Dan Cummings, who was paralyzed in an accident, just walked a mile to support his non-profit Journey Forward.
A decade ago, Boston man Dan Cummings broke his neck in a diving accident. He lost the use of his arms and legs, and was told that he would never walk again.
But he didn’t believe it. He decided to move to California, where he could take part in an intense physical therapy regime with a program called Project Walk, which uses standing-frame therapies, electrical stimulation, and other innovative methods to help patients regain their motor skills. And, after four years, his exercise regime had begun to work: he returned home to Boston, walking with the help of a walker.
Cummings’ friends and relatives were amazed by the transformation that Project Walk had made in him—and now that Cummings was walking, he had a new resolution.
“I had a new goal to bring that program back to Boston so others wouldn’t have to move 3,000 miles away to find a place that would help them walk,” he told the Boston Herald.
So two years ago, Cummings founded a non-profit physical therapy center in his hometown, called Journey Forward. Now, the center has five full-time specialists and 33 clients, including Matt Brown, a paralyzed teenage athlete who had regained the ability to move his feet thanks to his sessions there.
And on Saturday, Cummings showed how far he had come in a fundraising walk for his organization. Using his walker, he walked a full mile—and helped to raise $75,000 in donations for Journey Forward.
“Physically, I’m beat,” Cummings said after the walk, “but emotionally I feel like I’m flying.”