WHS 5K to Benefit Accident Victim's Rehab

It's been a long journey back for former Windham resident Timothy Morris since he was thrown from his Jeep Grand Cherokee on July 20, 2007.

Since the incident, Morris has been rehabilitating from a T4 spinal cord injury (SCI) where he was paralyzed from the waist down.

Although Morris is now a Hudson resident, the Timothy Morris Rehabilitation Fund has announced a Windham-based 5K run/walk event scheduled to take place on August 11.

Race Director Lisa Cote, who referred to Morris as a "very great friend" in a message to Windham Patch, wrote about his hard work to recover from the damaging accident:

(Tim) represents dedication and perseverance through constant hard work, passion, and turning a negative into a positive. Prior to his accident, Tim had just finished his master’s degree in Kinesiology-Pedagogy (Physical Education) and was a personal trainer. He spent a month in the intensive care unit recovering from brain swelling and near-fatal pneumonia, as well as his T4 “complete” injury (complete loss of function and sensation below the chest-level injury). But Tim has never looked back. In the five years since, he has redeveloped the ability to crawl, regaining partial movement through his hips, and is working on the ability to stand hands-free. Tim wakes up at 3 a.m. to prepare for the day and does self-taught water therapy. He also works with an exercise physiologist friend several times a week, and together they have produced incredible returns in function for an injury this severe.

Tim refuses to let the injury hold him back from the world he loves. He strives to be “the hardest working person you know” in 2012. Along with his own physical progression, just this year he earned the title of Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and works to inspire others that experience similar traumatic accidents and their families to comfort and know that a spinal cord injury is not the end of the world.

Morris also chronicles his journey through a Tumblr account, which was updated just yesterday for the Fourth of July. The page, titled "A Brand New Focus," features YouTube videos and photos of his rehab along with inspirational quotes and posters.

The race/walk will kick off at 9 a.m. at Windham High School.

Windham has now become home to many fundraising road races, with this first annual event becoming the fourth major race to be held in 2012.

Those who are interested in sponsoring the race should contact Cote at Lisa.cote@pfnolunks.com for more details.