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ST. LUCIE WEST • TRADITION
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 3/ISSUE 6
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2014
Paralysis won’t keep her still Brandon Zeris STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
TREASURE COAST — Brooke Thabit’s daily routine is drastically different than it was two years ago after becoming paralyzed, but she still finds ways to stay active. While she was spending time with some friends on a dock on Labor Day 2012, Brooke dove into the water. She was unable to judge how deep the cloudy water was, though. The water was just knee-high, and she broke her neck, leaving her instantly paralyzed. Before the tragedy, the 19-yearold former Stuart resident was always active. After school, she said she’d normally spend her free time doing cross-fit training or practicing surfing. “I was a sponsored surfer, so I was surfing all the time,” Brooke said. Martin County-based Ohana Surf Shop owner Jordan
Schwartz sponsored her soon after meeting her when she stopped in the store, he said. “She was really funny and sweet, and that’s a big reason why we wanted her on the team. She was probably one of the top two surfers in the area, but her personality is really what did it for us,” Schwartz said. She then worked for the store for about two years until the accident. The team hasn’t left her side, helping with several fundraisers, including “Bad Haircuts for Brooke” and the “Bulls for Brooke” fishing tournament, to help fund her recovery. Schwartz said he tells others to help Brooke because that’s what she would do for them. “She did. She was a huge part of our Surfers for Autism team, and she helped with our Special Olympics surfing team. She always did those things, no questions asked,” Schwartz said. Brooke’s mother, Alison Thabit,
See BROOKE page A6
Photo courtesy of Alison Thabit Brooke Thabit is surrounded by Red Bull Air Force team members before skydiving in November in Sunrise, Fla. Pictured clockwise are photographer Jeff Provenzano, skydiver Luke Aikins and photographer Miles Daisher.
Torrey Pines agreement reached Brandon Zeris STAFF WRITER
bzeris@YourVoiceWeekly.com
TRADITION — One of Port St. Lucie’s two major research instiPRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID FORT PIERCE, FL PERMIT NO. 248 ECRWSS
Local Postal Customer
tutions needs help, and the City Council is giving it to them. The Council reached a unanimous agreement at its Dec. 1 regular meeting with Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies representatives to let them seek a loan to help fund its operations. The research center, which specializes in human disease research, needs more money to
stay afloat in light of reduced grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and the national recession, Torrey Pines CEO Dr. Richard Houghten said. Seven year ago the National Institutes of Health awarded grants 30 percent of the time to Torrey Pines, and currently, grant output is around 7 percent, Houghten said.
“That has affected Torrey Pines’ ability to get funding,” Houghten said. “The funds we receive should last us seven years … What we’re asking for is the ability to succeed.” The National Institutes of Health has given Torrey Pines an average of about $4.8 million each year
See TORREY page A24 15440
Reverter clause removed from contract so research center can get a loan