At its recent “Strictly Business” Awards Ceremony, held at Loews Hotel in Philadelphia, nonprofit agency JEVS Human Services honored Patrick Doerr as an inspiring individual who achieved extraordinary success while overcoming tremendous physical challenges.

The oldest of five children, Doerr was diagnosed at birth with Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP), a rare genetic disorder in which muscle and connective tissue, such as tendons and ligaments, are gradually replaced by bone, forming a second skeleton, writes Gary Puleo in The Times Herald.

However, Doerr, a Malvern Prep grad, has never let his diagnosis slow him down, graduating from Franklin and Marshall College in 2004 and pursuing a career in accounting.

When the symptoms of his disease progressed, and in an effort to maintain as much of his independence as possible, he enrolled in JEVS Supports Coordination program 11 years ago.

With in-home assistance and other supporting measures provided by JEVS, Doerr has been able to remain in his own apartment and maintain a full-time job that he loves, working from home, as an accountant and software administrator for Main Line Health.

Unfortunately, the disease is progressing more rapidly than it has in the past and the daily struggle that surrounds Doerr’s loss of movement is greater.

Yet the 36-year-old remains upbeat, as a JEVS-sponsored video that was shown to more than 600 attendees at the awards ceremony clearly demonstrates.

“They wanted to showcase various aspects of their organizational mission with the three success stories, to show how JEVS has provided them a situation where they can help to overcome their challenges, but then actually show the community,” Doerr explained, referring to the other Individual Inspiration Award recipients: Tyisha Bates, a domestic abuse survivor who has overcome depression to find success and serve as an inspiration to her children and community and Aliyah Hammond, a high school dropout and young mom who turned her life around to build a future for her daughter.

To read the complete story click here.

[uam_ad id=”54875″]