Forever Changing the Recovery Outcome of Spinal Cord Injury
Walking with Anthony
Walking With Anthony believes that everyone with a Spinal Cord Injury should have equal access to life-altering medical care. We provide direct and immediate assistance to individuals and families through our granting programs. Our focus is on recovery through spinal cord injury rehab.
Although proven therapies and solutions for those with Spinal Cord Injury are already in existence, they are largely unavailable to the average person. The cost to get just one person out of a wheelchair is exorbitant, and insurance doesn’t cover it. We are here to change that.
With your help, our heroes with Spinal Cord Injury can get through the hopeless despair and get financial assistance for the treatment they desperately need. Much hard work lies ahead for families affected by SCI. With your help, our heroes can get stronger, live healthier, and have the opportunity to walk again. Let’s take these first steps… together.
Anthony’s Story
In the late morning of February 6, 2010, Anthony Purcell dove into the waters of Miami Beach
It was something he’d done many times before.
This time, he misjudged the depth of his landing spot, broke his neck, and bruised the C5 and C6 vertabrae in his spine. He injured his spinal cord. He was paralyzed, unable to resurface from the water on his own.
Thanks to the quick rescue efforts of his cousin Bernie, who pulled him from the waters, and the emergency personnel who quickly arrived at the scene, Anthony’s life was saved.
But his life would never be the same.
How We Help
Your Life Saving Impact
Brett Gravatt
SCI Patient
Rachelle Friedman
SCI Patient
Ty Williams
SCI Patient
Peter Brady
SCI Patient
Help tell our story or the story of one of our WWA Warriors.
Your support will help us provide life changing therapy, much needed caregiving, and medical equipment.
SIGN OUR PETITION
YOUR SUPPORT TELLS THE INSURANCE COMPANIES THEY NEED TO DO MORE!
And it tells the person suffering from their injuries that they are not alone in this fight.
Although proven therapies and solutions are already in existence, they are unavailable to the average person suffering from Spinal Cord Injury.
Insurance companies do a poor job of providing coverage for adequate treatment, and some will not cover it all.
How can they only provide ONE month of care for an injury that requires years of rehab?
Even if they doubled up their coverage, it is still not enough. It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to get just one victim the proper therapy and care-giving they need.
This astronomical cost is what prohibits many people from getting the help they desperately need.
YOUR SUPPORT, SIGNING THE PETITION, TELLS THE INSURANCE COMPANY THEY NEED TO DO MORE!
And it tells the person suffering from this horrific injury, they are not alone in this fight.
Please Add My Name To The Petition!
NEWS & VIDEOS
@WALKINGWITHANTHONY
On Friday, December 26, 2014 Brett was involved in a snowboarding accident that resulted in a facture to his #6 Thoracic vertebrate and a serious injury to his spinal cord. He was taken to the local General Hospital and within an hour airlifted to a University Hospital in Charlottesville, VA. Brett underwent emergency back surgery to stabilize the fracture (2 rods and about 8 screws) late that night. He spent 24 hours in ICU, moved to a step down unit for 24 hours and then moved to the Trauma unit where he spent the next 8 days recovering from surgery. On Tuesday, January 6, 2015, a specialized medical and airlift transport team flew Brett (and his Mom) to Atlanta, GA to begin his road to recovery. Brett is surrounded by and is being cared for by his medical team, family, Penn State Men’s soccer team, his church and friends.
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Brett will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in his recovery journey.
Meet SC Hero TY Williams
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
Ty Williams is a college student-athlete at Georgetown University who tragically, on a September first down, 10 to go, a red-zone pass went wrong and his football career was cut short. Georgetown’s official record of that game said the pass was dropped, but Williams, in truth, had broken it up. He went low, the slot receiver for Saint Francis of Pennsylvania went high, and the impact caused the ball to bound off the latter’s hands and to the turf; The impact also did something else. “It was all tingling,” Williams recalled. “I had no idea what position my legs were in.” His neck had recoiled at the receiver’s waist, he spent 30 minutes lying on the field, two weeks in a hospital and the next 4 months at another facility in Atlanta. “Everything changed in an instant,” said his mother, Melissa Rand. A fractured vertebra, “C6 incomplete” has left the 21-year-old with partial feeling in his lower body but not the ability to will it to movement. Although he cannot play, Ty motivates The Hoyas “every day,” roommate and defensive tackle Bryan Jefferson said; and they see him often. He is still a frequent practice attendee, No. 2 on the roster, and front and center in this year’s team picture. Ty is still taking classes at Georgetown, where he is completing his junior year as a government major after he missed a semester last fall. Still very much a part of the program in all respects aside from the one he perhaps craves most. Ty says, “I’ve got one option: just to work and keep working.” Work means another round of physical therapy at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Northwest Washington. “He’s never given up hope,” his mother says, “sometimes I don’t even know how he does it.”
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Ty will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in his recovery journey.
