Overcoming the Three Percent

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Chris Norton grew up in a family who valued optimism. He was awarded a football scholarship at a local college and started his college days unsure of what he wanted to do career-wise. In October of 2010, one of his football games took an unprecedented turn for the worst. Chris was rushed to the hospital where he underwent tests such as MRIs (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT Scans (Computerized Axial Tomography).  It was later identifed that he fractured both his C3 and C4 vertebrae which is the worst case scenario for spinal cord injuries. Seven days later Chris was told that he only had a 3% chance of function ever returning below his neck. He used that statistic to motivate him like never before.

"If I wasn't sleeping I was training." - Chris norton

A spinal cord injury is defined simply as damage/fracture to a certain area on the spine. This fracture causes damage to the spinal nerves within the spinal cord. It level of impact depends on where the injury occurred. The lower the injury level the more function that will more than likely remain. Spinal cord injuries affect approximately 12,000 people a year; the number one cause being vehicle related. they are also more likely to be males than females.  Since Chris damaged his C3 and C4 vertebrae, everything below that point was affected. Below is an image showing where the damage occurred and what will now be affected. 


On thanksgiving morning Chris found an all new meaning to the word thankful: he wiggled his left big toe. He later used that motivation to not only walk across the stage at his graduation but even 7 yards at his own wedding. 

In 2012 he started Chris Norton Foundation. This is a nonprofit organization creates to help those with spinal cord injuries and neurological deficits live their lives to the fullest. I chose this topic because I loved Chris's optisim and passion. He has such an amazing outlook on life even though he could've chosen not to. 

For more information about spinal cord injuries, you can visit American Association for Neurological Surgerons. 


Spinal cord injury. AANS. (n.d.). https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Spinal-Cord-Injury.

Lancaster, S., (2021, August). OT537: Neurological Aspects of Occupational Performance, Lecture Spinal Cord Injuries [Powerpoint Slide]. Retrieved from https://blackboard.uthsc.edu/ultra/courses/_18020_1/cl/outline.

Norton, C. (2020, December 16). Foundation. Chris Norton. https://chrisnorton.org/foundation/.

PeopleTV. (2018, April 26). Groom paralyzed playing football walks down The Aisle: inside Chris Norton's Story (Full) | PEOPLETV. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNhLZedi3-I.

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