Thomas Jefferson University Professor Spreads Awareness About Gun Violence

On May 21, 2021, Jefferson occupational therapy teaching assistant professor and academic fieldwork coordinator Amanda Parezo’s life was forever altered—in an instant.

While sitting between two friends on a bench after a neighborhood kickball game, she heard the sound of gunfire and felt a sting in her side. In an interview with USA Today, she shared, “All of a sudden, we heard this BANG! BANG! BANG! My brain, in that split second, connected shooting, bullet. I immediately fell backward on my back because I’d lost complete control of my muscles, sensation. I felt this ‘whoooosh’ from my waist down into my toes.”

The only one injured, Amanda was rushed to a local hospital and moved into the intensive care unit (ICU). At the time, she was an occupational therapist working with traumatic brain injury patients in North Philadelphia, many the victims of gun violence. She had worked in ICUs and was well aware of what had occurred. She knew she would be paralyzed.

After nine days, she was moved to Magee Rehabilitation Hospital (now Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Hospital) where she underwent two months of intensive physical, occupational, art, music, and recreational therapies.

Today, Amanda’s recovery continues. While still a patient at Jefferson, she teaches occupational therapy at Thomas Jefferson University; plays sports, including tennis; is a gun violence activist, an actress, and a motivational speaker; and tirelessly advocates for greater accessibility for disabled individuals—all while navigating through life in a wheelchair.

She brings a unique perspective to her career and to her students, utilizing her experience to help them more profoundly understand the physical and mental obstacles faced by the people they will someday serve. Through her social media accounts, she also shares her daily triumphs and challenges. As she told USA Today, “I want to show people exactly what it looks like to live in a wheelchair and what it feels like to have a spinal injury.”