The Marathon Miracle

BOSTON, MA (March 12, 2004) – This April, a young man named Jack Shadduck plans to bicycle 26.2 miles–completing the same distance as the thousands of runners of the Boston Marathon.  Why is it a miracle?  Because Jack is paralyzed from the neck down. Shadduck will complete his FES marathon over three days, April 13-15.

Until recently, the medical community would have said that people with spinal cord injuries could never regain any movement or feeling in their paralyzed bodies.  Jack Shadduck, along with others, are proving otherwise.

In May 2002, Jack—now a 15-year old honor student at Braintree (MA) High School—was struck with Transverse Myelitis, a rare inflammation of the spinal column, that has left the Massachusetts native a quadriplegic—paralyzed from the neck down—unable even to breathe without the support of a ventilator.  People with extreme paralysis like Jack suffer from many other health problems, ranging from osteoporosis to infections, resulting in repeated hospitalizations. 

Since September 2003, Jack’s been working to improve his health overall and regain some mobility through a pilot project called The First Five, sponsored by The Massachusetts Hospital School and the Northeast Spinal Cord Initiative (NESCI)*, a Travis Roy Foundation supported initiative. He and three other spinal cord injured patients spend 3 evenings a week in an intensive, focused exercise program with coaching and supervision from an athletic trainer and a specialty nurse.  The program includes riding a specially adapted exercise bike that uses electrodes placed on the rider’s legs and buttocks to contract their muscles, and enable them to work out.

After six months in this innovative program, Jack breathes without a ventilator for as long as 5 days in a row, can lift his left arm, and move several of his toes.  For Jack, maybe the most important accomplishment is that he is now able to move both his arms back and forth enough to soon be able to use a joystick to steer his wheelchair, giving him much more control than using his mouth as he does now with a sip-and-puff device.

In April, Jack is determined to “bicycle” the Boston Marathon to raise funds so more young people like him can participate in the program that has helped him achieve so much.  Jack’s looking for people willing to sponsor his “Marathon Miracle.”  Whether it’s a nickel a mile from one of his younger brother’s elementary school classmates, or $1000 a mile from a corporation that respects the kind of determination Jack’s showing, every penny will go directly towards growing The First Five project. 

The goal is to raise $500,000 to grow the program from four participants to 40.  Funds are needed to purchase equipment, hire full-time staff, and lease space.  Contributions may be mailed to: Travis Roy Foundation/NESCI, c/o Palmer & Dodge LLP, 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA  02199-7613. Checks in support of NESCI & Jack Shadduck's marathon should be written to "Travis Roy Foundation f/b/o NESCI".

For more information about Jack Shadduck's "Marathon Miracle", please contact Susan Sheehy at (617) 754-2332 or susan_sheehy@shepherd.org . Information can also be found online in NESCI's web site (www.nesci.us) or the Travis Roy Foundation web site (www.travisroyfoundation.org).

The First Five: A pilot project initiated by the Northeast Spinal Cord Initiative, sponsored by the Massachusetts Hospital School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and partially funded by The Travis Roy Foundation and a grant from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.  The program is run by Susan Sheehy, MSN, RN, FAAN,.a nurse researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a doctoral student at the Boston College William F. Connell School of Nursing.  The goal of the program is to assess the results of the high-intensity, focused exercise program on health, functional improvement and complication reduction for adolescents and adults with spinal cord injuries.  The six key measures are improvement in muscle mass, bone density, motor, sensory , cardiovascular function, and reduction of complications.

Northeast Spinal Cord Initiative (NESCI): The ultimate goal of NESCI is to establish a spinal cord injury center that is state of the art, with cutting edge programs specific to the ages of the patients, that includes family immersion into care of their loved one, opportunities for research participation, and extension into the community with lifetime programs for spinal cord injured people.

The Travis Roy Foundation:  The Travis Roy Foundation was established to help spinal cord injury survivors and to fund research into a cure. Inspired by Travis' own story, the lifeblood of the Travis Roy Foundation has been the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations across North America. This generosity has made an immediate impact on the lives of many individuals. Since 1997 the Foundation has distributed more than $1,000,000 in individual grants and to research projects and rehabilitation institutions across North America. The Foundation is also actively involved in efforts to build a state of the art spinal cord center in Northeast through its Northeast Spinal Cord Initiative (NESCI).

* formerly known as New England Spinal Cord Initiative