Sabrina Cohen

Join us for an freakin’ incredible conversation with bad-ass Sabrina Cohen, who is a paraplegic, and nonetheless, travels the world, runs a thriving business, and lives the life most people long for. Listen and learn.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hi, I am Robin Lane. Welcome back to How We Love. Today we are joined by a powerhouse who proves that being a quadriplegic doesn't limit a life of massive impact. Sabrina Cohen is a force of nature who demonstrates that grit and courage have no physical limits. Hi Sabrina, how are you today? Hi, Robin. I'm doing great. It's good to be here today. Thank you. You have a foundation that helps people with disabilities. You work in real estate, you lecture, you live a philanthropic life, and you are in a romantic relationship. But before we get into all of that, let's go back to when, as a popular teenager, you got into an accident that changed your life.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Okay, well, at the time I was 14 years old. I was a sophomore in high school, Miami Beach Senior High. And I was a very active, athletic, normal teenager, just getting into the prime of my teenage years. And it all happened when on a it was Halloween night, 1992. My best friend and I, we just wanted to go out with some friends to a party, uh, but we were too young to drive. So she had made arrangements through friends that were a little bit older to get this ride to this party. And um by 9:30 p.m. on that Saturday, October 31st, 1992, we jumped into a car. We were six kids, three guys, three girls. I had lied to my mom and my dad about where I was going because I knew at 14, if I told them the truth, they wouldn't have let me out of the house. And um off we went, six kids. One of the kids, about a few minutes into the drive, said, Let's go to my house so I can get my car in case I want to leave the party early. Um, but as it turns out, they were known for drag racing. And um, I didn't know that at the time, neither did my girlfriend, but within minutes we split up. We picked up his car. I stayed in the backseat of a BMW, and within about two minutes, they started drag racing over 90 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone, and the other car lost control. It hit the car that I was in. We slammed into a parked car and then we hit a tree head on, and I went flying into the backseat of the driver's side, and literally just like that instant, I broke my neck, and that all happened within maybe 20 minutes of being picked up from my house.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Yeah. So the impact was instant, and the consequences and the the effects of the injury have lasted for the last 33 years.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

And then what happened right after that?

SPEAKER_01 3:11

So after impact, um the everybody, the the two cars were completely, completely demolished, and they thought that the cars were going to explode. From what I understand, and this part I don't remember because I lost consciousness. But from what I understand, there was a gentleman who was walking down the sidewalk and he saw everything that happened, came over to help. Paramedics showed up, and I was pulled out of the vehicle before the paramedics came because they thought it was going to explode, and they had put me down on the sidewalk. And so whether or not more injury occurred to my neck at that point, you know, we'll never know. But I think I was already injured. Um, I injured C3, C4, and C5, which is pretty much at the top of the cervical level, which causes the most paralysis in the body because the higher you injure, the more paralysis. And um and uh they got me out, they put me on the sidewalk, the paramedics came. Um, my best friend and the our other girlfriend, they had some injuries and cuts, which I believe they were bleeding. And when the paramedics came, everybody thought that they were the ones that were injured, and then they finally realized the severity of my injury, and I was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, and I was taken right away into the intensive care unit. And what is the first thing you remember? The first thing I remember till now, actually, is um I just remember being in the intensive care unit and the bells were just consistently going off. Like it was just like, you know, like there were there's so many machines and bells and you know, people calling for help. And I remember just thinking that it was happening in my room, and I felt like I was on high alert because I didn't understand what was going on.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

When you finally did understand what was happening, when you woke up in the hospital, how did you know and learn what had happened to you?

SPEAKER_01 5:13

I really didn't, Robin. Um, the truth is it was nothing like what you see in the movies where the doctor walks over to you and tells you, I just remember being inundated with lots of love and support from my family that flew in from all over, my parents, my brother, um, my friends, my teachers from school, lots of teddy bears and balloons everywhere in my room. Um and then, you know, I was taken within a day or two into surgery, a very intensive surgery by Dr. Barth Green, who saved my life at the time, but you know, there was a chance I wasn't even gonna make it. So I know there was a lot of fear in my family's um, you know, in their minds, but I I I don't remember much of that.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

I think I was just so out of it that when did you realize that you weren't going to be able to walk again? I honestly it took me a really long time. But the first what do you mean it took you a really long time?

