Spotlighting Our Grant to The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the Transformative Power of Access
As we celebrate the 15 year anniversary of The Thomas E. Smith Foundation (TESF), we are honored to be featured in University of Miami Medicine magazine — a spotlight that underscores our core mission: expanding access to life-changing care for individuals living with paralysis.
Our latest grant to The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis supports groundbreaking neuromotor rehabilitation research led by Dr. Matija Milosevic. This work is helping individuals regain movement not just after weeks or months — but after decades. It’s the kind of high-impact care we are committed to making more accessible across the country.
For our co-founder and president Thomas Smith, that access made all the difference. After enduring three spinal cord injuries, he was told he might never walk again. Today, he is walking — living proof that access can rewrite even the most daunting prognosis.
Recently, we witnessed another extraordinary milestone: an individual who had been paralyzed for 17 years walked again with minimal assistance thanks to this promising treatment. Once unimaginable, moments like this now offer hope — and proof of what’s possible.
At TESF, our mission is clear: to turn that hope into reality for more people, in more places. Because no one’s recovery should be dictated by their ZIP code, financial situation, or insurance status.
It should depend on access — and access is what we’re here to deliver.