I N THE SUMMER of 2006 Rob Summers seemed to be leading a charmed life A talL clean-cut 20 -year-old with short brown hair and blue eyes he had a girlfriend

he could bench-press 315 pounds and he was close to achieving his lifelong goal of becoming a major-league pitcher He had just finiBhed hlB sophomore year at Oregon Slate University he was living In Portland and playmiddot Ing In asummer lgue hitting home runs and th rowing strlk Then ror a brier moment he ran outofJuck

One warm Tuesday night be walked oul to bis car to get bis gym bag Wben begottotbeend orhis driveway be saw beadUgbts acar careening down the road Tbe lights grew bigger beaded straigbt at blm He jumped but tbe car bit bim rupped him Into the air and kept on going Tbe drtver was never caugbt

Summers lay on hiB back staImiddot Ingup at ask] ruJlorstars When he tried to grab his pbonehis arm wouldnt move He trled to yell no sound canle Crom h Is mouth His body reltodd ly lacking in sensamiddot tion as if be couldnt reel where he was in space He passed out A neighbor found hlm Iylnglna pool orblood rour bours later and thought he bad been sbot

Summers regained consciousshyness in abospital Tbe hitmiddotandmiddotrun bad ripped apart bis ankle and torn aU tbetendons attacbed to tbe C-6 vertebra in his neck causing tbe bone to bruise his spinal cord Hebad noconlrolover hiBbody rrom tbe elbows down aside rrom one finger HiBglrlrriend visited hlm tben never returned Sbe never answered bis calls

Summers r~members the surshygeon talk I ng to b 1m before be left tbe hospi tal He w banded a long

70 SPIRIT rUAUAJlnal)

llilt of d rugs and told tbat be would nover be able to stand or walk Cbances were the doctor Baid he would nt be able to control biB bands either

Tbe doctor didnt give blm the worst news Peoplewltbsplnal shycord injuries Ilke Summers are rar more likely to be unemployed and single They bave higber medical costs and sutler from very bigb raLes or stroke Inrectlon and beart disee wb lcb meanS tbey tend to dieyoungStatistics suggested tbat Summers Ifliury would shorten bls life by almost loyears

Summers however wasIil razed Voodont know me be told the surgeonlwUistand again j will walk again and I wUJ play baseball

BOYS LIFE FromlftSurnmrs collage STUdent in June 2005 durinq a treadmilllnlininq lewon at the frazier Rehlb tnl1ntne in louisvilla in December 201~ IoIinQlhevirtue of hi semin1 nolebook which hereplaces ohen II h fin ill paQes 100ltinQ heod wiTh a winninq amrude

Rob Summers believed tbls because be had faith In a system he had used witb great success for much ofhls l1fe-a80poundtofCem shyi1y reclpo for goal~eutngT h iB system not only m ade hlm tblnk becould beat tbe odds but italso made bim In some ways a very lucky man

R OBSUMMEBS DIDN T

start out good at baseshybalL He grew up outside

or Portland Oregon the oldest son ora real tatedeveloperand a teacher and spent most orbt first Little League season obliviously playing witb tbe grass andjumpmiddot ing around In the outfield At the awards ceremony at tbe end orthe season my coach couldnt find anything else good to say about me SulllIDers says so he Dude up an award Best Cartwheels

Figuring sports werent Robs tblng hiB parents signed him up ror chulnot lessons The follOWing year bowever heannounced that be wanted to play baseball again He moved to tbe In Deld wblch be round more Interesting He startmiddot ed pitching

1 discovered Summers says that I hada natural talent ror the

game His parents told blm tbat wasnt enough that bed have 10

work bard well A fter onegame when bebltabome run overtbe 1 rence be oays he decided ~~atY parenl8 were wrong I coo IIlUY Just ftne on my taJ~nt1I The cOSMjb

made h1m a starto T hen he went three games

w i1boul hiltillg t he b8lI oDie ~DMlup~OlI ihe~~ ~bi5tothlDk Earenta were rwhtt

That ra ilure taught me a lot he says [n pllrllcu lal [ opened

his mind to sometblng bis motbmiddot ergave him to read-a tattered 2O-page booklet mlsslng its cover His mothers ratber badgotten tt In bis youth rrom a friend Tbe famlly never had aspecific name ror the pamphlet they just called it that tblng from Grampa

