Dr. Terri Thrower

Dr. Thrower holds a Ph.D. in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Rehabilitation Counseling. She has lived over 50 years with disability and chronic illness.

At age 3, Terri was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, the root cause of most of her health/disability issues. With over 40 major surgeries, she has had all major joints in her lower body replaced with prosthetics. At age 32, Terri lost most of her usable vision to glaucoma. In 2016, suffering from neck vertebrae collapse and a permanently injured spinal cord, she underwent occipital-cervical fusion to prevent total paralysis.

Terri is writing a memoir and advocates for disability inclusion. She and her husband are rebuilding a life in the North Georgia mountains focused on nature and the interdependence of all life.

[updated: 2019.01.19]