Chanda Hinton: Transforming Adversity into Hope and Healing

Chanda Hinton was just 9 years old when her life path was forever altered. While visiting with family friends, Chanda and two 14-year-old boys were playfully arguing over popsicles. One of the boys picked up a gun, not knowing it was loaded. The gun discharged, the bullet striking Chanda in the back of her neck. The impact of the blow resulted in a spinal cord injury in the C5–C6 vertebrae, rendering Chanda a quadriplegic, unable to move or feel from the neck down.

Perhaps because she was so young, Chanda dealt with the transition and found meaning and fulfillment. “Elementary and high school were really great,” Chanda recalls. “My outlook was super-positive.” She had tons of friends. She was the homecoming queen. She was a role model.

Things changed when Chanda moved into adulthood. Her spinal cord injury had compromised her health, as her weight dropped to 59 pounds. The pain was chronic, and the emergency 911 calls and doctor visits were more frequent. Mentally, she struggled too, especially when college took her away from her comfort zone, the close-knit rural Nebraska town where everyone cherished her.

Going to college was an enormous risk, and immensely difficult. “At the University of Denver it was tough for me because they were looking upon me as a woman in a wheelchair as opposed to, ‘Oh hey, there’s Chanda.’” Worried about her health, her career prospects, and her future life, she dropped out of college and lost her will to take risks. At age 21 she was bedbound, dependent on medicine and painkillers, and inactive. She wondered if she had reached the end of her life expectancy.

“One of my healing mantras,” says Chanda, “is that everything happens for a purpose.” First, her sister suggested she try integrative therapies, specifically physical therapy, massage therapy, adaptive yoga, and acupuncture. Chanda took that risk and began thriving on those treatments. She also got a service dog, Flint, who performs tasks for her and knows her so well that he can sense if something is wrong. As her health improved, she returned to college, joined activities, and rediscovered her outgoing nature.

Chanda’s renewed energy inspired an idea for her life’s mission. Vowing “Here’s my passion, here’s my dream, let’s get it done,” she took the risk to create and run her own foundation. Today the Chanda Center for Health and The Chanda Plan Foundation improve the quality of life for those with disabilities through education, programs, and access to integrative therapies. They provide access to integrative therapies, primary care, and behavioral health together in a coordinated and collaborative setting. Since 2006, The Chanda Plan Foundation has provided the opportunity for increased health and hope by covering 11,600 integrative therapies for participants in the Quality of Life program. She’s also actively pushing legislation for federal funding of integrative therapies. In short, Chanda’s a risk-taker, and it is paying off for her and for many. GlobalMindED is proud to recognize leaders like Chanda this month who are changing the world for the better by overcoming any limitations in their path and showing others how to do the same.

Hear from Chanda regarding the positive impact of integrative therapies, and her journey to start the Center for Health.