Nov. 17, 2024

From Paralysis to Triumph: The Ken Kunken Story

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Join us for an inspiring episode of the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball as we sit down with author Ken Kunken. Discover Ken's remarkable journey from a life-changing football injury to becoming a groundbreaking quadriplegic attorney and motivational speaker. Learn about his book, "I Dream of Things that Never Were," and how he overcame adversity with determination and high expectations. Don't miss Ken's insights on perseverance and achieving dreams against all odds!
www.kenkunken.com
Want to be a guest on Living the Dream with Curveball? Send Curtis Jackson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1628631536976x919760049303001600

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome, um, to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. Uh, if you believe you can achieve, cheat.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate, and inspire.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Today, I am joined by author Ken Konkin. He's going to be talking about his book, the Ken Konkin Story. Ken has an amazing story. He broke his neck in 1970 playing football at Cornell University. But he didn't let that stop him.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>He went back, got his degree. After he conquered that, he decided he wanted more and became an assistant district attorney. But I'll let him tell you his story and his words, and we'll talk about everything that he's got going on. So, Ken, thank you so much for joining me today.

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> Speaker B>Thank you for having me as a guest.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

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> Speaker B>Okay. As you mentioned, in 1970, I broke my neck and damaged my spinal cord playing in a lightweight football game for Cornell University.

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> Speaker B>And as a result, I'm almost totally paralyzed from the shoulders down. I have just a little bit of movement in my left arm, but nothing in my fingers or wrist. And on the right side of my body, I could just shrug my shoulder a bit. So I need help doing virtually everything. And, uh, as a result of my injury, I spent the next nine months and 20 days in various hospitals and rehabilitation centers. And while I was in the hospital, the doctors didn't seem to give me much hope of ever leading a, uh, very useful or productive life. In fact, it seemed the best the medical professionals thought I'd ever be able to do would be to someday sell magazine subscriptions over the telephone.

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> Speaker B>And at that time, I couldn't even dial a telephone.

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> Speaker B>They were rotary telephones back then.

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> Speaker B>But I was still determined to do more than that.

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> Speaker B>So I went back to Cornell and completed my undergraduate degree in industrial engineering. But after getting that degree, and by the way, I became the first quadriplegic to ever graduate from Cornell University. When I went back there, this was well before the Americans with Disabilities act, and there was not one ramp or curb cut on the entire campus. So I was not able to use my electric wheelchair. And I needed somebody to pull and push me and pull me up steps and down steps everywhere that I went while I was at school. But after completing that degree, I decided that what I really wanted to do was change my career goal and try and do more where I could help people on an individual basis. So I decided to pursue a career in counseling.

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> Speaker B>And I stayed at Cornell and earned a master of arts degree in counseling and student personnel administration. And as a result, I became the first quadriplegic to earn a graduate degree from Cornell as well.

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> Speaker B>And then to increase my counseling credentials, I went to Columbia University and earned my second master's degree. This won a master of education degree, where I majored in psychological counseling and rehabilitation. And I worked for more than two years as a vocational rehabilitation counselor at a place called Abilities Incorporated, which is part of the Viscardi center, located in Nassau County, Long Island. And after working there for a little over two years, I left that job, went to Hofstra University Law School, and became a Nassau county assistant district attorney. So I think that brings us pretty much up to date with your introduction.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Yeah. So tell us about your time as an assistant district attorney.

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> Speaker B>Well, I loved working as an assistant district attorney. In fact, before I started working there, I did not know of another trial attorney who was a quadriplegic, and I certainly didn't know of another assistant district attorney who was a quadriplegic.

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> Speaker B>But I was very fortunate that the district attorney at the time, a person by the name of Dennis Dillon, placed his hiring decision on my abilities rather than my disability.

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> Speaker B>And he hired me to work as a trial assistant district attorney. And I absolutely loved the job. And while I was working there, I was promoted a number of times, where I eventually became a deputy bureau chief of our county court trial bureau, where I was helping Supervise more than 25 other assistant district attorneys.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So for those who don't know, first of all, explain to people, people, what a vocational rehab counselor is, and, you know, tell us about your time working as a rehab counselor.

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> Speaker B>Okay. When I was working as a rehab counselor, I was actually counseling other individuals who had severe physical disabilities, um, where I was helping provide them with vocational, personal adjustment and placement counseling.

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> Speaker B>And basically, I was trying to help people either who were born with a significant disability or people who, unfortunately, as a result of an accident or illness, became, uh, someone with a severe physical disability. And I was able to help them with changing their career goals and getting some, uh, training in different types of skills and hopefully then placing them, uh, in a position where they'd be earning a competitive salary.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, well, you know, what motivates you, uh, to have expectations so high on yourself after all you've been through?

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> Speaker B>You know, I was very fortunate that my family always had high expectations for me, and they encouraged me to go back to school and get the best education possible so that I could then go on and get a job and my family basically assured me that they would act as my arms and legs to make sure, uh, I would still have the ability to do everything I wanted to do before my disability.

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> Speaker B>So, with their help and encouragement, I went back to school, uh, earned a few degrees, and then was fortunate, after a lengthy period of looking for a job, to be hired as vocational placement counselor at the Viscardi Center. And I absolutely loved that work. And I derived enormous satisfaction knowing that now I was making a difference in the lives of others and that I was in a position where I could help people achieve their career goals.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, tell us about, you know, 1970, when you got injured, you know, um, tell us about, you know, the play and, uh, what happened and, uh, through that whole process.

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> Speaker B>Well, I was injured making a tackle on a kickoff. And as luck would have it, normally I wouldn't have even been in on that particular play. I was not originally on the kickoff squad, but on the first play of the game we played in a game against Columbia, one of our players was injured. He got a concussion, and I was put in to take his place on subsequent kickoffs. And on a kickoff, when after we had scored a touchdown and were leading in the game 16 to nothing, I ran down, tackled the ball carrier, and in the process broke my neck and damaged my spinal cord.