Meet SC Hero Rachelle Friedman
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
In 2010, Rachelle was the infamous bride-to-be whose story headlined the news when one of her best friends did what most of us have done at some time in our lives – playfully pushed her BFF into the pool. In this case, it was at Rachelle’s bachelorette party just weeks before her dream wedding. The joyful celebration quickly turned when Rachelle hit the bottom of the pool head first. Suffering a C-6 spinal cord injury which left her paralyzed from the chest down and hearing the doctor’s words that she would never walk again, an undeterred Rachelle was playing adaptive sports within 13 weeks.
A Walking With Anthony celebrity since 2012, we celebrated inspirational author, blogger and public figure, Rachelle Friedman because she exemplifies the possibilities for life after injury. She and her special groom, Chris, married and epitomize happily ever after. Their love and commitment ring of a Lifetime movie. Having managed to get a book published, “Promise: A Tragic Accident, A Paralyzed Bride, And The Power Of Love, Loyalty, And Friendship”, appearing on various talk shows including the Oprah Network, the Today show and the Katie Couric show and writing for various media outlets including blogging for “Huffington Post”; Rachelle has been the voice of inspiration for numerous individuals who have suffered SCI, particularly women, boldly speaking on such topics as love and marriage, sex, and more recently, surrogacy vs. adoption. Today, she adds motherhood to her list of accomplishments. Way to go Rachelle!
For More Information about Rachelle go to: RachellleFriedman.com
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Rachelle will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in her recovery journey.
Meet SC Hero Erica Predum
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
Erica Predum was driving with her three year old son when her SUV overturned. Erica says she doesn’t remember much about the accident except trying to stay awake long enough to watch cartoons when he came to visit. Though her son was uninjured, Erica fractured her C3-C7 and T1 & T12, and suffered a C5/6 SCI complete. Erica minces no words detailing the differences in the levels of spinal cord injury. Allaying any confusion about the possibilities, her own pregnancy and childbirth after SCI are the subject of another post. She is clearly on a mission to open some eyes to the reality of this life altering injury. Thanks Erica – for keeping it real!
Keep it real for Erica and others like her. Recovery change lives. Donate below to help us make it happen! Thank you!
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Erica will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in her recovery journey.
Meet SC Hero David Wieselmann
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
I was Mt. Biking with friends up in Vermont after work.
We were cutting down a hill at the very end of run, and my front wheel sunk in some soft dirt.
I went over the handlebars and did a somersault. Broke my neck. Stood straight up. And fell to the ground.
I waited with friends for four hours for a helicopter and was med vacated out of there to Dartmouth where I had surgery.
I was in ICU for over a week, then transferred to Fletcher Allen Hospital in Colchester, VT to learn how to live in a wheelchair.
I now do therapy as often as I can afford to at Journey Forward in Canton, MA.
I go to an accessible gym/YMCA in Quincy, MA.
I have PT job in VT from June to Oct running an invasive aquatic species patrol program on a huge lake in Northern VT by kayaking.
I have a girlfriend and live by myself.
All thanks to therapy I have received in past, I have regained and continue to regain more everyday due to hard work.
Im in need of help to pay for expensive therapy at Journey Forward Rehab in Canton, MA.
@davidisbacksf
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, David will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in hisrecovery journey.
Meet SCI Hero Stephanie Nichols-Rodas
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
I had a car accident May 6th,2017, early in the morning on my way to work. Another car was going to hit me, so I swerved and hit a concrete median while merging on to the freeway. I flipped 3 times, and then another car hit me and threw me a mile away.
I broke C5-C6,damaged from C4 to C7,and damaged my neck arteries. Unfortunately I didn't remember what happened right away, it took me 3 years to get the flashback.
Being a quadriplegic for 5+ years has been very challenging, for my loved ones and me... It's been like a roller-coaster that never stops, and believe me I used to love those, lol! But I must say I have been more than blessed with my family that doesn't let me fall, and with all my new family and friends(Trainers, Pt's, Ot's,Uncle Darlin, Uncle Mark .)that have been there for me supporting me in this journey, I couldn't do it without all of you, Thank, thank you, thank you everyone🥰 for your support♾, love❤,prayers🙏 and more a long this journey🌖…
This year has been very challenging I must admit it's getting harder, pain is 24/7🥴, lost very important people in my life💔🖤,my van hasn't been working for the past 3 weeks🥺, stress is high🤯 and hopes start getting low.😔
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Stephanie will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in her recovery journey.
Meet SCI Hero Rhonda Williams
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
I am a C5 C6 quadriplegic who had a car accident when I was 16 in 1989 in Virginia.
Through the many years of living as a quadriplegic I have had ebbs and flows.
I met my husband while living in Florida and we moved to Fresno, California.
In 2012 I lost my husband who was a paraplegic and disengaged from the outside world somewhat.
I have no family due to the fact I was a foster child and grew up in many different group homes.
Although that initial start in life did not stop me from accomplishing many goals that some would have thought out of reach for someone in my circumstances such as finishing a bachelors degree as you can imagine life has been hard.