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Because it was like a state of denial, many years of denial, not really grasping or comprehending what a spinal cord injury is. But I'd say about a month after being released from the intensive care unit, I was brought to the rehabilitation center for spinal cord injuries. I stayed there for two months. But within the first week, they put me in a wheelchair for the first time. And I was brought into the cafeteria, and that was probably my first like OMG moment of like, what the hell just happened? Because when they brought me into the cafeteria, there were other people sitting in wheelchairs, and that was when I realized that they were a mirror of me, and I completely just lost it. And I went back to my room, and I I never wanted to leave my room again at that moment. Yeah, sure. Yeah, it was very difficult.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

And when you say that it took you a long time to accept or acknowledge what had happened, I don't really fully understand that.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

So you know, when you're so young, right? And oftentimes we make decisions because you know, we don't understand death, illness, uh, life-changing incidences, you know, the brain is still forming. So at 14, even for me not to defend it, but when I lied, it was just normal, right? Like you're you kind of like just life is just starting. Like, how could something like this happen at such a young age? So there's for me, there was zero comprehension. Like I never understood. You actually thought this would pass. Well, I thought with enough therapy, yeah, I'd get back on my feet for sure. I mean, of course, I did intense therapy because the truth is also with the spinal cord injuries, the doctors will say, wow, this doesn't look good. It's likely you'll never walk again. But uh every injury is so different that you never know what could happen. But even if a doctor came to me and told me you're never gonna walk again, which they never did, um, I kind of had to figure it out myself. And I just continued on with my life. But I always thought that within a year, within six months, within two years, I gave my my life benchmarks. Like at 15, I said, okay, by 16. At 16, I said by 17 that I'd be walking again. And then, you know, as the years kept going, I I just remained in the chair. And I think slowly I got to realizing that, like, okay, I can continue on with my life and hope for the best and stay in good shape, but um I I I just didn't get it. I didn't get it. Was there an aha moment? Um, there were a few um in that cafeteria that definitely planted the seed. Um, and then when I was graduating from high school, I was out for three months between ICU and rehab. And within a week or so, between my mom and my social worker, they were like, You're going back to high school, which of course I didn't understand because I had to go back to school with a full-time nurse in a wheelchair. But I did. And I didn't even really skip a beat after I was discharged. I went back to school right away. But it was on my graduation day when I was graduating from 12th grade. Um, it was a class of 600 students, and we were in a massive hall, and they for some reason put me right front and center in the stage. I was the first one to receive my diploma, which was taped to my hand because I couldn't even hold it. And um, I got a standing ovation. And it wasn't the standing ovation that was the aha moment. It was what happened after. So for the next like two and a half hours, all 599 other students, they literally had to walk over my feet and my wheelchair to get to their diploma. I don't know why they put me right in the middle, front and center, but they did. And so I had like two hours to just sit there and say to myself, I could have given up very easily, and every other student on this stage would still be here graduating today. And that was probably the most profound moment for me to take even a bigger hold of myself and my life and embrace to the capacity that I could at that age that thank God that I'm continuing to go and move and not sit still idle.

unknown 11:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Oh my goodness. And so after graduation, what happened?

SPEAKER_01 11:09

So after graduation, I I said to my parents that um, you know, I was always raised to be independent and I've always had that gene. And I just I I I put my res, you know, I applied to multiple colleges. I got accepted to the University of Miami, and I told my parents, if I get accepted to UM, I'm gonna go live in the dorms and I'm gonna go start my life as I am. And so I I got accepted, I moved into the dorms at UM. And for the next four and a half years, I lived on campus and I loved college life. And I just went in with the attitude that like I've always had so much love and support around me. But going back to high school was hard for my friends and everybody because they knew me the other way. And then, you know, then they saw what happened. But in college, it was like a clean slate. Like nobody knew me as I was, and all the friends that I would make would love and accept me as I was in a wheelchair. So it really um gave me the independence from my family to show them that I could live on my own with, you know, I had full-time help.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

How did you live on your own?

