The Journey . . . my second chance

Some video footage is being added to youtube - go to the site and enter the key words "Don Worley paralyzed" in the search bar to see my videos -  YouTube Videos

Florida Times-Union 11/19/08 - Paralyzed vet from St. Johns meets Oprah 

Florida Times-Union 11/18/08 - Paralyzed St. Johns cyclist rolls into Chicago 

The Dickson Herald / The Tennessean.com 11/14/08 - Handcylist spins message in Dickson visit 

Photos on Elaine Flynn's Flickr site, published 11/14/08 - Don in Benton County, IN

World News Network 11/9/08 - Cheers: Tragedy to Triumph 

St. Johns Sun 11/8/08 (Saturday insert in the Florida Times-Union) - Give him a hand

On the B.A.D.D. website - B.A.D.D. link 

The Huntsville Times 11/4/08 - Pedaling for a cause

The Anniston Star 11/1/08 - Cyclist hoping to raise awareness with journey

CNN iReport 10/31/08 - Paralyzed Veteran's Journey

WALB - Channel 10 news in Albany, GA 10/25/08 - "Thankful for a second chance"

NBC Action News KSHB-TV - Riding on Hands for a Cause

WJCT radio 10/22/08 - listen to the audio on the site WJCT radio

Florida Times-Union article 10/22/08 - 'Impossible' dreamer has Oprah in his sites

Florida Times-Union photos 10/22/08 - Don Worley Leaves Jacksonville 

Jacksonville Daily Record article 10/22/08 - On his way to meet Oprah

First Coast News television story 10/21/08 - Local Vet Pedaling to Bring Awareness to Underage Drinking

First Coast News video 10/21/08 - Local Vet Pedaling to Bring Awareness to Underage Drinking

WOKV radio 10/21/08 - Paralyzed Veteran Attempts Amazing Journey

Florida Times-Union article 8/11/08 - Cinderella Man

Florida Times-Union video 8/11/08 - Don Worley's Mission

Paralyzed Veterans of America - the PVA is a wonderful organization dedicated to helping paralyzed veterans, both service- and non-service connected. They're providing funding to cover some of the expenses of my trip.

Bikers Against Drunk Drivers - B.A.D.D. has offered a significant pledge upon completion of my trip.

Anytime Fitness - Anytime Fitness at Bartram Oak Walk in Julington Creek lets me train at their facility for free. They've also given a significant discount to the rest of the family. AND they're holding a Health Day event to raise money for my trip.

Open Road Bicycles - Open Road Bicycles of Jacksonville is providing tubes and other repair-related items for my bike.

Jameson Inn - Jameson Inn is comping hotel rooms for me wherever they have a hotel along my route (total of 9 of my stops, 2 of which are 2-night stays because of my rest days).

Hilton Garden Inn - The Hilton Garden Inn is comping hotel rooms for me in several places along my route.

Hampton Inn - The Hampton Inn is comping hotel rooms for me in a number of places (8 nights total).

Sign-a-Rama - The Sign-a-Rama on San Jose Blvd., Jacksonville is providing significantly discounted signage to display sponsor names and other messages on my "pace" vehicle.

Thank you many times over to the wonderful people at the Northwoods Hearty Home Cookin' & Saloon in Schererville, IN, particularly Jeff Fryzel (owner) and Karyn Sheets (manager). We were treated like royalty in this restaurant, and the food was wonderful.  

Many thanks to Sam Holt and his team at The Bicycle Center in Clarksville, TN for repairing my bike on Friday, November 7th. These guys were fantastic - did a great job fixing my bike and then test-drove it to make sure it functioned properly. Because of them, I'm still on schedule.

Thanks to Eric Kreger from Sunrise Medical  for over-nighting gear cables to my hotel in Clarksville, TN all at no charge! Sunrise Medical is a distributor for Quickie, the company that made my bike, the Quickie Shark-S 

Thanks to Antonio Johnson, General Manager of the Hampton Inn in Douglas, GA for helping me out with a room when my plans fell through. THANK YOU!

Thanks so much to the Elks Lodge in Tarpon Springs for holding a second fundraiser to help cover the expenses of my upcoming trip to Chicago. Special "thank you" to my brother, Mike and his wife for preparing the food, to Bill and Nancee Laursen for planning and running the event, and to Andy Gonzalez and his band for playing some great music.

Thanks to Loco Logos  for providing wristbands at cost.

Thanks to Christy at Karate America on San Jose Blvd. for helping with our fundraising efforts by letting us display wristbands at the school and collecting donations.

To keep up with the latest on stem cell treatment in China, check out Stemcellschina .

You can find interesting information about ongoing clinical trials at China SCI Network .

Dr. Martin Marsala and the University of California at San Diego (USCD) have done some very interesting research specifically related to spinal ischemia. Check out Dr. Marsala's research .

The patent for Dr. Marsala's stem cell delivery technology has been picked up by Neuralstem. This is pretty interesting stuff. Neuralstem wants to start clinical trials this year. Click on the "Transplantation" link on the site to see a cool video.

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation was founded by a true hero - please visit the site of the individual who is personally responsible for the crusade to find a spinal cord injury cure. Without him, we wouldn't have seen so many advances in research and treatment. When we lost him, we lost an amazing human being. His wife was no less a hero, giving him her undying love and support, and carrying on the Foundation until her own untimely death.

NTAF  's Catastrophic Injury Program is helping me with fundraising efforts and will provide a way for contributors to make tax-deductible contributions. Visit their site to find out how they may be able to help you with your fundraising.

Wheelchair Nation will inspire you. Here, you'll find numerous personal stories and links to websites that will show you what it means to overcome adversity.