Paralyzed 17 Year-Old Defies Odds at Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center
Carlsbad, CA (PRWEB) December 17, 2013 -- Bundled up for a day on the slopes, Celia Brewer and her son Spencer Fox packed up for a mother-son ski trip with hopes of spending some quality time together. Then 13 year-old Fox decided to snowboard on his own while Mother, Brewer watched on. In an instant, Brewer looked up to see Fox hit a bump in the ice, and in a freak accident, fell forward as if hitting a trip wire. She was the first person to him as he quickly described his inability to breathe and move. Far from their home in San Diego, CA, Fox spent the next five weeks in a Utah hospital, breathing on a ventilator due to a C4-C5 incomplete injury to the spinal cord.
BODY: Like any normal 17-year-old, Fox now looks forward to a life filled with normalcy; graduating from high school and scouting possible colleges that might help him attain a career in engineering. However, unlike other kids his age, Spencer has more to think about on his graduation day. Now a quadriplegic, Fox is torn about attempting to physically walk across the stage.
Humbled in spirit, Fox says, “I don’t want to make the day about me,” while Mom says, “I think the people who have supported you most would love to see you do it because you can.”
Hard work and perseverance is in Fox’s nature, as he maintains over a 4.0 GPA and has spent the majority of his teenage years dedicated to improving his condition by attending the Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Facility in Carlsbad, CA.
While his peers were being teenagers, Fox was spending his free time with Specialists at Project Walk; focused on therapy and the improvement of his injury.
For Spencer, the hard work has paid off. As of recently, Fox participated in Project Walk’s Annual Steps to Recovery; an event dedicated to showcasing the progress of Project Walk clients who are able to take steps before family and friends. While the majority of clients hope to have a spot in the event, Spencer defied odds and took a few steps before turning around to walk backwards down the red carpet while loved ones cheered on.
“I’m just so proud of him,” says Brewer. “He’s doing things we didn’t know were possible.”
Project Walk is based on The Dardzinski Method, and uses intense activity-based recovery backed by research and technology to expose those affected by a neurological impairment to the most forward-thinking rehabilitation in the industry. Project Walk Specialists focus on getting clients out of their wheelchairs while attempting to retrain the nervous system.
When asked what he likes most about Project Walk, Fox commented on his Specialists saying, “they [Project Walk Specialists] are always pushing you.” He adds, “I hope to one day be completely independent, and not have to rely on anyone [to live].”
Fox continues to make drastic improvements at the Project Walk facility, spending what little time he has before college working out twice a week in Carlsbad. He looks forward to continued improvement and is excited about what the future holds. For more on Project Walk and stories like Spencer’s, please visit our website at http://www.ProjectWalk.org.
Leah Malkinson, Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery, http://www.projectwalk.org, 760.431.9789 Ext: 121, [email protected]
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