You can actually buy Iton Amamiddot5 zon today ror tbree dollars Titledi It Works and signed wttb tbe Inimiddot

i ~J the booklet contains tbe sort ofvim-andmiddot vigor prose youi ~ find In a Hardy Boys mystery (ror

I Instance Jimmy the omce boys exclaims Gee I wisb that were mine as ared roadster wb lzzes by) Built Works offered somemiddot tblngbigger tban a roadster to

Roo Summers Itotlered rood ror tbougbt ln the rorm or aclumsUy worded QUestion

Aresome peoJJe hprDJnOOti lucky s tarorothorelarm wblch enables (bem to have1I 111ft whlcb seelIlll so desirable W dll nol what Is lliecauorthedl lfershyenee In conditions under which men JIve RitJnswers blmseJr No some people arent more lucky than others Tbey just tap Into apowerthat lies within everyshyones subjective mlnd Mostly it seems to do wlth knowing what you want First write down a list ordesires in order oflmportance Cbange lhe list dally untUyoure happy with it (ben read ilthree times a day Think orlb leslr asoftan as possible Aoddoot sbare tkffi with anyone

A skeptic might label thiB quJte

literally wishful thinking Psyshychologist and rearcher Heidi Grant Halvorson however S8ys the approac b has a polnt 9

fi rst stepto geCLins IWlWhere Is to decide where you wam ugt go- But she says tb81 slmply bavlng those desir-to make more money to QUtt smoking to take a vacationshymay not beenougb You have to

know bow to convert them into cOllilcious goals Halvorson k DOWS

justabout as much about goalmiddot oeUlngasanyone on the planet she comiddotedlted a tegt1book On tbe subject The Psychology ofGoals

and authored a book rorthe lay publlc calledSucceB8 How We Can Reach OurGoals Decades or selen shytlDc research have revealed that done rightgoal-eettlng can In ract inc rease our productivity and our satisraction Goals can focus our attention and effort toward the things we want In life and away rrom thiDg we dont They can inspire us to reacb greater heights persist through setbacks to learn explore and problem-solve

Done wrong however goals can produce more barm than good Richard Wiseman a psycbologist at tbe Untverstty or Hertrordsh i re in Britain round tha178 percent of people wbo make New Years resmiddot ObJtlODS rail to keep them which often makes them reel more hopeshyless than irtbevd never set a goal j atallAnda2~Harvard Buslmiddot y ness School study round that ~1 stretch goalBcan produce al l kinds I orprObiems In the workplace lncUdllig depression statlconmiddot meland crIme

nUUAAY70U $PHtlf 71

In Ibe IaIe 19608 for instance Lee Iaooeca was feeling Ibe presmiddot sure from inexpensive fuel-efllmiddot cienl imports so he setan ambishytious goal Ford was to build a

car Ihat weighed less than 2000 pounds and coslless Ihan $2000 and Ihey were going to bring It to markel by 1970 ThiB goal caused engineers 10 rush through sarety checks and produced acar best known for its exploding gasshytanks Ihe Pinlo A major relailer in the 1990ssel a sales goal for the stalfs at its auto-repair centers Of$147 an hourThis might have increased Ihe companys revemiddot

nue bul iI also led to unnecessary repairs

~freC cb goa t he Harvtd study aays can fOrce employees til cpm pete with each other whsectl

they sbwJd bework1pq wgesher or jpsptre them to stopworklpg once theyve r~hed heir Wshy~ They can also cw a Iosul 101 rlnsie motivationmiddot (haln ll rat desire we have to perrorm a

~ A nd isnlgoal-setting-strivshy

ing for some oulcomeolfinhe future-the exact opposite of everylbinglbey lell us weshould

do (0 promote happiness Arent

we supposed 10 be present in Ibe moment savor it focus on what

wedo have lUId think ofothers rather than ourselves A reol goals 100 fulure-oriented and selfshyish According (0 Halvorson goalshysettingcan make us not only more productive and more successful but more satisfied rigbt bere and now BlI only ifits done rigbt

R OB SUMMEUS grandshyfalber clearly got hIs goal-setting right He

pulled bimselfoll of poverty and built a thriving insurance commiddot paoy creditlngsome Of bis sucmiddot cesstotbe Instrucllon in bis Works pamphlet He wrole down

bisgoalsandread tbem to bimshy

72 SPIRlT fE BIlUAII200U

self several tin1 a day BlI be iP step on yourgoals by being nOB also added components and laugbl ative about them Ibem (0 his daugbter who made Summers will bowever reveal improvemenls of ber own So threeoftbegoals bewrotedown wben Summers was 12 and try ing in his first notebook to get back

