tasha shows all that she has accomplished while being a quadriplegic - more than she thought she would do when she was walking. She tackles stereotypes, myths, and generalizations about the disabled population and helps listeners realize true quality of life no matter what the situation or circumstance.
For Government, Schools and Universities, Corporate, Educational Events and General...
You Are Destined To Succeed
Many students today have been told "you can't" or "you'll never" which results in low self-esteem, and a lack of belief in themselves and what they can accomplish in their lives. With personal stories from Tasha's life, each student is challenged in this message with the topics of: you can do anything you put your mind to, you are the only one responsible for your success, your choices matter, along with the power of a positive attitude. Students will leave inspired, hopeful, and...
Bullying and Respect
Statistics and news reports show the effects of bullying every day. Tasha opens up and shares her personal experience with bullying that goes straight to the heart of every student. By examining regret, respect, perseverance and being a positive influence, students realize what a difference they can make - a positive difference in other students' lives and directly in the world as a whole.
