The Story Behind the Foundation
A Broken Neck.
A State Championship.
A Lifetime of Lessons.
On December 3, 1975, our senior hockey season was on track to be something special. We had the talent, the team, and the belief. Then, in one unforgettable moment on the ice, our best player — my best friend, Michael Schwass — broke his neck.
The injury left Michael a quadriplegic. It should have ended our season. In many ways, it ended life as all of us knew it. But something remarkable happened: on March 25, 1976, as if guided by something greater than ourselves, our team made it to the state championship — against the very same team Michael had been injured against.
We won 4-3. But the real victory wasn't on the scoreboard. It was watching Michael in that arena, and beginning to understand what resilience truly looked like.
Michael lived 35 years as a quadriplegic. In those 35 years, he became my greatest teacher. He showed me how to face the unknown with courage. How to find purpose in the hardest of circumstances. How to show up — fully, bravely — even when the odds say you shouldn't. On September 10, 2010, Michael passed away — but the lessons he left behind are permanent.
The most important lesson Michael ever taught me lives in four words: "Now what am I going to do?" Not in defeat. Not in resignation. In defiance. In determination. In faith that the next chapter is still worth writing.
The Now What Foundation is his legacy — and our promise to the quadriplegic community that the question he taught me belongs to all of them, too.
"When you don't know what's next in your life, the most important question you can ask yourself is: Now what am I going to do?"
— The lesson of Michael Schwass