The Chris Norton Story

Chris & Emily Norton
Hey bloggers!
The story of Chris Norton encompasses the true meaning of faith, hard work, and determination. On October 16, 2010, he sustained a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) while playing football. After receiving an MRI and CAT scan, he learned that he had fractured his vertebrae at the level of C3-4. He was also told he wouldn’t be able to walk or even feel anything below the area of his injury; unable to bathe or clothe himself independently, go to the restroom independently, or even scratch his nose. He trained and pushed himself to go above and beyond in his therapy sessions. He remained positive and not only met his goal physically, but also found love and received his degree. He successfully walked across the stage at his graduation, and walked down the aisle alongside his bride, Emily Norton. Chris continues to spread his positive light as a motivational speaker by sharing his story. He has also started a foundation to raise money for people with spinal cord injuries. 

As I was watching Chris’s story, a lot of the things that were being discussed felt familiar to me because of what I learned in class. His injury was very severe; and due to how high the lesion was located, outcomes were poor. The cause of his injury was that of trauma, due to the impact of the hit while he was playing football. At level C1-3, muscles are available for chin control, tongue control/swallowing, and neck motion. At level C4, muscles are available for shoulder shrug and diaphragm control (breathing). I also learned that lesions this high do not typically have good outcomes, and that most sensory and motor feeling don’t come back if the injury is complete.
I chose to write about Chris's story because we can all learn something from him. Chris NEVER gave up. Try to imagine the things that could have possibly been going on inside his head when he was told he would never be able to walk again; he would never be able to feel anything below his neck. He remained positive and optimistic; and he kept the faith. He set a goal and was determined to meet it… and he did.  

I recommend this video as an inspiration to people like Chris Norton who may suffer from a SCI; but also to people who may feel that life is not worth living. Everyone has a purpose. Chris found his, and so will you.

If you want to watch Chris's story, I have included the link below: 

Name: Chris Norton
Title/link: Groom Paralyzed Playing Football Walks Down The Aisle: Inside Chris Norton's Story

Thanks for tuning in & always stay natural,
naturalOT



References:

PeopleTV. (2018, April 26). Groom Paralyzed Playing Football Walks 
     Down The Aisle: Inside Chris Norton's Story (FULL)|PeopleTV. 
     Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNhLZedi3-I

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Self-Portrait of a Leader

Image
Hey bloggers! I recently revisited an activity I completed early in my first term and year of OT school in January 2019. It's called A Self-Portrait of a Leader . I completed the activity again in order to compare and determine whether or not my perspective had changed since I started OT school. I wanted to share my results and reflect on what I discovered with you. (Note: I have included the Glyph Key for the drawing at the bottom of the post.)                          Overall, my two glyphs were similar when comparing them side by side. Although, I did notice that even some of my similarities looked different this time around. Four main differences stood out to me between the two glyph pictures: The eyes, ears, hair, and signature. Eyes: In my first drawing, the eyes were small, signifying my belief that there is a fairly equal mixture of leaders and non-leaders in the field of OT. In my second drawing, the eye are much larger, signifying my belief in that the vast m
Read more

Untangling Alzheimer's

Image
Documentary: Untangling Alzheimer's Name: David Suzuki I chose to write about this documentary because Alzheimer’s disease has always been an interesting topic of discussion for me. In my opinion. This neurodegenerative disease is one of the worst a person can experience. It not only affects memory and cognition of the mind, but also the physical aspects of one’s wellbeing.  Much of what causes the neurodegenerative disease Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease remains a mystery, but David Suzuki makes it his mission to uncover the latest breakthroughs in the disease. In her late 60s, Suzuki’s mom would forget things. In her 70s, she passed away and the family realized she had died from some form of the disease. All three of her older siblings also passed away from dementia. David Suzuki is now 77 years of age and fears that he and his family are at risk of developing the disease as well. Age and family history are definitely factors, but how much? He is now setting out to u
Read more

Clarifying a Person's Locus of Control

Hey bloggers!             I recently completed Rotter's Locus of Control Questionnaire/Scale. I found out that I possess a more external locus of control. In doing my research on this topic, I found my results very interesting. My post encompasses t houghts on why it's important for a future OT practitioner to understand locus of control and to know how to influence that in oneself and in others, including future clients. It is important for student and OT practitioners to understand locus of control, and to know how to influence that in oneself and our future clients. Locus of control is included in the Model of Human Occupation and is a component of the volition subsystem. Volition is the equivalent to one’s motivation. This subsystem consists of three components: (1) Personal causation is one’s sense of effectiveness and confidence on performing action. (2) Interests are one’s intention to seek pleasure from certain action, objects or events. (3) Valued goals are the ou
Read more