10 succeed at baseball bis mol her b is starting position in baseball didnt just have bim read Ibe pamshy to belpbis team win tbe state phle~ she laughl him the fan1i1y cbamplonsbip and to buy himshyrecipe First step She bougbl him selfa Super Nintendo Three a blue spiral-bound nolebook and months after he started writing toid bim to write down bis iongmiddot in biB notebook Summers earned term goals enougb money to buy the Nintenshy

Summers wont lalk aboullbe do That year be not on tv started goals he writes down loday or lei on his basebaU team but was votshyanyone read his notebook tbis is a ed MVP oftbe league His team key tenet oflbe recipe~shy won thegtatecbampionshlpand

father a4v1Bed v lllIlBi tellJl placed fourtb on the WestCoast

~lIlaQple about vour goasor In tbeyearstbat followed SumshyWowing t hem von notobook_Ho mers earned good grades He sajdth mum foo a (jllker not a played football and basketball He

~And lI glv poople a chlUlce mastered the mechanics ofpitcb-

II I I Itt J 1 SAMUElkH OOES

I havea ampr-oft Mygoali8todoX Makea to-do Ii8t I1l11tart wOlking deadline Bow do andY and Z And Cbeck Butd0e8 onmygoal8latar 1get tbere from al80 A B andC tbat reany count88 Ornever here But1dontknow aetting eoata

whereto amrt 1U TW The HabiT Factor ~ 1IJIb Gelling Things Done TIl y mbGerring ResulTS The nt TUllI shckKcom by Marlin Grunburg by David Allen Agile Way by JD Meier goal-seing SOCial neTwork

uow T OMrIo The road TO UOWCToDBs Forgel random 0 ~ lT~ OWli Rather than JJO JT~ STaTe your success is paved wiTh core noTes and menTal checkliSTS leing The 1ile Sluff rule your goal pUblicly by sening up

relaTed behaviors Grunburg David Allens sySTem requires Irte popular business blogger a CommiTmenT ConTracT asserts in This hOW-TO book you To compile everything you Heier advises you To define UpdaTe your progress aT preshy

Reverse-engineermiddot your goals need to do inTO a single lisl just three Things youd like deTermined checkpoints and TO identify Those actions That Then processmiddot The entire liST To ilComplish within a given designaTe a Referee a friend wiTh STeady repe1llion will deciding whethertasks need time frame-a year a week or who confirms your reports help you achieve your final to be delegaTed deferred or a day From there define me Heighten The COST of failure objective Use The app TO done right away By gaTher- IndIVidual tasks you need to by putting money on the line record your behaviorover ing and processing all your accomplish during ThaT time TO be given less a Transacshy

hme umilThe aClions become projects together youll spend Regularly scheduled reviews tion fee to a cause you eiTher second nature less time thinking about what at The end of each period keep love or loathe S1IckK can also

needs to be done and more you from veering off course faciliTaTe a bet with people youmTI $26 amazon com time aCTually doing iT know sans fees $7 app IoriOS and Android ol T 6ese-book aLTJT $16 amalOncom gel1ingresurscom oTtree STickKcom

$17 amazoncom

ing and bitting lBotati ng I be exact are (ar more powerful prOOlctOQ inside a lAlulsville botel far from

muscles requiredand strengthen shy orwho succeeds a nd whg fal l his famitv and friends Through ing them During hisjunioryear Self-disclpllnel and nol g Mng Mp rehab he had regained use ofbis

inhighscbool professional scoots w hen obstacles arise actually amp bands be bad moved t bere to par watched him Ihrow oj x in n logs in nlllcantI out predlCt fQ on evory ticipate in locomotor training

the sWe playoff allow ing one bi1 mOllSu reorachlovoment Iveever rehabilitation at the Kentucky Spimiddot

and no runs their radar guns regshy _n lndudlnsest seo_and colshy nal Cord Research Center run by Isterlng pilches more Iban 90 mph Susan Harkema a PhD who had~ In bissenior year begot olfers Halvorson bas identified varimiddot worked with Christopher Reeve from universllies and tbe pros He ous key faclors for successful goal shy Seient ists such as Harkema accepted ascbolarsblp to 0 regon setting and she says Summers now realize that our spines

