Walking With Anthony
Our podcast is hosted on Anchor
But you can listen in most places such as: Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Radio Republic.
In the late morning of February 6, 2010, Anthony Purcell dove into the waters of Miami Beach, something he'd done many times before without incident. This time, he misjudged the depth of his landing spot, broke his neck, and bruised the C5 and C6 vertabrae in his spine. He injured his spinal cord. He was paralyzed, unable to resurface from the water on his own.
Thanks to the quick rescue efforts of his cousin Bernie who pulled him from the waters and the emergency personnel who quickly arrived at the scene, Anthony's life was saved. But his life would never be the same.
Physical rehabilitation commenced soon after. Initial, intensive rehab at a dedicated facility typically requires an average of 3 to 6 months for a patient with spinal cord injury. Anthony's insurance coverage ran out after 20 days. His case wasn't the exception. It was the norm. Standard insurance, even excellent insurance, simply doesn't cover rehab the way individuals suffering from SCI need it. The Purcell family was shocked, horrified, and instantly committed to doing something about it.
As for Anthony himself, his family was able to afford rehab treatment at another facility. Anthony was one of the few individuals with SCI who was able to continue to receive the treatment he needed and access the equipment and assistance necessary to live beyond the depressing, defeating resignation of accepting the standard medical prognosis: "You're just going to have to get used to living in a wheelchair."
Anthony didn't accept that life sentence. His mother, Micki Purcell, refused even to accept the word paralysis for her son, and she wouldn't accept it for the thousands upon thousands of other people each year who would suffer spinal cord injuries. She founded a charity in Anthony's name, Walking With Anthony, and fueled it with her love and passion for laying a new pathway for people with spinal cord injuries to follow. Her vision and fierce resilience have given Anthony and so many people like him something they needed just as much as therapy: hope.
Even with access to the therapy he needed, Anthony still struggled with the depression and hopelessness everyone with SCI faces. The personal struggle over SCI is more than one person can face alone. Anthony understands the emotional anguish that comes with SCI like no one else can. He has met with hundreds of his brothers and sisters in the SCI community and given them a sense of assurance and purpose they might never find without the help of Anthony and this foundation.
Walking With Anthony has helped Anthony join forces with others trying valiantly to walk the path of living victoriously over the physical, emotional, social, and financial challenges of SCI. and everyone who supports Walking With Anthony joins them on that journey.
Machine Transcription provided by Happyscribe
Walking with Anthony.mp3 - powered by Happy Scribe
Hello, everybody. This is Gustavo, the host of the Enabled Disabled podcast. It is my great pleasure to have Mickey and Anthony Purcell on the show today. Mickey and Anthony started the Walking with Anthony Foundation. They are dedicated to helping people with spinal cord injuries overcome their condition through rehab, mental and mental health and well being. And they are really committed to helping people fulfill their potential and making sure that their recovery is as good as it can possibly be. So quick description of myself. I am a 45 year old Latin American male with short black hair comb to the front. I am sitting in my conference room and wearing a blue Polo. Anthony and Mickey, could you please introduce yourselves briefly?
And thank you so much for being here all the way. Start while I'm sorry for interrupting, my name is Anthony presell. I am wearing a silver Polo. I am in a garage with a treadmill behind me and I am cleanly shaped.
Oh, that's nice. I'm Mickey Purcell. I'm in Newport Beach, California, in my living room. I have blonde hair, I'm absolutely gorgeous, and I'm wearing an Orange top.
Fantastic. So for the people who don't know yet, can you tell us a little bit? Get us into the background of how did walking with Anthony start? And let's dive a little bit deeper into the mission and what you're doing.