Since my husband’s passing in 2012, I have lived alone and other than a caretaker who comes 3 to 5 days Monday through Friday in the morning to help me out I live independently.
Recently I have decided to get back out into the world and try to live “out loud” as they would say.
I have friends that would love to take me out but transferring into a car is very difficult and the friends that I do have most drive SUVs which makes transport almost impossible.
I have done research on transfer equipment more specifically electronic personal “Hoyer lifts” for lack of a better term.
I am on a very limited income as I do not currently work and realize that financially there is no way that I would be able to afford such needed equipment.
I have such a passion for life and there is so many things that I want to do and more importantly places I would love to see that I do not want to waste any more time.
Many people are surprised when I tell them that I have been a Quadriplegic since 1989 and sadly I feel like I have not taken full advantage of the life God has chosen to continue to allow me to have and in gratitude I am now trying to do everything in my power to live up to that gift.
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Rhonda will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in her recovery journey.
Meet SCI Hero Eden Hoelscher
#sci
#spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
On December 23, 2015, our five-year-old daughter, Eden, collapsed on the ground after doing a backbend on our living room floor. Within 30 minutes, she was paralyzed from the waist down. She was rushed by helicopter from our local hospital to the PICU where she was diagnosed as a complete paraplegic because of a spinal cord stroke at T8/9. After 2 months of inpatient rehab, she was discharged with the dire prognosis that she would never recover, and that we should prepare for a very difficult life ahead.
Our family wasn’t prepared to accept that prognosis and began researching therapy centers that believed in recovery and offered hope to families like ours. In April of 2016, we went to Louisville, Kentucky to attend the 3-month pediatric program at Frazier Rehab. Within days Eden began to make positive strides. Within weeks, she was taking steps while being supported and assisted. When we saw the amazing recovery Eden made, we knew we couldn’t go back home to California, and we moved to Louisville full time. This came as a surprise to the director of the program because their program was specifically for “episodes of care” and not full-time therapy. But as parents, we knew we had to fight for the life that Eden deserved.
@StandForEden
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Eden will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in her recovery journey.
Meet SCI Hero Rob Balucas
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
Meet SCI Hero Rebecca Koltun
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony
On March 13, 2021, I was skiing with some friends in Vermont. While I do not recall the day itself, I was told that I had a very bad fall. I woke up in a hospital in New Hampshire, paralyzed from the neck down and attached to a ventilator. I was told that I damage my spinal cord at the C1 C2 Junction. I was in the ICU for 2 1/2 weeks before I was transferred to Spaulding rehabilitation hospital in Boston. I spent 4 1/2 months there, doing intense rehabilitation, getting off the ventilator, and learning how to drive a wheelchair with a straw. I also learned how to use assistive technology. I was then transferred to a hospital on Long Island where I live call Glen Cove Hospital. I was there for four months before I was discharged to an assisted living facility where my family and I lived while our house was being renovated. The TV show George to the rescue to receive a complementary house renovation with an elevator among many other things. I finally moved home nine months after my accident I have been living at home since.
@rebecca_Koltun
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Rebecca will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in her recovery journey.
On September 5, 2015, the weekend prior to my first Ironman race, I was on a routine training bicycle ride when I lost control of my bike on an infamous patch of downhill switchback turns, crossed over the oncoming lane, and went over the side of a hill.
At first, we thought I had just a broken collar bone and I’d be back in a month. Turns out that I had a broken collar bone, several cracked ribs, a 70% collapsed lung, and worst of all, a L1 burst fracture in the lumbar spine. The very next day after my fall, the doctors performed a spinal fusion. The accident left me paralyzed in a wheelchair without any feeling or control of my legs.
Officially, I am a T8 Complete Asia Score A paraplegic.
After watching my friends race the half IRONMAN that following weekend, I set a goal to race the following year. I began swimming and handcycling as part of my rehab. With the help of my tribe I was able to purchase the handcycle and racing wheelchair I need for the bike and run legs of a triathlon.
Once that triathlon season was over and I had time to sit still, the thoughts and feelings of being stuck in a wheelchair started to set in. The holidays were a rough time emotionally, though many around me probably didn’t realize how tough it was.
But I realized two things out of that period.
One was that that hole of despair is natural and inescapable to experience and feel.
The other is that you have a choice as to how long to want to wallow in that hole.
Because the truth is, it will always be there for you and be ready to swallow you. But if you first make the choice to not wallow; the courage, the gumption, the energy to get out and do something else will always be ready for you too. And the people, resources and encouragement are there if you believe in they are our there for you.
@robbalucas
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Please click the link in our bio for the full story and ways that you can help SCI patients.
In addition to our latest resources on mental health, community, and mentorship, Rob will receive 5 bottles of supplements from @thornehealth to aide in his recovery journey.
Meet SCI Hero Casey Ellin
#sci #spinalcordinjury #september
#awarenessmonth
#spinalcordinjuryrecovery
#walkingwithanthony