About Us

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What’s Next Clark: Our Story

When life changes in an instant, you don’t get a handbook. You don’t get a roadmap. You don’t get a warning. You just wake up one day and realize the life you knew — the routines, the roles, the rhythm — has been replaced with something unfamiliar.

For us, that moment came on October 23, 2024.

What started as back pain turned into a medical emergency we never saw coming. A staph infection had spread into Dave’s spine, and before we could process what was happening, he became septic. His body was shutting down. His life was suddenly in a fight he didn’t choose, and I was thrust into a role I never imagined — the spouse standing beside the bed, praying the person she loves most would survive. And if he did survive, we were told he could be paralyzed from the neck down, on a ventilator for the rest of his life, and potentially face cognitive deficits.

But I wasn’t just praying. I was fighting.

I became the voice in the room that refused to accept defeat — the one who looked the doctors in the eye and said, “Not only is my husband going to survive, one day he will walk back in here and shake your hand.”

That sentence became a promise. Our mantra. Our truth: It’s not if — it’s when.

A declaration. A line in the sand.

On that day, we went from being a typical couple navigating work, family, and everyday life… to being thrown into a world of hospitals, rehab centers, medical terminology, equipment lists, and decisions we never imagined having to make.

There were moments of fear so heavy they stole our breath. Moments of hope so fragile we held them with both hands. Moments where we didn’t know what tomorrow would look like — or if tomorrow would come.

But every day — even on the days when the tears came first — we found a way to laugh. To smile. To find the good in it all. Our love, our faith, and the unwavering support of family and friends carried us through.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, we had to figure out how to stay us — a husband and wife, a team, two people trying to rebuild a life that suddenly looked nothing like the one we had before.

What’s Next Clark was born from that journey.

Two Perspectives, One Recovery

Recovery doesn’t happen in a straight line. It doesn’t happen in isolation. And it doesn’t happen the same way for everyone involved.

There’s the patient’s perspective — the physical fight, the emotional weight, the daily work of relearning your body and redefining independence. It’s the quiet courage of waking up every day to do something hard, something painful, something uncertain… and doing it anyway.

And then there’s the caregiver’s perspective — the spouse who becomes the advocate, the researcher, the problem‑solver, the emotional anchor, and sometimes the person holding everything together while quietly falling apart. It’s the invisible labor, the sleepless nights, the constant vigilance, the fierce love that refuses to quit.

Both sides matter. Both sides are real. Both sides deserve to be seen.

As we moved from hospital to rehab to home, we realized something important: most people only talk about one side of recovery. But the truth is, spinal cord injury changes the life of the person in the bed, the person standing next to it, and the family and friends surrounding them.

It reshapes every relationship. Every routine. Every definition of “normal.”

And yet, in the middle of all that change, we found something powerful — a shared determination, a shared faith, a shared belief that we could rebuild a life worth living, even if it looked nothing like the one we had before.

So we decided to tell the whole story — together.

Two perspectives. One recovery. One mission.

This is the heart of What’s Next Clark.

Coming Home: The Part No One Prepared Us For 

Leaving rehab was supposed to feel like victory. Instead, it felt like stepping off a cliff.

Suddenly, we were home with equipment we had to learn on our own — equipment that wasn’t nearly as advanced or intuitive as what the hospital had. We were surrounded by routines we weren’t sure how to build and questions we didn’t even know how to ask. We were trying to fold a “new normal” — a phrase we didn’t yet understand — into a daily rhythm that no longer existed.

We were learning our new life in real time — the hard way.

We learned which tools actually helped and which ones didn’t. We learned how to adapt our home so it supported independence instead of limiting it. We learned how to communicate differently, love differently, and show up for each other in ways we never had to before. We learned how to rebuild a life — not the old one, but a new one that still had joy, purpose, and possibility.

And somewhere along the way, we realized that everything we were learning could help someone else.

Why We Started This Platform

We didn’t start What’s Next Clark because we had all the answers. We started it because we didn’t — and we know we’re not the only ones.

Every day, families around the world bring a loved one home after a spinal cord injury or another major life transition and face the same fears, the same unknowns, the same late‑night Googling, the same “no one told us this” moments.

Our mission is simple:

To help anyone navigating life after a major transition rebuild and learn their new normal — from every side of recovery: patient, caregiver, and support system.

We’re here to share what we wish we knew. We’re here to talk about the hard parts people don’t say out loud. We’re here to show the practical tools, the emotional truths, and the real‑life adaptations that make home life possible again. We’re here to give hope, clarity, and community to people who need it most.

Because no one should have to figure out their new normal alone.

What’s Next Clark Is More Than a Name

It’s a question we asked ourselves every day.

What’s next for our recovery. What’s next for our family. What’s next for our future. What’s next for us — together.

Now, it’s a question we ask for you.

Because no matter where you are in your journey — newly injured and facing a chapter you never imagined, newly home and overwhelmed by the unknowns, months into recovery and searching for progress, or years into adaptation and still learning how to live in your new normal — there is always a next step. A next breakthrough. A next moment of progress. A next chapter.

And we’re here to walk it with you.

Welcome to Our Story — and Yours

This is the beginning of What’s Next Clark.

A community built on honesty, resilience, and the belief that recovery is not a solo journey. A platform created by a couple who lived it — and are still living it. A space where all perspectives matter. A place where you can learn, share your stories and tips, connect, and feel understood.

We’re glad you’re here. Let’s take the next step together.