Setting their wheelchairs aside, three quadriplegics each got on their feet one morning this week and moved parts of their bodies medical professionals had all but given up on.

A former high-school-football player — who suffered a spinal-cord injury in a tackle two years ago during the final game of his senior year — worked out on an elliptical machine. A 29-year-old mother rear-ended at a red light 12 years ago took strides on a treadmill.

And a former insurance executive — the visionary behind the novel recovery center in Longwood — stood balanced against a metal frame, his thigh muscles quivering and firing as they worked to get stronger.

All were gaining strength and hope at CORE, the Center of Recovery and Exercise. The new 3,200-square-foot facility officially opens today, although it has been slowly rolling out services since November.

"I feel 5-foot-10 again — instead of 3 feet," said CORE founder Matthew Davies, paralyzed by a 2005 auto accident on Interstate 4 near Daytona Beach.

The tragedy stunned the community, in which Davies wore many hats, including that of president for UnitedHealthcare of Central and North Florida. He was equally well-known for his volunteer efforts with groups working to improve access to health care.

Making muscles fire

In April, as he began a neurorecovery program in a Sanford center with exercise physiologist Malerie Murphy, Davies stood for the first time since his accident.

"When I first saw him, he couldn't hold his core straight and barely had enough energy to speak," said Murphy, now CORE's senior trainer. The fact that he is upright is the result of new — but not yet widely embraced — advancements in neurorecovery.

Since Davies started the exercise training 10 months ago, his lung function has gone from 50 percent to 70 percent.

"I have energy again," said Davies, who trains two hours a day, four times a week.

Much of the exercise-based approach to recovery comes from the Christopher Reeves Foundation, named for the "Superman" actor who suffered a spinal-cord injury after a horseback-riding accident.

The latest technology, including electrical stimulation that helps retrain arm and leg muscles to fire correctly, has helped paralyzed patients gain independence, and, in some cases, walk again. One of their formerly wheelchair-bound clients now walks with a cane.

"My whole purpose is to help people who have had spinal-cord accidents regain independence by regaining muscle and movement," said Davies, 50.

'Watched my body degenerate'

"It's daunting when you're told at 17 that your life span will be greatly reduced because of your spinal-cord injury," said Dana Guest, a quadriplegic who drove herself from Tampa three times a week for treatments with Murphy before moving to Longwood in December 2010.

"I could see why. I watched my muscles wither and my body degenerate," said the former basketball player.

Those stranded in wheelchairs suffer many secondary health conditions, including problems with circulation, osteoporosis, weight gain, lung function, digestion and pressure sores from sitting all the time. All those problems improve when patients get up and move.

Reeves died of an infection that resulted from a pressure sore.

Read more:
New center gets those with spinal-cord injury on their feet

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