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June 24th 2000 was the
day that would change Dan Cummings life forever.
He and his friends were just hanging out on a lake
and Dan decided to go for a swim. He dove into the
water and in an instant, Dan opened his eyes under
water, unable to move. Fortunately, two of his friends
notice something was wrong and pulled Dan out of
the lake and onto the shore. Not being able to move
or feel his legs, Dan knew what had happened and
yelled “call 911!”
Dan was airlifted to Boston Medical Center where
he was diagnosed a C6 quadriplegic. He would spend
the next 4 weeks in the ICU. Unable to breathe on
his own, he was hooked up to a life support system
known as a ventilator and the machine breathed for
him. Dan’s family asked if he would recover
and walk again and in those early moments they were
told he may not make it through the night. In addition
to his injury, Dan had come down with severe pneumonia
and suffered a collapsed left lung leaving his life
in serious question. Dan’s family was told
to take one day at a time and that he still may
not make it. After a few weeks had passed, Dan started
to recover and was able to breathe a little on his
own. He was going to survive. However the thought
of walking again…he may never feed himself
again or have any sense of independence.
From that point on, Dan made a promise to himself
and anyone that would listen. He promised that he
was going to one day walk again. He then went to
physical therapy in Boston for the next 3 years.
But, something was missing, Dan knew he needed more
and knew that if he was going to get back on his
feet he needed to find a specialized program. After
doing exhaustive research, Dan found a place in
Southern California that worked specifically with
Spinal Cord Injuries for up to 3 hours per day.
After a short visit Dan knew he needed this specialized
program and made a commitment to becoming independent
enough to move to California. There Dan received
the tools and knowledge he needed to get out of
his wheelchair. After nearly four years in the program,
Dan walked out of their doors. Dan and his family’s
commitment had paid off. This left Dan with a new
mission: make this program accessible to all of
those in need of it. So, he moved back home to Boston
and started Journey Forward; which will be opening
centers throughout the country, so that those that
need this program do not have to move across the
country as Dan did. |
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