In the News - Details

“There are so many places that are dedicated to “recovery” of spinal cord injuries but they don’t encourage and give hope to the patients. Many people who are trying to survive and recover from an injury like this think that it’s too big for them to handle, that it’s impossible because doctors and spinal cord injury specialists tell them so, or that it’s just a very slow process which seems discouraging. What Project Walk brings to the table is that through hard work, motivation, and perseverance there is hope for recovery regardless of injury, and I think that is very important. There are many people out there in this field that don’t like to say anything positive because they are afraid of spreading “false hope.” I don’t believe in a thing called false hope, because hope is hope. Hope is equivalent to having faith that recovery is possible. There is no such thing as false hope, however there is such thing as false promises. Another reason why Project Walk is important to me is because it has an extensive and dynamic group of board members who are all the best neurosurgeons and doctors who are heavily involved in biomedical research. All of the findings they discover in their research, they collaborate with Project Walk and the training specialists incorporate those discoveries into our therapies for optimum recovery, which is unparalleled to any other recovery facility.”

Achievement and Motivation: Conor’s biggest motivation for recovery is to achieve an overall better quality of life. Prior to his injury he was an avid international traveler and there are so many more places that he wants to explore. He plans to be on his own two feet when he arrives at those destinations. Perhaps his biggest achievement to date is the ability to complete an independent transfer from his wheelchair onto a mat table. When he started at Project Walk a year ago, he had little tricep function and now he can easily extend his arms against gravity.

Statements from his Specialists:
Conor has made tremendous improvements in his upper body function and strength, as well as his core stability. In the past few months he has gained the ability to transfer independently, sit up straight on his own, and maintain his balance while performing various exercises. Conor has also gained greater neural connections in his legs and is improving every day in his ability to perform femur rotations, abduction, adduction, and hip extension. Conor is truly an example of how hard work and extreme dedication pay off. Way to go Conor!

Conor continues to regain more movement and strength in both his upper and lower extremities. He now has more connection to his legs and can voluntarily initiate internal rotation of his left femur! He has regained a large amount of trunk strength and stability, and is able to sit up much taller than ever before. Conor’s tricep strength and definition has also improved greatly over the last year. With this increase in tricep and trunk strength he is now able to transfer completely unassisted. Great job Connor, keep up all the positivity and hard work!