State wbich won tbe Pac lo cbamshy family recipe nailed tbem all are a lot smarter Iban people pionsb ip the follow ing year once Ibougbt No mere pipe middot

Some mIgbt say Ibat Summers A FTEB THE ACCIDENT lines between brain and muscle

accomplishments came from a Summers was so Ihey re packed witb interneushy

lucky star or his Ionate abiUlies focused on getting bet shy rons- cells that organize the messhy

Bulability says Halvorson 1s ler tbat wben be moved from Oreshy sages from our se nsory nerves

gtt justonesmall pieceortbepuzzle gon to Kentucky be didot even and conlrol mosl ofour unconshyResean h nhOWA jbat etrorS pmisshy bring bis spiralmiddotbound ootebook sc ious action Your spinal cord tenee commItment and the slrl shy witb bimBy tbe faU of2ooS be pl ys aleading role every time egl you use 10 r l3Cb your goal was 22 and living in an aparlmenl you scratch you r arm sbi It in

r UALItt 101 SPIRIT 73

Goal Getters

The first step to attaining your desires

is knowing what you desire Thats why

the self-improvement classic It Works tells

you to write down the things and conditions

you really want in order of priority

Got it Good Now do you find

yourself saying one of these things below

Read on for solutions

I know uacUy what1want But 111be honest-it8 juatnotf_sible

TIn TWS GoalsOnTrack web-based sofTware

lll)W1TM~Youraims

need To be SMART or Speshy

cihc MeasurableAnainshyable RealisTic and Timely GoalsOnTrack prompTS you TO

creaTe short- and long-Term goals using These CnTeria The

web-based sofTWare provides Time-keeping and Journal funcllOns To log your goalshy

seeking acTivity and il can email you reminders for bOTh one-Time and recurring tasks

a bullmiddotT1T$ 58 yearly 50-day money back guarantee goasonrrackcom

your seal or shool a perrecl Ihreeshypointer without having 10 reaUy Ihlnk aboul il Whats more Ihe spishynal cord 18 capwle or re-learnlng Animals with compleely severed cords have been (rained In labs to stand or even walk by having their II mbs manipu laled for I hem u nW Ihe cords learn 10 do It on Iheir own

Every day ror more Ihan ayear Summers wenl 10 Harkemas lab at Ihe University of Lou isvllle He worked oul wllh various strengthenshying devices or he was strapped Inlo a harness Ihatsupported his weighl over a IreadmUl whlle lab asslslanls moved his limbs Hegolstronger Bul after ayearofimprovemen( he plaleaued He didnt improve His dreams or walking again and even standing seemed 10 have vanished permanenlly

Summers had a well-deserved re putation ror being oplimistic and emotionally even-keeled In high school he was his roolball learns

His mother could tell that something was wrong She reminded him of the family recipe Take it to heartshe said Once you doyoull be fine kicker and one game came down to a81ngle field goal Irhe mls8ed it theyd lose Irhe made It Iheyd win He looked so calm slrldlngonlo the field Ihat h Is coach smacked his helshyme as he went by Summers Ihe coach said Ir I didnt know any beshyter Id Ihlnkyou were a polhead Summers made Ihe field goal

Now however he fell as down as he ever had In his Ilfe His beallhshyinsurance money ran oul and (he research projecl with Harkema ended By November or2008 he had nothing (0 do bulsleep late walch television and stare out Ihe Window at (be cold and (he rain

His mother could tell over Ihe

Welcome to Atlanta SouthwestAi

Oncuou do youll he llne Sha emalled hlm ascan oCheold It Works namp b let

After he reread Ihe pamphle Summers wheeled himselrout or h is apartmenl and down to his car I was raining out He hated doing errands In Ihe rain He had10 open (he car door holsl himseIrIn(o his chair detach Ihe wheels put Ihem on (he seat beside bim do Ihe same wllh Ihe rest orthe chair Ihen close (he door When I(s raining he gels soaked

This lime he did II willingly He drove down Ihe freeway to an Office Depol and boughI hlmselra blue spiral-bound notebook When be got bome be wrole down new goals and spenl days revising Ihem His grandrathers reCipe lold him 10 conshysider a widespeclrum including

were taking global air travel to new heightsl The Maynard H Jackson Jr International Tenninal opens next spring and is designed with passenger comfort and convenience in mind stateshyof-the-art fadl~ worlGshyclass concessions no more baggage rechedc and nearly 80 destinations in more than 50 countries make this Americas new global

gateway

_ Hartsfield-Jackson AdlntlllMemltion1 A~rport

l~~

famlly comnlUnlly and helping olhers This process made him realize why he was depressed He had become 100 focused onjust one goal orgetting better 1need a life he told hlnlselr I canljust be a lab rat

