Defying Limits: SCI Warriors Breaking Stereotypes

Few injuries are as life-altering as those that affect the spinal cord, as the immediate impact of a spinal cord injury (SCI) is often paralysis. It’s a devastating blow that introduces a long list of new limitations in the life of the patient.

However, not all those who experience an SCI accept those limitations. While recovery is far from easy, a courageous commitment to rehabilitation is allowing a growing number of people to defy the limits and break the stereotypes typically associated with SCIs.

“It’s tragic to hear of someone experiencing an SCI,” says Anthony Purcell, Executive Director of Walking With Anthony, “but what is even more tragic is that many people believe they will be trapped in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. That doesn’t need to be the case. There is hope.”

Purcell experienced a SCI in 2010 after diving into the waters of Miami Beach. In the aftermath of his injury, Purcell heard the same prognosis that many with SCIs hear: he would need to get used to living in a wheelchair.

“I didn’t accept that life sentence,” Purcell says. “Supported by those around me — most notably my mother — I found the hope I needed to pursue recovery. I refused to accept the limitations that others had pronounced over me about what can be done, what can be expected, and what will never change when you have a SCI.”

As Purcell found hope for a better future, he committed to sharing that hope with others. He and his mother founded Walking With Anthony to redefine recovery from spinal cord injuries. To date, Walking With Anthony has helped over 100 people with SCIs get the treatment and resources they need to overcome limitations.

Overcoming limiting emotions

The impact of SCIs goes beyond the physical. Recovery also involves overcoming mental challenges.

“Putting a spotlight on the key role mental health plays in living with an SCI is an important part of what I do through Walking With Anthony,” shares Purcell. “The rehab SCI patients experience is often focused on regaining physical strength, with little time given to mental and emotional strength. What I found, however, is that recovering mentally and emotionally is critical. In fact, the biggest battle is inside our own mind.”

Purcell’s story illustrates the despair that can follow a SCI, especially when patients buy into the stereotypes. His injury was followed by months of depression, triggered by the feelings that many of his dreams about his future — falling in love, getting married, and having a family — had to be abandoned.

“When you experience a SCI, your world flips upside down,” Purcell explains. “You feel like a burden, hopeless that things will ever get better. There were even moments when I contemplated not continuing with life, but I was eventually able to imagine a brighter future because I found a purpose that helped me to get through rehabilitation and then move beyond it. I saw that I could not only help myself but also help others, and that vision guided me away from that dark road of hopelessness.”

Today, Purcell is happily married and the father of a baby girl who was born in March 2023. “Becoming a husband and a father were two dreams that felt unachievable after my SCI,” Purcell says, “but now they are two more examples of what anyone with an SCI can achieve by staying positive and committed to working toward goals.”

Building new lives on new hope

Walking With Anthony has helped patients from all walks of life and of all ages who share the common experience of having their lives reshaped by SCIs. They also share an inspiring courage that has empowered them to defy limits and break stereotypes.

One of the SCI patients Walking With Anthony has helped is a college athlete who experienced an SCI during a football game. While the injury put him on the sidelines, it didn’t steal his joy for life, and he continues to take college classes and support his teammates who see him as an inspiration.

Another patient Purcell and his organization helped was a bride-to-be who suffered an SCI just days before her wedding. Rather than believe the doctor who told her she would never walk again, she pushed past the perceived limitations and was playing adaptive sports in just a few months. She has since gone on to inspire others through blogging, publishing a book about her journey, and appearing on “The Today Show” with Katie Couric.

Recovery from a spinal cord injury is a long road that demands patience and perseverance. Every day will involve challenges, but none of those challenges are insurmountable. 

“The most important step is believing limitations can be overcome”

Purcell