SPEAKER_01 12:19

Well, I had, you know, I had 24-hour help. So I did have caretakers with me throughout college. Um, I did a lot on my own with my friends and in classes, but they were always there in the background to be ready to help me as needed. But it was as independent as a quadriplegia could possibly get, um, considering how high my injury was. And and I did it. I lived there for four and a half years and I graduated with a double major in psychology and advertising. And um, and yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

College was amazing. I had a great time. A double major. And then did you, and then you went to graduate school, did you not? I did.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

So, like the easiest thing that I felt, I have to share this because it's kind of comical. Um, I was so like all about not falling into the norm, you know, because the easiest thing a quadriplegic could do, no offense to anybody who took this route, but me being a little bit more uh maybe rebellious, call it, um, I was like, I'm not gonna become a psychologist because that's the easiest thing you can do is sit and be a therapist. All you need to do is use your vocal cords. So instead, I pursued advertising and I went to the Miami Ad School for two years after college to become a copywriter. And I just immersed myself in the creative world because um, as far as I know, in the school, nobody else had ever done it from a chair. And it was just the passion of mine to always just create and and use that side of my brain. And so I graduated in uh 2002 with my uh diploma in copywriting in advertising.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

So you are really a badass, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Well, you know what? I I I never like to take the easy way out, I'll tell you that much. And so despite um my challenges with confidence and insecurities and navigating a whole new life, you know, the the Sabrina that was born with a certain blueprint was always the same, you know, and so it just took me a minute to kind of find my voice again. But I never wanted anything handed to me or the easy way. I worked very hard for everything. It's just my nature.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

But what about boys?

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Boys. So, you know, high school, you know, before I got injured, I was already starting to date, you know, young, because that's just how it worked out. Uh, maybe my first boyfriend was like at 13, and then in high school again, like at 14, you know, young love, whatever, didn't last forever. But I was I was starting to date, and um, I probably would have had a very fun social dating life. But after injury, that whole part of my life just came to a zero. Um, I didn't have the confidence. I don't think any guys at 15, 16, 17 would have known how to date me because I didn't know how to date me, and I didn't give that vibe that I was ready to step into that. So it started in college. Um, by the time I got to college, um, AOL was a big deal at that time. And in the 90s, uh, yeah, it was 1995, 96, the AOL chat room started, and that's what all the kids were doing. And I started dating online, and there were a lot of awkward moments in meeting guys, you know, through the internet. Um, but I did it, and um, that's how it started. And and then, and then, you know, throughout the years.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

What was your first date?

SPEAKER_01 15:53

Actually, oh, I have a great story for you. Um, my first date was this guy that um we had met online, and you know, he said, Okay, let's let's go out to eat. So we went to this restaurant in Miami Beach on Lincoln Road. I remember it was like an Asian restaurant.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

And at the time did he know that you were in a wheelchair?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

He did. I always put it. Yeah, I never surprised anybody. I never, I never once ever did that. I I said, This is who I am, and I I think I would be mortified. Some people don't share, but but I had to. Um, so he knew I was in a wheelchair, but still, you could be in a wheelchair and a profile very different than meeting the person, right? It's two different a picture versus actually understanding is two very different um scenarios. And so we met at a restaurant. Um I I was very shy, very. I didn't know how to maneuver around this, but I put myself out there and we get to the restaurant. Let's just make a long story short. I cannot fit under the table. So I'm like about a mile away. The menu, yeah, I'm like, I'm like forever far, right? Because wheelchairs are a little higher than a normal chair. So sometimes getting under tables is impossible. Um, now ask me today. You must have been dying of embedding. No, I was dying. So like I'm I'm quietly dying because also this kid is not even paying attention to the details. So he doesn't know I'm dying. He doesn't know what to do, so I'm playing it off like nothing is wrong. And so I pull up to the table. Thank God the menu is long enough that it reaches to my lap so I can at least see what's on the menu. But get this, Robin. I'm scouting the menu now, going, okay, what is the easiest thing that I could eat on this menu so I don't embarrass myself? And I can't use a knife. As a quadriplegic, we don't cut things. So it has to be a fork. So I order like rice with vegetables. How hard can that be? Well, let me tell you, the waiter comes out and I am mortified. He puts the plate down in front of me, and the rice is buried under massive chunks of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots. It was, it was for me, you know, now, now remember, I'm like 18, maybe 17 at the time. And and it was like, it was like hell froze over. This guy is talking two hours straight. I can barely pick up my fork. I can't reach the plate, and he just keeps talking. And two hours into the date, he looks at me and he goes, Is everything okay? And I look at him and I'm like, boy, this guy's a real schmuck. And I'm like, I'm like, the food is so spicy, I can't eat it. So he returned it, and that was the date. Never spoke to the guy again. But it was such a powerful memory, and it's comical now that, like, you know, it's what I had to go through at the time. But it was, it was horrible, but funny, you know. What was did you continue dating? I did. I did. And uh that guy obviously wasn't for me. Um, I I continued dating. I I actually had a pretty long-term relationship with one guy while I was in college, but we we didn't meet for months, months. I I wasn't ready to to meet. I I, you know, because the thing about online dating, and I don't think it just takes a wheelchair. I think a lot of people find comfort in almost hiding behind a screen. Yeah. And you kind of get to know a person for who they really are, their personality by talking to them. So at the time I was talking to this guy, Mark, and we really connected, and I really, really liked him. And I remember saying to myself, wow, I I really like this guy. I could date this guy. But then after months of just talking to him, we finally met. The kid loved me. He would have done anything for me, but I felt zero chemistry with him. Um, yeah, I the chemistry that needed to be there was not there. So I think we remained friends for a little while. And then, you know, I dated a couple other guys in college. And um it wasn't till after college, though, that I really would say that I, you know, had a formal boyfriend. Through college, I think I was still just navigating and exploring what it's like to be in a wheelchair and date.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