Halvorson Ihe psychologist

says numerous1raquodies ~bgw that If-orlen(ed goaJsoften rail to Proshyduce baoplneas (peM d Waberi (9 Q 1W middotftggaWtbat ru lAl th re ~lg human geeds relaypo 2he people around us ampsem or competence and I be freedom 10 pursue our own cbok es

Summers broke dow n his longshylerm goals Inlo manageable daily lasks suc h as exercising his thigh muscles for I Vo hoursThis comshybination or dally tasks and longshylerm goals gives me a sense of purpose he says And when vou have asetlSito( pu-rpose in lite jt

m akE you a happier individuaL Instead or freaking out I can relax because I know exactly where Im going10 he In five years

He started getting up in Ihe mornlngagaln Hespenl more hours In Ihagym He read more He me an Investmenl expert who taughl him day lrading which made him reelintellectushyally active again He taughl Ihe mechaniCS ofpilchingand hit shyling to a group oflocal kids one of whom was signed by the Red Sox

Then Susan Harkema called bimlnlo her office

She told Summers about a projecl she was working on wllh Reggie Edgerton a spinal-eord researcher at UCLA They wanlshyed 10 Iry a device simHar (0 one Ihat Edgerton had used successshyfully on lab a nimalsCalled an epidural stimulator il consists of anarray ofsurglcaUy implanted eleclrodes E-dgerton describes Ihe device as a hearing aid for Ihespishynal cord I lurns uplhe volunle In Ihe nervoUS system making il more poS8ible for Ihose lnterDeu-

IRIF tIIIH DAL DEN DFW tAH JfIC lAX LGA IICI IlCO OIC ORD PHL PHX PIT STL

USE THIS COUPON NOW AT ALL LOCATIONS IN THE PAR~ING SPOT NfTWORf( For directions and more irrlormation go to wwwnrtiasotcDI11

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rons to communlcate Harken epl 101 ned (0 Sumshy

mers why she thought hed be pershyreet ror(hls Thanks to his reInshyvigorated tratnlng regimen he was very fit He had great support Cram ramily In case (he procedure didnt work And the bad luck or plateauing was actually good luck It meant thai any positive results arter the operation would clearly

be linked (0 the stimulator Was he lnterested

Summers met with (hedoc(ors on the research (eam They (old him to assume (hat the stlmulator wouldnt work at aU Even ICIt did they said It would tlike (hree to five years berore hed beable to stand on his own He had to understand no person with his degree ofpara1shyysis had ever stood on his own

A LEE DELLON MD PhD FACS

THE DELLON INSTITUTES

WoRldRENOIVNEd fOR lis AbiliTy TO REliEVE NERVE pAiN

DR DEltON laquoiVES lOPE TO lOSE SUffERiNlaquo fROM

bull NEUROPATHY PLUS NERVE COMPRESSION DIAOETES (J-jEIvIOTHERAPY OR UNKNOWN CAUltE

bull JOINT PAIN KNEE WRIST ANKLE OR ltHOIJLDER

bull COMPLEX REGIONAL PAIN SYNDROME (RSD)

bull GROIN PAIN HERNIA HYSTERECTOMY OR ENDOltCOPY

bull PELVIC PAIN

bull MIGRAINE HEADACHES

bull NERVE PAIN AFTER NERVE INJ URY OR lt URGERY

PAIN CAN BE RpoundlIEVED DOWNlOAd T~F C~PTER ON YOUR pIN pRoblEM fROM DR DElloNs book fREE

wwwDELLONcom 1122 Kenilworth Dri Suit 18 I Towson MD 21204

And even ICthat worked It might tlike ampnother five yeamplt oCtherapy berore he could take aSlejgt-1C he was Incredibly lucky And (hesurshygery Itselfcarrled rlsksorpermashynentharm

Would 1let my son do It onesurgeon said to him I dont know

Summers said middotIes do It

Y OU HAVE TO document this friend lo Oregon said to him His rriend

c Ued a 24-year-ltgtld actress and screenwriter named Rachael OBrien She round a camera crew and new with them to Louisville She met Summers the day berore the surgery

