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| Features |
| Precision Karting Technologies Supporting Paralyzed Karter in Reaching His Dreams |
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 | Michael Johnson is looking to gain the feeling and mobility in his legs again with a spinal cord surgery schedule for September in Portugal
(Photo: ptkaxles.com) |
The following is a letter from Precision Karting Technologies about a young karter - Michael Johnson - who is looking to regain the feeling and movement in his legs once again following a dirt bike incident 2005. Johnson has been seen karting events across the eastern half of the United States recently, in the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup Series and many other regional and club programs near his home in Michigan. Johnson moved into the Senior category this season and recently earned a victory at the Grosse Ile Grand Prix with the Great Lakes Pro Series and Michigan Kart Club.
Michael Johnson, of Mt. Morris, Michigan, began his racing career in 2003 at the age of 10. He started on a 65cc dirt bike and within a few years was traveling around the U.S. and Canada competing in national events on a 250cc bike. In August of 2005, while racing in Sarnia, Canada, he crashed through a wooden fence and broke his back in two places. After being rushed to Children’s Hospital in Detroit, where he spent three months recovering from a spinal cord injury, it was eventually determined that he would never walk again as the injuries had paralyzed him from the waist down.
But wait….as many of you know, racing gets into your blood.
After spending 2006 in bed on his stomach, Michael, only 13 years-old at the time, knew that he needed to race. In April of 2007, Michael entered his first race since the accident, only this time around it was in a kart. Thanks to hand controls on his steering wheel, which allowed him to brake and accelerate , as well as a relentless pit crew that carries him from his wheelchair to his kart before each track session, Michael has become an inspiration to his fellow racers. I know this first hand, as I had the privilege of pitting next to him at the Windsor Gran Prix in 2008.
As determined as Michael is to race, his family is equally determined to do all that is possible to give him the opportunity to walk again. On September 5, 2009, Michael, along with his mother Kathi and a family friend, will fly to Lisbon, Portugal, where Michael will under go extensive spinal cord surgery. Dr. Carlos Lima will use Michael’s own harvested stem cells and place them in the area of his spinal cord injury. The results they are hoping for is that, after extensive rehabilitation, Michael will once again be able to walk.
Speaking with Michael and his father Tim, at the 2009 Grosse Ile Grand Prix last month, I again continued to be inspired. Remove the wheelchair from the picture, and Michael is your typical 16 year-old. He will be a Junior this year in high school and while his goals still include the usual stuff (i.e.; a ride in an Indy car, a girlfriend and better math grades), his real hope is that when he graduates in June 2011, he will be able to walk across the stage to receive his diploma.
The family is hosting a Benefit Golf Outing & Auction on August 14 at Swartz Creek Golf Course in Flint, to raise money for travel and rehabilitation expenses. If anyone is interested in helping Michael and his family, please click on the link below:
http://www.pktaxles.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PKTS&Category_Code=MJ |
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