And what was going on with your family, your parents? How are they dealing with all this?

SPEAKER_01 20:27

So I have great parents. Um, my mom has always pushed me to be independent and do as much as I possibly can, but it was very hard for them. You know, my brother at the time, who's two years older, he was also in college. And, you know, he he was doing his thing in school. And I would come back and visit on the weekends every once in a while. I wasn't that far away from home. So it all it but you know, to this day, it's hard for my parents. You know, it's something that parents, I don't think, ever get over. But I I did everything I could to show my parents that I'm gonna be okay. And I know that they were always very proud of me. I mean, even in college, I started driving. And, you know, my dad was afraid, but my mom was reviewing.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

How did you start driving?

SPEAKER_01 21:15

With hand controls. So there's the equipment is extremely high-tech these days, and even back then. So I started driving. I got my license when I really just got to college. I was at the tail end of 17, about 18 years old. I got my license. And um, even though I had full-time help, you know, I was going out with friends and visiting my family on my own and going to therapy. So I did a lot on my own. So I think I think I gave my parents the reassurance that I was okay. But and they were always there for me, whatever I needed through college, holidays, going home on weekends. So I was still, you know, with them. But are your parents still together? No, my parents got a divorce. Yeah. Parents didn't have a great relationship even prior to my injury. So I think the injury just helped keep them together longer than they should have been, you know, to be there for me. And so at 17, 18, I had a lot to prove to the world, particularly my parents. So I showed them that I could be independent. I showed them that I could drive. I showed them as much as I could so they could, you know, get a divorce and do what they needed for their life. But they didn't do that till later on in life when I was done with school.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

So are you saying to me that you knew that they were going to get a divorce? And so part of what you were doing was to show them that they didn't have to worry about you?

SPEAKER_01 22:40

100%. Yes. There's there's zero doubt in my mind. My brother and I knew that they they, you know, we told them even before I got hurt, you know, it's okay if you guys need to separate, it's gonna be better for all of us. But they never pulled the plug on that. And then I got hurt, and that was a great reason to stay together to be there for me. But after two and a half years of being home and in high school, I told them, look, you guys need to figure your life out, and I'm gonna go live mine and show you that I'm okay. And so to this day, I mean I'm 48 now. To this day, my parents are a big part of my life, but I was always very independent and I've done everything to show them that I'm okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Yeah. So you just have you're saying that it's in it's in your DNA. Nothing changed that.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

No, the injury didn't change that. It just it the injury just helped me.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Those those early those early years had to be devastating.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

For me? Yeah. Oh no, terrible. It was uh it was beautiful because I had so much love and support. And like a week into going back to school, my teacher asked me, my principal actually asked me if I would talk to the kids before prom about reckless driving. And then that started my advocacy work at 15, you know, going to school and talking to kids. So like while it was hard to understand, and I never had anger or depression, I had a lot of depression. Never went through depression. No, that's astounding. Yes, more sadness, but more confusion. Like I just didn't understand. I didn't understand.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Sadness is one thing, crying is one thing, depression is something entirely different.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

I I God really blessed me with a very strong mind, always from day one. No, always laughing, always you know, loving, going out, doing what I could, therapy heavily focused on my homework and on therapy, but but never depression.

