Spinal cord victims find hope at Canton nonprofit

Dan Cummings enjoyed playing sports as he grew up in Hyde Park, especially football and baseball. He played defensive tackle and was on the kick return team at Xaverian Brothers High School, which won the MIAA Division 1 Super Bowl in 1998.

On June 24, 2000, Cummings went to a lake with some friends. “It was a typical summer night,” he said. “I decided to go for a swim.”

He dove into shallow water, opened his eyes and realized he couldn’t move. His friends pulled him out of the water and called 911. He was taken to Boston Medical Center and after spending three weeks on a ventilator, he began to breathe a little on his own. Doctors told his family that he was going to survive, but as a C6 quadriplegic he would never walk again. Continue Reading »

Mother, son hosting fundraiser for spinal cord injury victims

A beach accident prompts a Fort Lauderdale mother and son to create Walking With Anthony, a non-profit that raises money to help spinal cord injury victims.

Anthony Purcell’s voice grows strained when he speaks about that February 2010 day that changed his life. Back in Florida visiting cousins, he dove into the water off South Beach and crashed into a sandbar.

“I thought I was going to die,” he recalls.

He didn’t. A cousin rescued him, but he was left paralyzed, with a broken neck and two bruised vertebrae. Continue Reading »

Getting Back Up

Scott Fedor, MBA ’04, charts a new course after a devastating spinal cord injury.

For Scott Fedor, MBA ’04, a common entry in an old planner — “pick up dry cleaning” — is a portal to another life. Though Fedor scribbled that to-do in 2009, he left the pants hanging at a suburban Cleveland cleaners.

“It’s amazing to think what my mindset was when I dropped those pants off,” Fedor says. “I took for granted that after the Fourth of July weekend, I would pick them up and wear them to my next sales meeting.” Continue Reading »

Triumphing over spinal cord injury

Kevin and Tiffany Mather adjusted to a life-changing accident through Triumph Foundation

Kevin Mather loved to ride his bike. On July 3, 2009, the Valencia resident pedaled along Sierra Highway with a dozen buddies on a beautiful Southern California morning.

Moments later, Mather was lying on the asphalt, the white line that divided the bike lane from the road now at eye level. A car’s broken rear-view mirror lay shattered next to him. Mather was the victim of a hit and run, the driver turning himself in just an hour later. Continue Reading »

My mission to cure paralysis

“Charitable” isn’t the first word which usually springs to mind when you think of a Goldman Sachs banker.

But Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster, who left the investment bank at the height of the financial crisis, is now a rising star in the not-for-profit world. Her charity, the Walkabout Foundation, has won the backing of both former and fantasy Presidents (Bill Clinton and Martin Sheen) and she has walked hundreds of miles to fund its work – all while living off her savings.

Walkabout, which she founded with her elder brother Luis in August 2009, has two goals: to distribute wheelchairs in the developing world and to help find a cure for paralysis. Continue Reading »

Michael Feger Paralysis Foundation

Our mission is to raise awareness about spinal cord injury and disease through education. Provide assistance to people who have a spinal cord injury and disease. Help them move forward in a life of independence, health and personal fulfillment.

United Spinal Association and National Spinal Cord Injury Association Will Merge

United Spinal Association and National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA), two leading nonprofits with more than 125 years of combined service to the disability community, have recently announced their intended merger unifying resources to become the single, largest membership organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) nationwide.

The combined organization will significantly increase the membership base and will give all members access to a wide range of national programs and services, including an established community of local affiliates. Equally important will be the powerful, authentic consumer voice that the merger will provide at the national level. Continue Reading »

Darrell Gwynn Foundation Raises $490,000 at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Darrell Gwynn Foundation auctioned two cars and made a wheelchair donation at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction on Friday, January 21. Proceeds from the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction totaled $490,000 which will primarily benefit the foundation’s Wheelchair Donation Program, but also the foundation’s Education & Prevention Program, Paralyzed Assistance Fund and Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week initiative. The Darrell Gwynn Foundation’s mission is to provide AWARENESS, PREVENTION, SUPPORT and ultimately a CURE for Paralysis. Continue Reading »

A positive outlook: Special therapy helps man with spinal injury reclaim productive life

Practically from the time he could walk, Darren Templeton of Kinnelon enjoyed playing sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer. As a student in Kinnelon High School, he was a member of the hockey and tennis teams, and he was an avid skier.

While vacationing with his family near Manahawkin in July 2004 … a month after graduating from high school … he dove from his family’s boat. The tide was rapidly changing, and water that Templeton thought was deep proved to be too shallow. He broke his neck, leaving him a quadriplegic.

Some people might be excused for succumbing to despair or depression. But Templeton’s main emotion was frustration. Following the accident, he went through weeks of physical therapy that was beneficial but unsatisfying. Continue Reading »

Paralyzed Man and His Wife Deliver Healthy Baby Courtesy of In Vitro Grant from The Cade Foundation

David and Jennifer Sharp of Chester, VA have given birth to a very special baby boy. Colin, born December 8th was conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) thanks to a financial grant awarded by The Cade Foundation in Baltimore, MD.

David and Jennifer Sharp of Chester, VA have given birth to a very special baby boy. Continue Reading »