Though Thomas Avery was a quadriplegic, he fought for his independence throughout his life. The active independent life that he had worked so hard to develop, despite being disabled, was taken from him when his wheelchair rolled backwards off a lift while being loaded into a city run paratransit bus. Avery suffered a severe brain injury after falling six feet head first, which took away the limited mobility he had in one arm, his short-term memory and his sense of smell and taste.