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Early research at Mayo Clinic using stem cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries has produced results for one patient that doctors describe as “beyond expectations.”

Norton, paralyzed from football, tells crowd there is hope

While Chris Norton was being flown in a helicopter after suffering a severe spinal cord injury in football, he believed he was going to die.

“I was worried about my breathing,” Norton said Wednesday night to a crowd gathered in the Student Resource Center on the main campus of Iowa Central Community College.

The program was home to someone who went from full traumatic spinal injury, to being able to walk again

A triathlete has wept tears of joy after helping his quadriplegic best mate achieve his lifelong dream of completing an Ironman race.

Hundreds of spectators cheered as Kevin Fergusson, 59, pushed Sid James, 60, in his wheelchair across the finish line of the 15th Ironman Western Australia in Busselton on Sunday night.

The South Australian mates completed a gruelling 3.8km swim, 180km ride and 42.2km run in 14 hours, 14 minutes and 39 seconds – more than two hours within the 17 hour time frame given.

The story behind the popular Clark’s Botanicals skincare line is one of resilience and survival. Entrepreneur Francesco Clark started the beauty line as a kitchen sink operation, and now it’s used by stars like Madonna, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. But six years before he created the celebrated brand, Clark survived a devastating accident that changed the course of his life forever.

“Thirty seconds before, I was very proud and I felt accomplished. Thirty seconds after, I felt like the biggest failure in the world,” Clark told “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King.

At only 24 years old, Francesco Clark’s life changed in an instant.

Nearly eight years after Chris Norton was left paralyzed in a college football accident, he wed the woman of his dreams in a charming Southern ceremony where the pair were surrounded by tearful loved ones and friends.

In June 2016, Matt Wetherbee was left paralyzed after going head first into a wall during a pick-up basketball game. Severely damaging his spinal cord, Wetherbee was transported to the hospital where he spent two months facing a number of complications, and ultimately relocating to a rehabilitation center.

Since that time, Wetherbee has continued to work on his mobility at the Journey Forward rehab facility in Massachusetts four times a week. Last year, his longtime girlfriend Kaitlyn Kiely decided to run the Boston Marathon in his honor as a way to encourage him that his rehabilitation was a marathon and not a sprint; that his daily progress would one day pay off.

A young man rendered a quadriplegic by a freak footy accident now has a house designed to meet his every need thanks to the generosity of friends, the community, and the audience of A Current Affair.

Kurt Drysdale was just 20 when he injured his spine in a wayward tackle during a weekend rugby league match.

He was left unable to breathe on his own and without most of his movement, and faced spending the rest of his life in hospital or care.

However, his family was determined to bring him home.

On good days, American high jumper Jamie Nieto can shuffle 130 steps without a cane or walker.

It’s an important distance — about the length from the altar to the church door. His vow: Make it all the way, under his own power, when he’s married on July 22.

The two-time Olympian is recovering from a spinal cord injury he suffered on a misjudged backflip in April 2016. The accident initially left him with no feeling in his hands and feet. Walking? Doctors couldn’t predict if he would take more than a few steps — or any at all.

Driving with a disability can be a huge accomplishment, whether it is an amputation or something more severe. In Sam Schmidt’s case, it couldn’t get more severe. In 2001 Sam was paralyzed when his race car went backwards into the wall at 210 mph. Sam’s doctors were thinking he may not live the year but Sam defied the odds and currently lives life as a quadriplegic.