Twice-Paralyzed Client Defies Odds and Fights to Walk Again at Project Walk Paralysis Recovery Center
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) March 12, 2014 -- Rarely does life deal a tough hand twice, especially when it means coming back from a devastating injury; only to be injured again. For Jon Atwater, 55, that scenario is his reality as he was paralyzed in 1999 and 24 years later, is dealing with a second and identical injury that occurred in a freak accident that left him fighting to walk again.
Father to what he and wife, Jenny consider their miracle child, Atwater is thankful to be alive despite what many would consider just plain bad luck. Initially injured in 1999, Atwater was jumping on a trampoline Thanksgiving morning when he landed on his neck resulting in a C2 incomplete spinal cord injury which Jon would eventually recover from.
“The first time he was injured, the doctors didn’t believe he would walk again and he did,” says wife, Jenny. “It took a while and it was quite a long ordeal but we were thrilled when he eventually took steps and somewhat regained function.”
As fate would have it, Jon would move forward from his first accident, only to reinjure himself over twenty years later. In July 2013, Jon was working on the deck of the family’s dream cabin in Durango, CO. “I was on one knee driving a screw and I slipped forward, toppling over like an egg,” says Jon. He adds, “I fell forward and broke my neck on the edge of the deck staircase. I fell 11 feet before landing at the bottom.”
The next few months were a blur of surgeries and outpatient therapy, with the recovery process slow and difficult. Jon wouldn’t recover as he did the first time and now faces the possibility of a future without the full use of limbs.
However, personal determination drives Jon as he refuses to let a life in a wheelchair become his reality. With the support of his wife and daughter Hannah, Atwater is pushing forward at the Project Walk Paralysis Recover Center in San Diego, CA.
Based on The Dardzinski Method, Project Walk is the pioneer in activity-based recovery with nearly two decades of experience working with spinal cord injuries. It’s the Project Walk mission to provide an improved quality of life for people living with a spinal cord injury, paralysis or mobility-related disorder through intense activity-based recovery backed by research and technology. Clients of Project Walk have come to revere their programs as some of the most forward-thinking recovery methods in the industry.
“I knew this [Project Walk] was the place for him the instant I walked in,” says wife, Jenny. “He’s determined and works so hard. He’s always pushing himself and they really support that here.”
Together the Atwater family is taking this second accident in strides by maintaining an upbeat attitude despite an unfortunate repeat injury.
When reflecting on his progress while at Project Walk, Atwater adds, “Two weeks ago I was able to go from a-sit-to-stand, let go my Specialist and stand there all on my own. It was pretty amazing.”
For more information on Project Walk and clients like Jon, visit the Project Walk website at http://www.ProjectWalk.org.
Leah Malkinson, Project Walk Paralysis Recovery Center, http://www.ProjectWalk.org, 760.431.9789 Ext: 121, [email protected]
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