From left to right: Ed James, President of the GRA, Dr. Brian Hickox, and a member of the GRA presenting the award. 

On Friday, August 23, the Georgia Rehabilitation Association, meeting at the Sea Palms Resort at St. Simons Island, presented Dr. Brian Hickox with their highest honor, the Personal Achievement Award. This award was “established to recognize and honor a client of rehabilitations services who has demonstrated exceptional determination and motivation to overcome substantial impediments to employment resulting from a severe disability, and who has successfully completed a rehabilitation program and become gainfully employed during the 2012 calendar year.”

Dr. Hickox will be submitted for consideration of an award at the National Rehabilitation Association.

Born in Radford, Va., in 1976, and adopted by his parents when he was six days old, Dr. Brian Hickox was diagnosed at six months of age with a serious eye condition called congenital toxoplasmosis. This disease created a partial but uncorrectable blindness. He had only peripheral vision growing up.

When he graduated Valdosta High School in 1994, he already knew he wanted to be a chiropractor. While attending a junior college, he was robbed and beaten with the butt of a gun and lost forever what little vision he had. He was not deterred, and after many years of undergraduate work, he was admitted to Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, S.C. Students normally complete course work in four years, but after seven years, he finally earned his prized diploma and his designation as Doctor of Chiropractic.

While at Sherman College, Dr. Hickox received assistance from the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. Kim Wagner, LPC, CRC and the Assistive Work Technology Team worked closely with Dr. Hickox in supporting his education. The Vocational Counselor assisted Dr. Hickox in advocating for himself, determining Sherman’s responsibilities and talking directly with Sherman staff to ensure he was able to access the training material. Assistive tools such as a tactile image enhancer and a computer with adaptive software were provided to assist in accessing material. Dr. Hickox sought help from his classmates to read printed documents and provide class notes to him. Dr. Hickox continued to advocate for his success as a Chiropractor, while he worked to access the training material at Sherman College.

Passing his Boards was his next obstacle. They were extremely difficult because they were written for sighted students. He had adaptations such as tapes and readers and after passing his Boards, he was able to go before the Georgia State Board of Chiropractic examiners to receive his state license.

Dr. Hickox opened his practice in Valdosta on May 7, 2012.