SPEAKER_00 24:41

That that's that's that's amazing. So okay, so um you get out of college out of graduate school, and what what how do you start work?

SPEAKER_01 24:57

So I graduated advertising school. I think I went on one interview with a firm, an advertising firm. I was still terribly insecure. I was like, who is going to interview me? A girl in a wheelchair. Like I had zero confidence, and so I said, okay, I have an entrepreneurial spirit, anyways. So I'm just gonna start my own business, which I did.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

And about you started your own business at what age?

SPEAKER_01 25:24

I was probably 20, let's see, I I graduated around 21, 22, 23, 24, somewhere around 24, 24 years old. Um, I started my own like creative service business. So I became a freelance copywriter. Um and I started just serving people in the community, whether they were real estate agents or or jewelry shops, I was creating. How did you go out doing that? Um, I, you know, I at 25, I went back home after college to live with my parents for a couple years. Um, and then I moved out on my own. At 25, I found my apartment, and I I became even more independent, and I just started sharing what I'm doing with friends and neighbors. And give me a day in your life at that time. Okay, a day in my life at that time. Okay, so um and you're living in your own apartment. I'm living in my own apartment. I'm a lot more confident, not quite confident to go get a job, but very confident in like friends, social life, going out, you know, at a full-time caretaker. So, like, you know, in the morning, my caretaker would help me um get ready for the day, get it take a shower, get dressed, help me transfer into my wheelchair. And then once I'm up, you know, there could have been an hour or two of therapy involved in the day, and then and then working. And and it was me and my laptop, and I would create and design for clients. And and then I just remember at that age, I had a very social, very active social life. I had a very amazing core group of friends, some of my best friends to this day. And we would go out on weekends and stay out late and have fun and all good, healthy, fun. Um, and at the same time, I was very involved in doing a lot of advocacy for with children. I was speaking in schools. I had a lot of speaking engagements with high school students, elementary school, colleges, just being just naturally comfortable as a public speaker. You know, my mom tells the story the best. Um, I was 15 when the principal asked me to speak, and I was in front of my first group of kids, um, were probably fifth graders. There was a room of about 500 kids, and it was the DARE program, Dare to Keep Your Kids Off Drugs. And my mom just said she couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. And I I just spoke. I don't know, it was always in me, I guess. But I I this was a beautiful way to find my voice to share and help kids recognize how decisions that they make could impact their life forever.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

Never dictating, but just no, public speaking came natural to you because you I'm gonna tell you so I'm gonna tell you something that's gonna surprise you. Yeah, would you believe that it's the number one fear?

SPEAKER_01 28:22

I do believe it. I know, I know, yeah. But I I love speaking. I could speak in front of a crowd of 10,000. Um, I I still get the little butterflies, but I never it it never stops me. So for me, speaking was very natural. It was very natural. Although I'll tell you one thing. When the principal asked me to speak, I was like in shock. I was like, who am I to speak when I, you know, when I lie to my parents? Like, what kind of role model am I? But I realized it took me, it took me time to understand the impact, A of the wheelchair and B of my story. And then just, you know, one talk, my first talk, when I was done, the rush of kids coming up to me and hugging me and and telling me they loved me and thank you, like that I understood very quickly. That wow, me sharing what happened could help somebody else's life. I learned that at a very young age.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

So I'm gonna ask you something that's a very dumb question.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

Okay, I don't really know. I didn't do my research on what quadriplegic is actually.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

So yes, and do you are you able to use your hands? So it's not a dumb question, actually. It's a very, I'm glad you asked it because a lot of people just don't know. Quadriplegic quad means four. So it's when all four extremities are there's paralysis in all four extremities. So my legs I cannot move and my hands. But when I first got injured, I had no mobility from the neck down. And then with time, my arms I was able to regain mobility. But if you were to wiggle your fingers right now or clap your hands, like I can't do that, or even wrap your hand around a cup and pick it up, I can't because I have paralysis in my hands. Therefore, how do you work on your computer? So on a computer, I have um I only started using voice activation, which makes things a lot faster and quicker. But uh for years, I just used my pinky knuckle on my right hand because I'm a writy and I learned how to master typing rather quickly with just a pinky, and I use a trackball. So instead of a mouse that you have to move all over the desk or the computer, I have a trackball that stays stationary, and I just have to move the ball and it has the little clicker buttons. So it makes it very easy. Like in awe. In general. But I'll tell you, in the early, early, early years, drag and dictate. I think I was still in my sophomore year. Um, I got hooked up with this program called Drag and Dictate, where you could talk to the computer. So like now we have Siri and Alexa. Yeah. Um, but but back then it was Drag and Dictate, way before this went mainstream. And so in the early years, I I used a voice-activated program, which was not very evolved at the time. So it was uh actually like you would say could and it would pick up would. Like it was very hard for it to understand, but it helped me, I think, a little bit back in the days. And so your real estate business. Yes. And you're successful. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 31:45

So how does that work? Because you can't, you do you take clients to see properties?

