In the flash of a single random gunshot, JustinThompson's life changed forever!
"I knew from day one that I could do this. I just had to keep working."
A single gunshot let to a drastic change in Justin's life. He is a high school athlete who was now paralyzed from the waist down. According to the article from Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Justin never lost the positive attitude that made him such a valuable part of his soccer and basketball teams. Justin's spinal cord was intact, and the bone chip in his T9 vertebra could be repaired.
"Given what happened, this was the best possible way my injury could have worked out," he says. "I knew from day one that I could do this. I just had to keep working."
According to the article Justin's family needed a team as focused as he was on improving his strength, health and mobility, and they found one at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Every day, Justin's father drives him to a Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network® (NRN) facility – a three hour round trip – for Locomotor Training.
"It has helped me a lot," Justin says enthusiastically. "I've made a ton of progress, and they're pushing me to be as strong, healthy, and active as I can!"
Locomotor Training, a specific set of muscle motions to help Justin's body remember how to walk, is just one of the effective therapies that can be used to change someone's life, who has just acquired a spinal cord injury.
Within South Africa there are very few accessible and affordable facilities available to individuals who acquire a disability, especially within the rural communities. Bridging Abilities aim to establish such a facility that is accessible to everyone who has or acquires a disability. We aim to help every individual that pass through our doors with the best possible rehabilitation, health and wellness and mobility therapies possible.
Help us to establish a centre that is able to give to South Africans what the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation has given to Justin.
