The Brief
- Bay Area oncologist Dr. Hoa Le was paralyzed in a surfing accident on his honeymoon while in the middle of his medical residency.
- He recovered and has practiced oncology at Kaiser Permanente for 17 years.
- Le and his wife, Dr. Jennifer Yang, co-founded Reach Career Mentoring, a nonprofit connecting young people with disabilities to career mentors across all fields.
- The organization cites unemployment and poverty rates double that of non-disabled people as a driving motivation.
OAKLAND, Calif. – A Bay Area oncologist who was paralyzed in a surfing accident on his honeymoon has spent nearly two decades proving that a life-altering injury doesn’t have to derail a dream.
Now he and his wife are making sure others don’t have to figure that out alone.
Life-changing accident
The backstory:
Dr. Hoa Le, who has practiced oncology at Kaiser Permanente for 17 years, was in the middle of his medical residency when the accident happened. …