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> Speaker B>And as I say, instantly I became paralyzed and spent close to the next 10 months in the hospital and rehabilitation center.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, so tell us about your book, you know. You know, tell us, uh, where we can get it, what listeners can expect when they read it, and why you decide to write it.

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> Speaker B>Okay. My book is called I Dream of Things that Never Were the Ken Kunkin Story. And it's available on Amazon. But they could also go to my website, which is ken kunkin.com, and that'll tell additional ways that the book can be ordered. But to tell you a little bit about the book, I wrote a book about my life, and I actually started writing it soon after I was injured. A friend of my aunt's by the name of Albert Meglin came to the hospital and suggested that I write a book about my life. And he thought it'd be a good way to help me deal with the depression I was in at that time, because I was certainly severely depressed after this type of injury and what I was going through.

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> Speaker B>And he also felt that it would be very informative to people to see what went on in a, uh, rehabilitation facility and what it was like to have a disability such as mine.

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> Speaker B>So he used to come to the hospital once a week for a period of time, and I would dictate to him what I was going through. And then when I went back to school, I tried to meet with him on vacations.

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> Speaker B>But eventually I stopped writing the book with him and started writing it first on my own and later with my wife, Anna.

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> Speaker B>And it took quite a while to complete. In fact, it took me over 50 years before I was finally ready to get it published. And I was fortunate that a publishing company by the name of 12 Tables Press agreed to publish my memoir. But to tell you a little bit more about it, while I was still in the rehab center, I was invited to testify before a United States health subcommittee chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy concerning health care.

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> Speaker B>And eight days after my testimony, Senator Kennedy sent me a glass paperweight in the mail that had an inscription on it.

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> Speaker B>That was a quotation that the senator said his late brother, Robert Kennedy, liked very much and used to say at many of his talks. And that inscription said, some men see things as they are and say, why? I dream of things that never were and say, why not? And that's where I got the title of my book, I Dream of Things that never Were. The Ken Kunkin Story.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>All, uh, right. So you are also the father of three triplet boys.

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> Speaker B>Oh, boy. I've been so fortunate that in 2003, after I had been paralyzed for more than 50 years, I married my incredible wife, Anna.

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> Speaker B>And when we got married, Anna told me that she wanted to have my baby. Not just a baby, my baby. She said she wanted to see a little Kunkin running around our home.

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> Speaker B>Now, I must say, this seemed impossible, because at that time, not only had I been paralyzed back then for more than 30 years, but I was already in my 50s. But we looked into various options for us, including in vitro fertilization, and were thrilled to learn it still might be possible for someone in my condition to father a child. So we pursued in vitro fertilization and were fortunate that Anna became pregnant. And I was actually present in the delivery room in 2005 when Anna gave birth to triplet boys. We have three incredible sons, Joey, Jimmy, and Timmy, who now are, uh, 19 years old and sophomores at three different colleges in upstate New York.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, congratulations. Is that the thing you're most proud of?

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> Speaker B>No, without a doubt, the things I'm most proud of are my family life, being a good husband and being a good father, and watching my boys grow to be the most incredible young men anybody could ever hope to father. It's the greatest feeling in the world.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.

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> Speaker B>Uh, well, as I say, you know, as you indicated, I wrote a book and I've been doing a lot of speaking engagements to promote the book. Uh, over the years, I've done a good deal of motivational speaking, and I've spoken before a lot of different groups and organizations on the topics. And in addition, I've been a guest on a lot of different podcasts similar to yours, uh, where I've been talking about the book and talking about, um, my life in general. Now, recently, in fact, this year, I actually retired from the District Attorney's office after working there for more than 40 years. And I am so proud of having the opportunity to serve the people of Nassau county in that capacity that I've been thrilled to do talks concerning what my work has been at the office, what I've learned, what it means for, uh, diversity, equity, and inclusion to be a part of the employment these days.

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> Speaker B>And as well as promoting my story to show people that there's an awful lot people can do when given the opportunity to show what they're capable of doing.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, so people can keep up with everything that you're up to.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Throw out your contact info.

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> Speaker B>Thanks. They could go to my website, which is kencunkin.com and that, uh, will tell them a little bit more about me, my life, how to purchase the book, and any upcoming events that I have, any upcoming speaking events.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, close us up with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have for the listener.

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> Speaker B>Well, another thought that I'd like to share is the importance of keeping expectations high. I mean, I found it so discouraging when I was in the rehab center and the medical professionals seemed to think the best I would ever be able to do would be to sell magazine subscriptions over the telephone. I was determined to do more than that. And I saw many of their fellow patients that were in the rehab center with me didn't seem to be doing a lot with their lives. And I believe a lot of that was because the medical personnel were not encouraging them to do more with their lives. Their expectations were considerably lower than I thought they should be. And I think when everybody maintains high expectations, everybody benefits by it. And I'm not talking about, uh, unreasonable expectations, but I am talking about keeping your expectations high. And with the thought that just because something has not been done before doesn't mean you cannot do it now with the right motivation, determination, help, encouragement and support, there's an awful lot everybody can do.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Absolutely. Ladies and gentlemen, kenkunkin.com and what I would like you to do is Follow rate Review Share this episode to as many people as possible. I would like you to get on your favorite podcast app. Follow us Leave us a Review Check out the show Share the Show if you have any guests or suggestion topics, Curtis Jackson 1978@att.net is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And again, thank you for all that you do and thank you for joining us.

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> Speaker B>Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my story with your listeners.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>For more information on the Living the Dream podcast, visit www.djcurveball.com.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>until next time, stay focused on Living the Dream. Dre O.