Okay. Anthony Dove in the ocean in Miami in February of 2010. He was attending a Super Bowl game in Miami and he drove into a sandbar and he was paralyzed from the neck. I was in La. I got the phone call. I flew. I was there in time for him when he woke up from his surgery and we realized the doctors told us that he would never walk again and he would be paralyzed forever. He had no functionality. When you have this horrific injury, you lose everything. So he was in rehab for 20 days and they tapped me on the shoulder and said, Your insurance is run out. Insurance doesn't cover this horrific injury. I knew nothing about spinal cord injury and we researched and we found a place in San Diego called Project Walk that we got him to immediately. We were very lucky that we got in and he started intensive. What we realized after six months of his rehabilitation is that you can get healthier, stronger, more independent, some walk again. But the sad part is insurance doesn't cover it and it's a very expensive injury. So we were very lucky that our family had the funds to get Anthony progressively till today.
He still works out every day. He works very hard on himself. His whole upper body is back. He could bench £120, he can walk in braces, he could drive a car again. He's married, he runs a company. He got his life back. And you cannot put a price on that. When I was in rehab and talking to these parents that knew nothing because I'm a very strong person. I did a lot of research. I found out what Anthony needed. I decided to start a charity. And I went home and Anthony was still in a very depressed state. And I told him we're going to start a charity. And I knew that would help him. But we started the walk with Anthony Foundation, and we have helped several people. It's very expensive. It's minimum 250,000 a year to get the rehab that you desperately need. And we have helped by fundraising events, help a good amount of people get healthier, stronger, more independent. If you go to our website, you'll hear their stories and where they're at today. But it's very inspiring to help someone. And again, you can't put a price tag. Anthony got very involved.
This was the best thing we ever did for his mental health. He mentors people. He talks about suicide. He motivates them. He visits rehab. He does everything he can to get that person mentally, which is very important physically, as important mentally as equally as important. So we've been pushing along, walking with Dante, making strides, and we're helping as many people as we can. There's so much involved behind the scenes with the disability that the able person has no clue. So there's a lot to learn. I think the medical society has to step up and cover this horrific injury because you can get healthier, stronger and more independent, which you know. And so we had walking with Anthony now for eight years, and we're really excited about helping as many people as we can and getting the word out there. And we're excited to be on this podcast today.
Fantastic. That's a great answer. Anthony, can you tell us a little bit more about I know that I don't want to focus too much on the negative part of things, but as you're going through this depression and I've heard this before from people with spinal cord injuries, when you mentor people now, how do you guide them through those steps? How do you teach them?
What are the most important things that people should know if they're going through this process from a standpoint of somebody who's in my position, they're never happy when it first happens. A lot of people think that when you have a spinal cord injury, that it's all physical, okay, they can't walk and that's it. But it is way more than that when it comes to doing everyday things, like putting on a shirt or brushing your teeth or even just feeling comfortable in a public setting or just having the confidence to see someone that you haven't seen in a while or maybe it's somebody from high school your whole life flips upside down. So the first thing that I tend to tell people is, listen, I know it. I'm not going to sugarcoat it and say that it doesn't suck and that this is going to be easy it's not, but you are lucky enough to have been put in a position to survive that. And now you can basically move forward in a way to where you're going to be able to inspire other people. And I try to tell them the main thing that I tell them is try to celebrate the small victories.
I know that when you get hurt, the first thing you want to do is, okay, I'm going to work out and I want to walk again. My goal is to walk again. Of course, that's everyone's goal, and it should be everyone's goal. However, some of these things take time and it takes hard work and it takes dedication. So the main thing that I tell them is try to keep a positive mindset know that you're going to get through this and celebrate the small victories because the small victories will add up to your happiness and to your life.
Was there somebody there for you, Anthony, when you were going through this that you learned from, or was it something that you had to pick up through the therapist that you were working with, the doctors that you were working with?
Yeah. So first off, I was looking at that a very big support system with my family when it comes to my brother, my father, my immediate family, as well as my cousins, we have a big group of cousins. I had a really fantastic support group. But as far as me learning things along the way, the way I think that I was very lucky to be put into a gym like Project Walk and other rehab facilities that had other patients that were going through the same thing that I was going through. So what I like to do is I like to feed off other people's victories and vice versa. So if I'm sitting there and I'm working out and I'm having a bad day and I'll look to the left of me and I'll see someone else in my position take a stat or get up without having blood pressure issues or just put having a smile on their face, looking like they're getting through something that does inspire me and inspired me back then. I think that it's very important when you are rehabbing to be put in an environment that's positive, where you see other people that are progressing, that are working hard towards the same goal as you, and you learn from those experiences when you are put in a position like that.