On December 72009 Sumshymers was wheeled into an opershyating room lined with 58 doctors and researchers lo white coats and surgical masksIt remlnded me ofgoing through thegaunllet of cheerleaders before a football ganle he says The head surgeon spoke tothethrong Ladies and gentlemen we are about to witshyness hislory In a six-hour operashytion they opened him up and implanted the sUmulator along with apower packThey turned thedeviceup to 10 Summers legs began bicycling on the table

He spent the next two-and-ashyhaU weeks Iy ing in h is apart men t and waiting for the incision to heal OBrien and her film crew slept there too on bloW-Up matshytresses Summers had bought at Costco For the tl rsltlnle slocelbe hit-and-run his back hurt ln some ways agood thing hesays As the group cooked meals and played v Jdeo games they got to know each other and somethlog happened between Summers and OBrien

Id never met anyone like him hesayaHe was not your typlshycal23-year-ltgtld He seemed more mature 1 really admired Wsdrlve

The research team waltedimpashylientiy until the day atterChristshymas to get Summers back loto the labandturnon thesllmulator

Thai tlrst time Harkemas assisshytant turned on thestimulator s power source Implanted under thesklnabove his hlp Summers instantly began napping around His legs tingled 1lke when your leg has gone to sleepand wakes up agalo he says -Not painful But not pleasant

On daytwo he sat lo thelabon a bed his legs dangllng over the side The assistant (urned on the powerSummers legs kicked in a walldng pattern which he didnt control

On day three the researchers put him in a harness thai supshyported his weight over a treadmill Agalo he was switched on Hed been lo the harness many tloles before the surgery At first it bad supported him entirely A fier a year ortherapy he was able to supshyport himselCby 60 percent But without the harness he siU would have collapsed This time with the stimulator firing the researchshyers gradually reduced the support They got the harness down (0 40

percent support-the maximum he had acbieved before surgery A nd they kept going 30 percent 20 10 At zero Summers still slood just three assistants helping himhalance Let go Harkema told them They let go

T HEIIBcIPsect Crgmi9b

~ Suwmeplt wnd (uber Instruc(ed him 10set

higboptlmlsle goais Wtwn your brain deteds abIB dlscroe ancy between where you are now

and whereyru want to says Halvorson -It throws rosourc(S at It sucb asattenUon and effort otten w Rhout you reallzlng It ChallengtnggOJ8 mean more resou which In turn m8iLn greater success

8773355661

rons to communlcate Harken epl 101 ned (0 Sumshy

mers why she thought hed be pershyreet ror(hls Thanks to his reInshyvigorated tratnlng regimen he was very fit He had great support Cram ramily In case (he procedure didnt work And the bad luck or plateauing was actually good luck It meant thai any positive results arter the operation would clearly

be linked (0 the stimulator Was he lnterested

Summers met with (hedoc(ors on the research (eam They (old him to assume (hat the stlmulator wouldnt work at aU Even ICIt did they said It would tlike (hree to five years berore hed beable to stand on his own He had to understand no person with his degree ofpara1shyysis had ever stood on his own

A LEE DELLON MD PhD FACS

THE DELLON INSTITUTES

WoRldRENOIVNEd fOR lis AbiliTy TO REliEVE NERVE pAiN

DR DEltON laquoiVES lOPE TO lOSE SUffERiNlaquo fROM

bull NEUROPATHY PLUS NERVE COMPRESSION DIAOETES (J-jEIvIOTHERAPY OR UNKNOWN CAUltE

bull JOINT PAIN KNEE WRIST ANKLE OR ltHOIJLDER

bull COMPLEX REGIONAL PAIN SYNDROME (RSD)

bull GROIN PAIN HERNIA HYSTERECTOMY OR ENDOltCOPY

bull PELVIC PAIN

bull MIGRAINE HEADACHES

bull NERVE PAIN AFTER NERVE INJ URY OR lt URGERY

PAIN CAN BE RpoundlIEVED DOWNlOAd T~F C~PTER ON YOUR pIN pRoblEM fROM DR DElloNs book fREE

wwwDELLONcom 1122 Kenilworth Dri Suit 18 I Towson MD 21204

And even ICthat worked It might tlike ampnother five yeamplt oCtherapy berore he could take aSlejgt-1C he was Incredibly lucky And (hesurshygery Itselfcarrled rlsksorpermashynentharm

