After a spinal-cord injury in 2009, Kevin Mills defied the odds to regain some mobility and live an active life. Now, he is testing his strength in a months-long journey from St. John’s to Victoria
Kevin Mills completed the first “dip” on Wednesday in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The event marked the Newmarket, Ont., man’s 43rd birthday. Before this year is out, Mr. Mills plans to wet his wheelchair tires in Victoria, thereby becoming the first quadriplegic toby pedalling with his arms and shoulders, the only parts of his body in which he has full function.
On a rock-climbing expedition with friends, he met Heather, a physiotherapist. Soon they were married and deeply into physical fitness. They built a cabin in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, one of North America’s premier areas for rock climbing.A year later, while the family was vacationing in Cuba, Mr. Mills was swimming when he was suddenly picked up by a rogue wave and pounded onto the ocean floor. The impact left him paralyzed with a C4 level spinal injury.
Mr. Mills’s progress under the new therapy was remarkable. He gradually regained shoulder movement and control over his arms. He will supply most of the power and must pedal continuously, but there is a power-assisted system – much like today’s popular ebikes – that will help, particularly on steep inclines.
Mr. Mills does recall seeing Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion World Tour in the mid-1980s. Mr. Hansen completed a 26-month, 40,000-kilometre wheelchair ride across Canada, parts of the United States, and on three other continents. Both Mr. Fox and Mr. Hansen raised millions of dollars for cancer and spinal cord research.
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