More than seven years after suffering a spinal cord injury during a college football game that left him paralyzed from the neck down, Chris Norton was back on his feet this week, and he brought a special someone with him.
Norton, who suffered the injury while covering a kickoff for Iowa's Luther College, was told by doctors after his injury that he had a three-percent chance of moving anything below his neck for the rest of his life. He made his latest stand -- literally -- against the odds on the biggest day of his life thus far: His wedding day. Having already trained himself to walk across the stage for his 2015 graduation from Luther College, a feat that went viral and featured help from his then-fiancee, Emily Summers, Norton returned to his feet this week for the start of his marriage to Summers.
As documented by People magazine, the 26-year-old Norton said his vows from his wheelchair, then proceeded to walk side by side with Summers -- a full seven yards down the aisle.
We are so excited to be able to finally share the moment we have been working so hard for with all of you, the WEDDING...
Posted by Chris Norton on Wednesday, April 25, 2018
"The accident brought me to her," Norton told People, "and that is the biggest blessing."
A freshman at the Division III school at the time of his injury, Norton has since raised more than $800,000 for people with spinal-cord injuries through his own foundation, as People reported, and is raising five foster children with Summers. He is also the subject of a documentary by Fotolanthropy, a nonprofit that highlights hopeful stories of people who defied the odds. The film has already raised more than $111,000 in support.