Would 1let my son do It onesurgeon said to him I dont know

Summers said middotIes do It

Y OU HAVE TO document this friend lo Oregon said to him His rriend

c Ued a 24-year-ltgtld actress and screenwriter named Rachael OBrien She round a camera crew and new with them to Louisville She met Summers the day berore the surgery

On December 72009 Sumshymers was wheeled into an opershyating room lined with 58 doctors and researchers lo white coats and surgical masksIt remlnded me ofgoing through thegaunllet of cheerleaders before a football ganle he says The head surgeon spoke tothethrong Ladies and gentlemen we are about to witshyness hislory In a six-hour operashytion they opened him up and implanted the sUmulator along with apower packThey turned thedeviceup to 10 Summers legs began bicycling on the table

He spent the next two-and-ashyhaU weeks Iy ing in h is apart men t and waiting for the incision to heal OBrien and her film crew slept there too on bloW-Up matshytresses Summers had bought at Costco For the tl rsltlnle slocelbe hit-and-run his back hurt ln some ways agood thing hesays As the group cooked meals and played v Jdeo games they got to know each other and somethlog happened between Summers and OBrien

Id never met anyone like him hesayaHe was not your typlshycal23-year-ltgtld He seemed more mature 1 really admired Wsdrlve

The research team waltedimpashylientiy until the day atterChristshymas to get Summers back loto the labandturnon thesllmulator

Thai tlrst time Harkemas assisshytant turned on thestimulator s power source Implanted under thesklnabove his hlp Summers instantly began napping around His legs tingled 1lke when your leg has gone to sleepand wakes up agalo he says -Not painful But not pleasant

On daytwo he sat lo thelabon a bed his legs dangllng over the side The assistant (urned on the powerSummers legs kicked in a walldng pattern which he didnt control

On day three the researchers put him in a harness thai supshyported his weight over a treadmill Agalo he was switched on Hed been lo the harness many tloles before the surgery At first it bad supported him entirely A fier a year ortherapy he was able to supshyport himselCby 60 percent But without the harness he siU would have collapsed This time with the stimulator firing the researchshyers gradually reduced the support They got the harness down (0 40

percent support-the maximum he had acbieved before surgery A nd they kept going 30 percent 20 10 At zero Summers still slood just three assistants helping himhalance Let go Harkema told them They let go

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~ Suwmeplt wnd (uber Instruc(ed him 10set

higboptlmlsle goais Wtwn your brain deteds abIB dlscroe ancy between where you are now

and whereyru want to says Halvorson -It throws rosourc(S at It sucb asattenUon and effort otten w Rhout you reallzlng It ChallengtnggOJ8 mean more resou which In turn m8iLn greater success

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Optimism bell as well sbe When beaetthe goaJofbepoundQIDmiddot level of detall belped him seetbe Summers practiced standing to seekadvce or guidance from illiury besays I never would says b rhaW t be best predls9pound Ing a pror-loDlLl pitcher for level of work Involved _16 in Harkemas lab for an bOllr per eiiiilN MoreotteD lban -suemiddot bave metaod fallen In love with ofan Indlvlduar8uccesa l8 belfY Io8tante he didlti lOpIbm he Pamp chologlstshavedlseovered I-O~ day Cor the nelot six monthsThen ~ DlIIItlJl ehang1iliSlsectiiiii my glrllriend And this proce middot gtlllllllyoudont htve the abllmiddot aslle98ed what would be ngIlINd that ifour plansare extremely 1 ~ for tbe CoUowlng ix months he 0nslJi8wax 10 adA obstaclel dure could belp mUlions oC people bl now you Cftp FlRttbeahy C and determined thaL he needed 8pecl1lC they dOUble the chance if~ tI worked 00 learning how to take you didnl plan fqrmiddot aroundtbeworld Tbis is bigger you wprk bm Dpd dop1 p xelJp Ih_YJ)lI of pltdes Then be ~Thls lB really key ~ steps with support Today he (Sucb as a bltandmiddotrun) than baseball thiB iB achance to on Y9U8eICN broke down tbe ex steps bed Halvorson saysmiddotPeople roullnely practices 00 hiB own In theguest It look away roy lifelong goal give people bope

