Three years after suffering a life-changing neck injury, Bret Neylon, a Brownsburg teacher and coach, is starting his own foundation to help others with spinal cord injuries.
He has applied for non-profit status for his charity, The Bret Neylon Paralysis Foundation, to help others who don’t have the support he had.
Neylon suffered his injury June 17, 2006, during a bicycle race in Wilmington, Ohio.
Unable to avoid an accident in front of him, Neylon catapulted over his handlebars and onto his head. The impact fractured a vertebra in his neck and paralyzed him from the neck down.
Following his accident, Brownsburg residents and area cycling enthusiasts held fund-raisers, prayer vigils and even built a handicap-accessible house that was waiting for Neylon when he arrived home from rehabilitation in September.
“Bret was very lucky to have so much help from the community,” said Bret’s wife, Tracie Morris in a news release. “The majority of people with paralysis don’t have this type of support system and suffer in silence.”
Fundraisers, including the Fourth Annual Race to Recovery July 18, will help support the foundation to help recipients increase their quality of life and eventually assist with spinal cord research initiatives.
By Josh Duke
