Family, friends and community members gathered in Amherst on Saturday to honor the life of Natalie Barnhard-Castrogiovanni, a longtime disability advocate who died on January 9. Castrogiovanni was the founder and president of the Motion Project Foundation, which provides comprehensive spinal cord injury, or SCI, treatment previously unavailable in Western New York.
While working as a physical therapy assistant in 2004, Castrogiovanni was injured when a piece of equipment fell on her, leaving her with a complete spinal cord injury and paralysis. With limited options for treatment and rehabilitation in the Western New York area, Castrogiovanni moved to Georgia to receive the support she needed.
Castrogiovanni was motivated by this experience to bring the level of care often only found hundreds of miles away to Western New York. She launched the Wheels with Wings Foundation, which would eventually become the Motion Project Foundation. Castrogiovanni went on to establish the Western New York Chapter of the United Spinal Association, launched the Natalie Barnhard Center for Spinal Cord Rehabilitation and Recovery in 2019 and continued to advocate for the disability community and the SCI community on the national scale.
On Saturday, many paid tributes to her personal and professional life. Eric Alcott, chairman on the board of directors for the Motion Project Foundation shared the impact Castrogiovanni had on him through the qualities she embodied.
"When I first met Natalie over 15 years ago, she described a journey she was committed to taking that eventually was realized with the opening of her center on that journey, Natalie taught me many things, faith, vision, courage and hope," shared Alcott.
Her mother, Mary Lynn Barnhard, shared personal memories of Castrogiovanni, capturing her character from a mother's perspective and giving a glimpse into the 'force of nature' her family remembers.
"She often said she was perfect, perfectly imperfect, and that's a testament to her faith in her human spirit. In fact, she was a force of nature from the very beginning, she didn't wait for the world to be ready for her. She was born in the hallway on the way to the delivery room," recounted Barnhard.
Castrogiovanni was remembered as someone who found new purpose after her accident through redefining SCI care and advocacy on a national level. She was recognized for her national advocacy when she received Finn Buller's 2021 Advocate of the Year award from United Spinal Association during its Roll on Capitol Hill event.
Alcott shared with mourners how Castrogiovanni accepted her disability as part of her life journey.
"The day Natalie and Scott Bieler [from West Herr] surprised, three-year-old Evelyn with a custom-made adaptive hand cycle bike, Natalie commented, 'I think through my journey, I don't need my physical abilities to help. And once I came to a place of true acceptance, I felt this freedom where I was no longer a prisoner in my wheelchair'," Alcott recalled.
Her family shared that her goals were largely realigned and motivated by her faith, and through that faith she found the vision and courage to create change in her community.
Her loved ones say Castrogiovanni’s memory and impact will continue to live on in the programs and resources she created, including the Motion Project, which will continue to operate and by her example for others of resilience, courage, vision and power.