SPEAKER_01 31:50

I do, I do. Um so if if there's a property and there's stairs, um, I can't get up the stairs, but I have ramps that I keep in my car, and I have a partner that I work with in the past that if I can't get to the second floor, he would go show the property. Um, but a lot of the properties that I've showed over the years, we live in such a dense condo market that I've sold a lot of condos over the years. I've been doing this now since 2014. And so condos you could get in, not a problem. Um, I have a partner, my friend Chase, to help me. Um, I'll tell you where I'm going with it next. But um never had any problems. And 50% of my clients, how I even got into real estate is because of the work that I'm doing with my foundation and beach access. My first client that put that into my ear was in Austria and said, Sabrina, if I come to Miami, I move to Miami because I want to be near the beach, which you're making accessible. Can you help me find an apartment? And I said, Oh my God, I can help you find an apartment. And I got my license. So 50% of my clients have some sort of um necessity for accessibility. So that's my niche market. So if I can't get into the property, they're not getting into it. So I'm able to scope them out and get exactly what they need.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Oh, I see. Okay, so let's let's move on. Tell me a little bit about your foundation.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

So the foundation started in 2006 with a tight focus on raising awareness and money for stem cell research, regenerative medicine. I did that for many, many years. Um, I traveled all over the country, United Nations, Capitol Hill, um, just advocating for this research, which back in 2003, it was a very political lot, like very political. And there was a lot of people against it. And so I did that for about a decade. And then I realized around 2012 that the research, particularly in the space of paralysis, it would take billions and many more years before we could see the results that we've all been waiting for. So I shifted my organization to support quality of life initiatives where I could help people stay active and healthy. And it happened by accident. Um, I got I went to the beach one day, I was recovering from a foot injury, and I got stuck in the sand. And I was already at a fork in the road, like, where do I go with the foundation? And it was like a light bulb went on. And I got stuck. It took six guys to get me out of the sand. And I, at the time, um, I was working with a gentleman named Chris Makos. We thought we were gonna create this massive fund for research. And and, but at the same time, we realized the research wasn't yielding the results we expected. So we marched into City Hall, we told our city commissioners we need to fix this speech access problem. And literally it shifted the whole direction of my foundation. Within a couple years, I started a program. I raised a little bit over $100,000, uh, primarily from the Christopher and Dana Ree Foundation. They funded this idea. The Miami Foundation gave me a huge grant, also. Everybody was just like wowed by the fact that people with disabilities can't get into the ocean.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

So let me see if I understand. So you what did you create some kind of ramp or something? I don't know, I'm not sure I understand.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

Yeah, so already in existence, um beach wheelchairs had been already brought to market. How somebody gets into it and wheeled into the ocean is a whole nother story because it takes manpower and it's not easy. And uh a company had already created like these mats and these decks that can go over the sand for access. But what my foundation did was it put the pieces of the puzzle all together because a few decks alone on the beach is not going to give anybody great access because of turtle nesting and beach erosion. There's a lot of laws and restrictions in the state of Florida. So I brought the decks, the mats, the beach wheelchairs, and then I created a full service team from Walter Javier, who I went to high school with, who was the lieutenant for the Miami Dade Ocean Rescue and Fire Department. Like he had all the credentials to keep people safe in the water. And then I brought together uh physical therapists, recreational therapists, occupational therapists. So I brought like a whole team of qualified people to help disabled people get on to the beach because you know, we it's a three-hour setup in the morning. On my beach days, they put these decks down.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

So every day you have to set this up, Rush?