Summers nlother had ~ need 10 develop lhose pitches and faU 10 Iblnk about Ibesteps tbey room ofa Los Angeles apartment and dream ofbelnga baseball him tg w ptk tmckwards [rom hJs organized Ibem Inlo five middotyear w III need to take to aclually make he shares with Racbael OBrien player Summers says But In Writer NathanietReadlt1isthe

goal breaking them dawn Iolq one-year sLmiddotmonth hree middotmontb success bappen SJlIClficity iB In the room that now serves as an odd way be realJzes thai it authoroMake It Nice anevel ve ry fDfCflcsect] ltega i and iel montbly and weekly goals This essenllalotherwlse tbecrlt leal his oflce and gym he turns on was also good luc k Without the aboutjlea11l4Tketl smelts a1idove

acUoRsmadop get IAken thestlmuiatorwith a remote conmiddot AUofwblcb belpedRob troL Ilff8 bimselfCrom hiB chair

Summers meet tbe goals he set Intoacootraplion ofmelal pipes througbollt life But tbegoals In and work on standing and slepmiddot turn gave him a habit of mind and ping Even when the stimulator is a faith- faith In himself and in turned otl(hes only allowed to run

weU It Works author RHJ calls it it for two hours per day) thereiB tbe Great Power RHJ also calls It evidence that biB health has drasmiddot Emmanuel which iB Hebrew for IIcally Improved His hearl rate is God is with us belter Hes stronger He can Dow

feel when his bladder iB lull He

W HEN THE assistants breathes moreeasUy and will be let go Summers able 10 have childreo naturally remained standing In tbeopposile COrner ofthe

For the first time evera person room sits a desk bearing an array paralyzed from the chest down oftlve computer screenS for day

tradlng alongwith his blue spimiddot raJmiddotbound notebook~I

be analyzes whetherhe meh ls ~ gJBpoundr the dllfand 11 nsLwbat hacan d odl1lerenUr Lrlwrenot

ro-newclreumstanoos hesav8 A few months later SlImmers youre Dot doinS It r ig hi

was In the lab stimulator on Again Halvorson agrees~ wben Harkemagrew annoyed not enough tojust monitor prOB-Summers and one of the traloers 1e88sheS3vs you need t9 k2 OVERSEAS MANUFACTURING were giggling whUe she was trymiddot assessing litasklng yoorseltwbat ISNT AS SCARYAS YOU THINKIng to concentrate She harked at YQUI doip g right and where t hem Whats the blgjoke youre gol og wrong Do need m III AmaiCill compllQ) ba~uMLead pcus ~ thr MUng cd

Rob Summers sbowed her He in HnUllnQbnbeal bdfUrlIIUI CUSI~ Cannry ~ quaby icsrcainos

was movlng his toes up and dowlL THE ROBSUHHERS FOUNDATION IMllampdiaLW fPOds Ja CbW flY nvu raquo produIkD finm clDg LCturln~ ~PPnamp

Harkema exclaimed omemiddot In 2011 Summers began a namesallte ~- booalog profits and ~~g coo cwt~ ckUIOcr Mld ddh~) jac Yflll

Wr-c III1lncbd ltE ID)SlCIks rI linJtn pay rrlaquolril18 limit II pmJua R rruifgt01 ithing unprintableShe barked foundaTion under The umbrella of The

cultures 11111 aod LrAdc cu~tnm ~IIT koUrlfll llh rntptt Ud Il~ rlFPltdorderlt Lift your left toe Now ChriSTopher Reeve foundaTion The crnuo ~~l wowuflllttUllllJ~ w ith ruU-Li~ m emr~ ~ In your right toer Sbe was trying to Rob Summers foundalion coni rib uTeS nvu domcsbUy ptnd~ gmdt 1M nut aLo~ MlIbttbsl ~ liD Chlol m will teU whether he could truly control The bulk of iTS donalions To research cliulJ hae ~ aad UnJUTlvlng tJe11l )00 ub dctllI ttl 00 oveociU

tbe motiOIL He could His brain and illoffer more people The opporshy dr1J yD~ mD - wltboot atampIa tbe ql1liUty or

was commllnlcatlng with hiB leg TuniTy TO benefiT from The Therapy Thai m bilndlrJ bull lhr IUS J~h bull cellJbk ~rr-Iy nf yOW (lIOdw1 CUtrd2y

muscles Mavbe the spinal cord has PUT Summers back on his feeT f or filtJdq tho P rad ltI ar~IlfJlNtcqoci- had reorganized itseLrarollnd tbe more Informallonor 10donale 10 the

Injury site or maybe new nellrons organization Visit robmsummers com hadgrowu or chrlslopherreeveorg ill

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