Man Turns Tragic Paralysis Into Life's Work

By RICH McHUGH and LAUREN SHER

Six years ago, Janne Kouri was told he would never walk again after a freak accident diving into the ocean paralyzed him from the neck down, fracturing his spinal cord in two places.

Rather than take his devastating diagnosis at face value, Kouri never gave up hope, teaching his spine to function again, and reached milestones in his recovery doctors thought he'd never see: first, wiggling his toes, then gaining enough function in his legs to walk with a walker, and most recently, standing up on his own without a walker in February 2012.

"It's true that if you stay focused and work every single day, you really can do whatever you set your mind to," Kouri, 37, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., said in an interview with Robin Roberts in February 2012 after standing on his own for the first time. "The sky's the limit. We'll be walking one day soon."

Turning his tragedy into a life's work, Kouri started NextStep Fitness, a non-profit rehab facility in Los Angeles to help those with paralysis and other disabilities get affordable, cutting-edge training.

Therapy known as "loco-motor training," which teaches the spinal cord how to control motor functions like walking, through repetitive motion, helped Kouri get back on his feet, but his treatment options weren't always so bright.

After the Aug. 2006 accident, Kouri nearly died, twice, but his resolve only strengthened. With support from his now wife, Susan Kouri, who stayed at his side through it all, the two set out to find treatment options and decided to move to Louisville, Ky., to receive the intensive therapy at the Frazier Rehabilitation Institute - the only place where it was offered.

Loco-motor training has helped hundreds of spinal cord injury victims, including the late actor Christopher Reeve, who was among the first test subjects, but it was not available in California or anywhere west of the Mississippi, Kouri said.

"We brought this to my father and my family and my friends saying 'Hey, we need to do something about the situation. I can't find the type of treatment and rehab that I want in California," he said. "That means that nobody there can," he said.

Kouri's story of determination and strength first appeared on "Good Morning America" in July 2009.

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Man Turns Tragic Paralysis Into Life's Work