Welcome to the MattCourson.ORG blog site. This site is designed to offer hope and encouragement to others facing seemingly overwhelming obstacles and allow family, friends, and supporters of Matt to keep up with his treatment and recovery efforts. Matt suffers from a level T8 Spinal Cord Injury which he sustained in an ATV accident in 2006.
Matt will be making regular blog post here, sharing pictures and videos on how things are going so check back often. You have a chance to contribute to this blog site by posting thoughts, comments, prayers, words of encouragement and support for Matt and his family, just click on the comments link under the post you would like to add your comments to. You must be a registered member of this blog in order to comment, the site is moderated so your post may not appear immediately. Feel free to register by clicking the register link in the left-hand menu sidebar. Shortly after you register you will receive your login information and password by e-mail, login and make your entry.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support ~ Friends of Matt, MattCourson.ORG.
RECENT SPOTLIGHT MEDIA FEATURES:
See Matt, KATV's Arkansan of the Week, interview with KATV reporter, Scott Inman *Click Here to View* A feature of KATV, LLC, Little Rock, Arkansas (c) 2008 KATV.com
See Matt in the WashingtonPost.COM video story 'Possibilities for the Impossible' *Click Here to View* A feature of WashingtonPost.COM (c) 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
I had a very busy Thursday here in Baltimore. Today was the grand opening ceremony of the new spinal cord injury building at Kennedy Krieger Institute. Although it has been open for a few weeks, today was the day of recognition for the new building. I attended the ceremony where Governor Martin O’Malley, Mayor Sheila Dixon, and several other congressional representatives were in attendance.  As I was driving up to the ceremony, I saw my picture on a banner hanging on a light pole. There was also a marching band and hundreds of others in attendance.
My friend Elise, who is the communications manager for KKI, wanted me to give a patients perspective of the new building to a TV crew. This lead to an interview with WJZ, which is a news station in Maryland. As I was heading to be interviewed, I had the opportunity to chat with Governor O’Malley for a few brief moments. Governor O’Malley was a good genuine person and very friendly. The interview that I conducted with WJZ turned into a small feature about my therapy at Kennedy Krieger Institute and the importance of the new building. The link for the feature story is [ http://wjz.com/video/?id=55884@wjz.dayport.com]. I also had the opportunity to see some friends that I haven’t seen in awhile. Among these friends were a lot of members of the marketing department at Kennedy Krieger Institute. I have worked with them a lot in the past and they are an incredible group of people.
Sitting at the ceremony, it reinforced how good people are. All of the donations and grants that were given to build this unbelievable piece of architecture gives hope to individuals like myself to have the best possible situation to succeed in our goals. I feel very blessed to be apart of a great institute like I am with Kennedy Krieger. The theme of Kennedy Krieger is Unlocking Potential and I am certain that there was a lot of potential unlocked today.
A little over a week ago I had the opportunity to meet a really neat guy. While at a restaurant with a friend of mine, I got to meet Alex Rodriguez. Alex is the third baseman for the New York Yankees. While the Yankees were in Baltimore, he was eating at the same resturaunt as me. Earlier in the night, it was his first game back from an injury. He hit a homerun on the first pitch that he saw. Being a Major League Baseball player, I thought he might have an ego. However, he was down to earth and very friendly. I was pretty excited to meet him and made sure that I took a picture with him.
I have recently put together a video of me walking at Kennedy Krieger Institute. This footage was taken about a month ago. In the video I am walking with AFO’s, which are designed to support my ankles. I am also using a walker. I am walking with my therapist Claire and some other helpers. I am very thankful for all the time and effort they put in to getting me to this point. I am also very thankful for all of your support. I know that the things I am doing in this video would not be possible without your support. I can’t express how thankful I am for the support you have given me. I know that with Hard Work, Faith, and Determination… Nothing Is Impossible!!!
I wanted to write a quick message and say Happy Mother’s Day to all of my moms’. My mother, grandmothers, and all of my other moms’ have a special place in my heart. The love and support you guys portray is truly remarkable. Everything that you have done and continue to do, does not go unnoticed. I am very blessed to have you girls in my life. I love all of you and hope you have a terrific day. Thanks for all that you do… God Bless!
Matt began aqua therapy for the first time. KKI opened up their new SCI gym Monday (April 27) and they have two pools. We are very excited he is getting this opportunity. Today he walked on an underwater treadmill in therapy.
We want to give a special shout out to Brian (AR) and Amy (WI) who are also at KKI right now and both have seen remarkable things happen. We share their triumphs as they give it their all to walk again. The therapists and doctors are the BEST and we feel blessed to have found this place. THANK YOU to all who continue to support Matt in the fundraisers to enable him to receive this Activity Based Restorative Therapy.
Click here to view pictures of the first time in Aqua Therapy at Kennedy Krieger Institute.
