Christopher Reeves Foundation

John Carson's swan song

After an accident in the summer of 2009 John Carson was destined to be wheelchair bound but he was determined to walk again and even considered doing a triathlon. He has since finished Ironman Lake Placid, the Boston Marathon and most recently Ironman Coeur D'Alene. But that one was his swan song of sorts, because his doctors recommended that he'd slow down in that department. John: Well Lake Placid was a ton of unknowns to me. My longest run prior to that event was just about 3 miles and the event was going to take place a little over a year from the accident. I really went into that event with the one goal of finishing the race in less than 17 hours. I surprised not only the doctors, but also myself with that race and it gave me a ton of confidence going forward. Immediately after that race I took some time off and went back to the drawing board to outline what I needed to improve if I was going to continue to race. My run gives me the most trouble post accident so my coach Brian Shea of Personal Best Nutrition really geared a program that truly made me stronger. Going into IMCDA off a successful Boston Marathon I really felt as fit if not more then before my accident. The big unknown with this race would be keeping my form long enough to have a successful race. John: We got up to Coeur D’Alene on Thursday and had a great few days seeing the sights and previewing parts of the course. I also had the ability to get a feel for the water, which was quite a shock. I knew that they had a cold spring but wow that water was cold. The morning of the race I got down to transition around 5:15 and I gave my gear a once over before I headed down to the water to watch the pros and get in and try to get some water in my suit so it wouldn’t be such a shock to my system. I had a ton of confidence coming into this race thanks to coach Brian. I had never felt so fit before in my life even pre accident. He built an amazing program for me. I mean this guy is working with pro athletes who are wining huge races and yet he still found time to work with me and all the issues that come along with working with an athlete with challenges. I was very emotional prior to the start. I thought so much about the last couple of years and how this would most likely be my last Ironman unless I had qualified for Kona or something.

Christopher Reeve's Dream Comes to Life — Bringing Back The Old ...

That details that experience so today I am focused much more on the towering and courageous human legacy of Christopher Reeve himself.

After Chris’s tragic accident, he dedicated his life and all his resources to finding a way to heal  the kind of catastrophic spinal injury that he himself suffered. He was utterly convinced that he would someday walk again and that others would quite literally follow in his footsteps.

Sadly, Chris died before he could take those first steps but, by founding the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation ,  he made sure that his dream would remain alive for others with catastrophic spinal injuries. Anyone who knew Chris after his accident saw how passionate he was about using every resource and contact at his disposal to somehow find a “cure.”

For all those reasons and more, I was beyond thrilled to read the following press release from his Foundation last Friday:

“Press Coverage of Epidural Stimulator Breakthough

On Thursday, May 19, 2011, the Lancet published a paper about research funded by the Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. The headline being: paraplegic man stands, steps with assistance and moves his legs after a voluntarily regimen of epidural spinal cord stimulation plus extensive locomotor training.”

Yes, that’s correct. As a direct result of funds from Chris’ Foundation and his dream, Rob Summers has been able to stand and take physical steps.

Thank you, Stephen, for sharing this exciting breakthrough, thanks in large part to the Reeve Foundation’s funding of research to help this man to take his first steps toward earning a new title other than paraplegic. It hit my consciousness a few years before Christopher Reeve’s accident made it national news.

A very special young actress, Crisi Stahl, played a lead role in a musical I co-wrote with her acting and singing. It went from local stage productions to a project to shoot it as an “indie” film. Less than two years later, this pretty, charismatic girl, now twelve years old, was paralyzed in a sledding accident. As she battled for her life, we used the musical which featured her, Kids’ Venture, to create such a media blitz that The Shepard’s Spinal Clinic waived their ban on out of state provider numbers and took her in. When she left the clinic one hundred days later, a local television station called her “the miracle girl” while the clinic was giving her a “Super Quad” award. I inwardly objected to the award’s name, because like Christopher Reeve, she never thought of herself as a “quad”. When she had first flown into the facility in a critical care aircraft, on her stretcher, she told a TV news reporter “I plan to walk again. That’s what I’m aiming for.

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