SPEAKER_01 36:54

So not every day. Um, it it's twice a month. It was twice a month before COVID. We were doing them twice a month with an average of 125 to 150 people coming out every single beach day, people from all over the world, you know, Mexico, uh, Turkey, Israel. These are people that are handicapped or handicapped visiting Florida, staying here on vacation, and then also catering to the South Florida market. I think residents from all over South Florida. So this is now so this is now known far and wide. So my foundation is a first of a kind, really, in the world that brought all these pieces together for full service. Um, I now conduct them once a month, every third Sunday of the month. And yeah, we've attracted people. It's gotten national media attention. And a lot of the attention. You just said it's the only one in the world. Only one in the world with the full service that we provide. Yes, it doesn't exist. It's a it's a it's a very intense program. Um, and it's not easy to put people into the ocean that are quadriplegic, amputees, MS, Parkinson's, you name it. We take them in safely and we get them out safely.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Oh my goodness. Okay, let's move away from that. Let's move to your romantic life.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

Okay, that's the good stuff, the juice.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

All of this is the good stuff. You are a freaking wonder. Listen, thank you. I I interview I'm a therapist, I interview zillions of people. You are a wonder. Thank you. Okay. Um, so let's go, let's go into your love life, okay?

SPEAKER_01 38:33

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

So tell me.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

Tell you. So um, you want me to start with where I'm at today or how I get? You know how you met, how you met. How I met. We always want to know how you met, right? So about five years ago, um, five years ago, I realized that I was still doing something wrong in my dating life. I was attracting men that were not fully aligned with my values or emotionally available. Um, I found a coach, her name is Barry Lyman. She started coaching me, helping me understand and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Like, why I'm educated, I'm successful, yet in my dating life, I was blaming everything on the wheelchair. Well, long story short, which is important to how I got to this relationship, she helped me uncover the dysfunction that started way before the wheelchair. It was that my parents didn't have a good marriage. And I literally mirrored my mother. And while my father is a good man, an incredible father, he wasn't right for my mom. So I mirrored her footsteps in being with somebody that wasn't right for her. I did that. And until I understood my own patterns, because I was always like, why am I doing this? I didn't understand. I knew that wasn't right, I couldn't figure it out. Um, she helped me discover those patterns. Um, I was going 100 miles per hour at this point in my life. Let's just say at this point, I'm in my early 40s. You know, all I ever wanted was to get married, have a family, but I was making wrong decisions in dating. Um, at about 46, 45, I get very ill. I got pneumonia. I almost died. And that forced me to slow my life down because I was all about the foundation and work and work and work. And I think that filled the gap, a need. You know, it didn't, it filled a need where like I wasn't getting it in my personal life. So I just buried myself in work. But getting sick with the pneumonia in 2024, it put a direct pause on everything in my life. And that opened me up to more balance, to meditating and to discovering Kabbalah. So I was praying to God for like something spiritual to come into my life so that I could just get back, quote unquote, on my feet to the old, to the Sabrina that was very active, still disabled, but very active, living a full life, but more balanced. And so through Kabbalah, I started going to these coffee talks. And one Friday morning, when I was in the coffee talk, um, there sat Brian across from me. And oh, hi, nice to meet you. Didn't think much of it. Um, he was new from New York, and he, you know, we got to talking. And, you know, in in these spiritual conversations, we talk about what we're trying to manifest in our lives. And for me, I was very confident at this point in my life that I need, I'm ready to meet my future life partner, my soulmate, my husband. And our conversation started out like, what are you looking for? And at this point in your life. I'm like, my husband, how about you? He's like, Well, um, I'm not, I'm not looking to date right now. I'm just getting my life here in Miami situated. And we became friends over the course of the next three months. No, Brian is uh perfectly able-bodied, six foot tall, um, kind, gorgeous, spiritual man. But, you know, he told me he he wasn't looking to date. And I didn't really believe him. But I at the time I was um I was interested in another person at the time. So me and him just became friends. And then in December, we worked on a project together with Israeli soldiers, and we were together for a week nonstop. And it was in that week that I looked at him differently. I was like, wow. We went out to lunch one day after a week of being together helping these soldiers and doing community service. And after lunch, he came over to me and gave me a hug. And when he hugged me, I felt something different. And it was just like that, Robin. It was like total friendship, not thinking anything more. Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. Well, the chemistry is a very good-looking guy. And so that day I said to myself at night when I went to bed, I said, I am not gonna waste an ounce of time fantasizing or thinking this could be something. Tomorrow, when I see Brian, I'm gonna tell him how I feel. And so it was on Shabbat after services that he came over and we sat in my room and we were just talking like, you know, normal, like friends. And I looked at him and I go, Brian, I gotta stop this conversation right now. We need to talk. And he's like, What's up? And I go, I don't know what happened yesterday, but you hugged me and I felt something different. And I just I think I feel something different for you. And he looks at me and I knew Robin, because I was done with dating. At this point, I said to myself, the man I'm gonna meet is not on an app. It's gonna happen organically. And the next guy I date, that's it. I just knew it because I wasn't gonna waste my time. And I said, if this guy reciprocates, that's it. So he looks at me when I confess how I feel, and he says, Wow. Sabrina. He's like, I am so confused too. I feel the same way. And that was it. And we we knew. But we didn't know that we were just going to date. It was like this was like from God. Like we knew very early in that this was going, this was a soulmate connection. And so we we took it easy, like in December, like we started spending time together, but I got really, really sick again because my dad was sick in the hospital with pneumonia, and I caught it from him. And so our relationship began in the intensive care unit of Mount Sinai Hospital. Yep. And and I remember, Robin, this is a good one for the story. I'm in the ICU, I'm in the emergency room with my brother. And my brother looks at me, he's like, Sabrina, you just started dating this guy. I don't think it's appropriate you bring him here. And I look at my brother, I look at my brother and I go, David, if at 48 years old the man I'm dating can't handle this, my lowest, it ain't gonna work. And my brother kind of giggled. And within an hour being in the yard, Brian was there and he literally never left my side for the next 16 days. It took me 16 days to get out. And our bond just formed. I mean, I couldn't wash my hair. There was no makeup on. I'm in a hospital nightgown. I'm at my worst. I can't breathe. And this guy just stuck around and we just knew. And we couldn't wait till I was healthy again so we could be back to who we are as people, giving and doing. And it just made the bond so much stronger. And he is a light from God that came into my life. It's what I was craving my whole life, but I wasn't ready. I was dating the wrong men because I didn't understand my self-worth or my value. And I didn't understand the dysfunction that came from my parents until Barry helped me put the pieces together. So it's like it was like divine timing. And I couldn't have met him at a better time in my life.

