by Cathy Cuff-Coffman

You can’t keep a determined woman from realizing her potential – even from birth.

Jamie Clendening was born in a very small Pennsylvania town with fewer than 500 people. At first, everything seemed fine, but her parents soon realized she was having seizures due to hydrocephalus—extra fluid on the brain.

It took until she was age two, to be diagnosed with spina bifida and scoliosis. “My spina bifida is occulta, meaning its internal,” she explains. “I started wearing back braces at two (years of age) and had my first surgery at five.” She relates that after the surgery, her leg drew up toward her body, and she needed a shoe lift. “Doctors believed I would never walk again, but within four days, I was walking and wanted to run and play!” says Jamie.

Her next surgery came at age 18–a tethered cord release–which went well. She returned to work just four months later. “At 22, I had my legs shortened to eliminate the need for the shoe lift.”

From Birth til Now

“Health-wise, I did well for a while,” says Jamie. “’I had my son, who’s now 23, and later my daughter, who’s now 14.” However, after birth, Clendening began falling frequently. “Doctors discovered my spinal cord had tethered again. That surgery was supposed to be a short hospital stay, but I woke up as a T-10 incomplete paraplegic.”

This was a turning point. Jamie, a wife, active community member and mom of two, was sent home in a basic Walmart wheelchair with no ramp, no way to shower, and no accessibility to a bathroom.

Re-Routing Disability

After all she had been through to achieve a most fulfilling life, “I vowed that no one else should experience what I had—struggling without proper equipment, therapy, or resources.

“From that moment, I turned to advocacy.”

Not one to give lip service to actionable items, Jamie Clendening took her effervescent and can-do spirit to carve out a life most able-bodied citizens would be hard-pressed to maintain.

When we finally caught up with Ms. Clendening, she had dropped her children off with her equally involved, corrections-officer husband (he’s a 20+ officer with the PA corrections officer union) and was volunteering at a Christmas-wreath making and distribution for families of incarcerated individuals.

Taking Charge

There wasn’t an ounce of judgment in Clendening’s justification for being there. “These families did nothing wrong!” as she genuinely smiled and distributed greenery.

Indeed, like most chronically injured parents, Clendening sees herself as someone whom, if taken another path that day, might have had a different outcome–better, or even worse.

“But for today, I dedicate my life to helping people in the disability community,” says Clendening. Her platform focuses on healthcare access and a proactive approach to medical care.

I believe everyone deserves access to timely and affordable equipment, therapy, and resources—whether it’s maintaining wheelchairs, getting hearing aids, or accessing medical supplies like diabetes equipment,” she says.

Finding the Right “ear”

To make this happen, Clendening constantly advocates by engaging with senators, representatives, and Congress members. “My goal is to push for healthcare equity and proactive care,” she says.

Her first order of business was to earn a college degree to arm herself with the “teeth” necessary to break into the hallowed grounds of public policy.

Clendening has a plethora of practical pursuits and knowledge. But sometimes those in charge need to see the “credentials” behind the knowledge.

In May, 2025, Jamie Clendening earned the Healthcare and Medical Humanities BS degree. Her degree, combined with her practical knowledge, will not leave her “job hunting” for very long.

Group Leadership

In addition to advocacy, Clendening is actively involved in leadership roles within the disability community. She is:

“I also speak to medical facilities, educating them on new Department of Justice guidelines to improve accessibility,” she adds.

But lest you think that Jamie Clendening is all about collecting accolades and degrees: Think again!

Family Time

Clendening is a “Family First” kind of woman: constantly interspersing her conversation with anecdotes about her husband and children.

“My daughter has a hearing loss; my son is ‘on the spectrum,’” she says. “My goal is to work in public health or public policy.” She notes that people with disabilities are often treated as an afterthought.

“Things, resources, therapy, communication, OT, PT, items such as wheelchairs, ramps, and shower chairs,” she lists, “These are things that should come when you are paralyzed or injured. It should be like your automatic gift box, not an afterthought, or something you have to guess if you will need it.”

Web It!

Clendening envisions a website with clickable links where you click the first link, you finish those tasks, and then it allows you to the next link. An online resource guide, keeping users and vendors connected and honest.

Yet Clendening also believes in a healthy dose of fun. “Look past the disability, and our population is the same as yours!” she chuckles. She’s one with an easy laugh and a gleam in her eye; no doubt ready to be the SCC (disability class clown.

She stares intently at me across the cyber-connection as if to say, “We might be disabled, but our ‘Funny bones’ are all super-connected.”