When I left Project Walk, I went to a facility in Michigan called Barwise, and this was held up by a guy named Mike Barwise, and he is a strength and conditioning coach for the University of Michigan at that time. And he trains a bunch of professional athletes, whether it be football, NHL, MLB. And what he did was he mixed all of his clients that he trained in. So it didn't matter if you were in a wheelchair. It didn't matter if you had thermal policy. It didn't matter if you were an MVP of the National Football League or defensive and pro Bowler. Everyone worked out together. And what that allowed people like me to see is, wow, I'm sitting here working out, and there's a professional football player over here stopping his workout and coming over and talking to me and inspiring me, saying, hey, keep pushing. You're inspiring me. And then I'm like, wow, okay, I'm feeding off of that and vice versa. So that was a pretty cool experience for me.
That's an absolutely genius idea. I wish more people who trained professional athletes would see that. I've had a lot of those experiences, too, where whether it's playing tennis or swimming, people come up to me and talk to me afterwards and say, wow, you're amazing. And I'm just there to swim. But like you said, it feeds my inspiration to keep doing it and to keep improving and vice versa. I can see a really good swimmer, a really good tennis player. I can still improve. There's still more here that I can do to get better at something.
Absolutely.
That's a terrific idea. Mickey, what advice if you were to distill one or two basic pieces of advice for parents or family friends who have somebody who's going through a spinal cord injury.
The number one thing they have to do is they have to get rehab immediately. The quicker they get rehab, the quicker their recovery. And rehab is very expensive. It's $100 an hour, and I feel for these parents, they have to redo their house. They have to be a full time person. You're like an infant when you have this accident. You need help with everything. I'll never forget Anthony. The first time he brushed his teeth, we all cheered for an hour. Like he said, every little thing rehab and rehab and support. I hear stories where people get hurt and their friends disappear. They need support and they need rehab, and they need to know where to go, what to do. And even if we can't help them financially, they can reach out to us at any time. And I can tell them we know what facilities there are throughout the country. We know where to get a stand up machine. We know where to get an FPS bike. When you're sent home from the hospital and you're kicked to the curb, there's nothing. And that's what I realized. That's why we started walking with Anthony. I wish we get 30 requests a month from people.
It's amazing how many people have these accidents, and we have to pick and choose who we can help. It's horrific. And I wish we could help so many more people because they can get stronger, healthier, more independent. They could get their lives back. We're having a big fundraiser in May in Fort Lauderdale that we're excited about. But again, we need to raise a lot of money we need a lot of awareness. And I can tell you one thing, too. We are one of the only there's very few, a handful that are charities that help people the minute they get hurt. The Christopher Reed Foundation, the Miami Project, they raised millions of dollars for research. God bless them. But like I said to a parent that's listening or someone that's hurt, you need to rehab immediately. That's the most important thing. And don't think you can't get healthier and stronger and more independent because you can. Every single person we have helped has progressed dramatically. So I'm trying to prove to the world that this can be done. So that's what I would tell them, that they need to find a good facility that specializes in spinal cord.
And they need to do fundraisers. They got to get the money. They got to get their loved one to a facility immediately. And they will see results quicker than they ever thought. They have bowel programs they have to do. There's so many things they have to do. Those things can be also progressed. So that's the most important thing. I could tell you stories that you could sit here and cry all day about people that didn't have the money and took an overdose and killed himself or the parent. It's the most horrific injury you could possibly have as a spinal cord injury. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. So we do know what to tell people. We do know what we're going to tell them to go. We just don't have the money to help everybody. But they could do by fund me fundraisers and get the money they need. But a lot of these people just sit home and they do nothing. And it's sad, but that's the number one thing that I would tell anybody listening. Go get the rehab you desperately need.