SPEAKER_00 46:05

Oh, I'm so happy for you. You know, I can't imagine all the challenges that you have overcome.

SPEAKER_01 46:13

Many, but you know, when you have a positive mindset and you're optimistic, like the challenges that look big to the world, it's just like things that I need to do. You know what I mean? It's like I need an assistant to take a shower, to get dressed, to get out of bed. Um, but then I have a very full life. It's like, you know, if if if I'm going to a hotel and there's a staircase, I just have to go around to the back where the ramp is. Like, yeah, for me, it's not now.

SPEAKER_00 46:40

Now, now those early years had to be. Oh no, the early years were rough, but they had to be brutal. They had to be absolutely brutal. They were rough, but but I did it, you know. You are, as I said, you are. I think you're one of the wonders of the world.

SPEAKER_01 46:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 46:58

Anyhow, I had promised you that we would only be 45 minutes, right? So we're now at 46 minutes. So I'm gonna say thank you. Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you. And you're so welcome. It's just um I'll never complain about anything again. I promise you that. Can I close with saying one thing?

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Oh, please. Well, to the to the to the listeners, um, people are entitled to complain because I know you just said you'll never complain again, but just recognize that you have a choice of how you want to handle when something happens to you because we all have to live our own lives. But the most important thing, because you're you're all about love, I wanted to say that it took me 40 years to find my soulmate and to embrace who I am first before I could meet him. And that's exactly what I needed to do. And insecurities show up in all shapes and sizes, not just paralysis. There's a lot of beautiful people on their feet that are very insecure. There's people that are overweight, that find excuses. But when you learn to love yourself and find wholeness in who you are as you are, that right love will find you. And it took me to do my work and it took Brian to do his work before we could connect. And it's better than I could have ever imagined, Robin. It exceeds what you think love is because when you can be vulnerable and show yourself, then you allow that space for your partner in. That's where the miracle of love comes in. And I just want to thank you for this opportunity to share this with the world because um there's no wheelchair or there's no defect or there's no weight that can stop love from coming in when you're ready to receive it. And it's a beautiful thing when it does.

SPEAKER_00 48:54

Indeed. Thank you so much, Sabrina Cohen. Thank you, Robin. Amazing. Thank you.