United Spinal Association would like to remember Franklin Elieh, co-founder of our NorCal SCI chapter, who sadly left us on May 3rd, in the prime of what was a truly accomplished life—and, bittersweetly, on the brink of a significant breakthrough for the organization and community that meant so much to him.
Together with Nick Struthers, Franklin founded NorCal SCI five years ago to fill a void for the spinal cord injury and disorder (SCI/D) community in the region. Franklin and Nick had met in 2014 at a Peer Mentor Meeting at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where both had done their initial post-injury rehabilitation.
Inspired by the example of the Triumph Foundation, Franklin and Nick began their formal collaboration at the Patterson Network Project before striking off on their own. NorCal SCI began as a website and a newsletter, and thanks to outstanding fundraising and emboldened by the support of United Spinal, they were able to capitalize on their vision and put into place their Road to Recovery Program and Care Package Program for newly injured members of our community.
Even with the support of and standards set by established organizations like United Spinal and Triumph, starting from scratch is never easy. However, Franklin’s innate drive and confidence were remarkable, taking him from rehabilitation to going back to working full-time in sales in Silicon Valley and driving Nick all over Northern California in their many outreach Road Trips. He was also sincerely driven to engage and connect with members of our community on every level possible. He applied all of this to building NorCal SCI.
The newsletter was a fundamental piece of NorCal SCI’s original outreach, and it became a mainstay. As Nick recounted, “Franklin was a terrific storyteller. When we first started and Franklin wanted to do our newsletter weekly, I told him he was crazy, because he’d never find that much compelling content, and the work would be far too big. Five years and 250 newsletters later, he pumped it out until he was no longer with us.” His personal touch was also applied to the 100 holiday cards that would go out to supporters every year.
Once NorCal SCI got off the ground, Franklin’s individual genius and knack for innovation were fully on display through a series of extremely successful fundraising events called Inspire, kickstarting NorCal SCI’s equipment donation program, and keeping NorCal’s membership virtually engaged during COVID. Franklin’s final coup de grace was obtaining $500,000 in funding within the space of two years in order for NorCal SCI to take its next leap forward and open its own rehabilitation center.
Franklin’s journey to this point was not necessarily a straightforward one, which makes the indelible mark he has made on his local community all the more compelling. According to Nick, for his first decade living with SCI/D following his injury in a diving accident at age 24, he “didn’t see himself as part of the community—but then he realized he had so much to give, especially since he was fortunate in that he had so much resilience, determination and a loving family. Franklin wanted to give everyone the opportunities he had.”
Franklin also was moved to step outside of himself and observe and pinpoint needs in the wider community. As an elder statesman in the local community, he still saw the vital importance of youth outreach and challenged himself to relate to the newer generations and their outlook. Moreover, even though he did not experience mental health issues himself, he saw how central it was to provide support to fellow people with SCI/D who do was in order for the whole community to thrive. Nick summed up Franklin’s ethos thusly: “Simply put, he gave the silent ones a voice.”
Finally, his commitment to others began with the home. His tireless efforts on behalf of the community did not keep him from being fully devoted to his ailing mother and aunt’s care—his advocacy extended to those he loved the most, as well.
Our condolences extend to his family and all of those in California and across the nation who are feeling the loss of a titan of service to the SCI/D community. We at United Spinal will be proud to support those who pledge to build on his legacy.
A special thank you to Nick Struthers, whose vivid memories of Franklin informed and colored this entire remembrance.