Don't give up. Don't give up. Go get the rehab you need. I think the other point that I want to I don't think can be emphasized enough. And we see this, hopefully this trend reverses. But there's always a place for scientific research. It has its place. But if we can focus on helping people live better lives and like you said, gaining more independence, gaining more functionality, it can be small, it can be big, it doesn't matter. Anything helps. And if we can focus on that part of it, we can get more people with more independence, changing their lives, doing something productive and useful and beneficial with their lives.
This idea of making things better for people with disabilities is huge and more confidence too. When you first get hurt, you're sitting in bed and you're depressed and you're lying there. And like we're talking about, there's great research foundations. And like you said, that is amazing. And we commend them and we are rooting for them. But from a standpoint of somebody who just gets hurt and has a spinal cord injury and their whole mental capacity changes. Their whole mindset changes. And they're just laying there. They go out and they start moving their body around and they get the rehab. And they have those conversations with trainers, and they see that guy over there taking a step or even just lifting a weight or smiling. You're able to feed off that. And what that's going to do in terrain is going to make you happy and more comfortable with your state of being, and then it's just going to spark you to do even better. So that's a good point. I'm a big mental guy. I think that the mental part of a spinal cord injury is so undervalued that it's criminal. I think that the whole medical community was bound for an injury.
Oh, we need to get them walking. We got to move the muscles. This thing is so mental. People need to understand that it's a very scary road that people go down when their whole world flips upside down. And I think it's extremely important. And that's why I'm saying when you go out with rehab, that will help a lot from a mental standpoint. Yeah.
And let me just add that when Anthony got hurt, he couldn't move. You went to our website, you saw the video of him. He was on a mat. He couldn't move at all. He has his entire upper body back. He has his hands back. He can go function. He can Cook dinner if he wanted to. That's because of rehab. And I stress it enough. We just found a couple that reached out to us, and the wife was in a car accident and she lost her child. And Ironically, her child's name was Mickey Nolan, which is my name. But it's just a crazy story. She was sitting at home doing nothing. They didn't know where to go, what to do. They had no money. He was a football coach. On a long story short, luckily, they got to the trainers. One of the trainers that Anthony trained with, her whole attitude in one week of going three times was night and day, night and day. She's a new person and we love to see this. That's my passion and Anthony's passion to see people progress and again, healthier, stronger, more independent. But I could sit here and tell you stories of different people.
And like Anthony said, it's criminal to me, too, that they can't get the help that they need. If you go and break your back, you get all the help you need if you have insurance. We had the best insurance when Anthony got hurt, 20 days are out. We're told to leave. It is criminal. It's horrific. And since being thrown into the Sri community, I can only tell people that if they have a problem, they have an injury. We might not be able to help them financially, but reach out to us. We'll do anything we can to help anyone.
Can you talk a little bit? So there's a lot to explore here. But when you get out of the hospital and you're going to a rehab facility, what role does the doctor play during that rehab process for you? What was that like, Anthony? Did they stay involved or was it something where the Pts really take over from there?
Yeah, definitely Pts take over. There's definitely a disconnect between. It's almost like a hand off. At least that's my experience. Well, it's like traditional versus yeah, the Pts are incredible. The ones that are really study for this type of thing, they put you in position to succeed. They push you, they make sure that you're doing all the proper things. They check up on you. But as far as from a hospital setting, going to an outsource rehab facility, there's not really much communication between both parties from my experience. However, when you're I will say I had a much better experience getting out of a hospital setting and into a more aggressive setting from a workout stand.
Traditional hospitals, their rehab centers are not aggressive at all. So, I mean, it's night and day, and everybody goes to rehab for a week or two once they get out of intensive care. But it's night and day. What you can get from a rehabilitation center that specializes in spinal cord, it's amazing. And there's some good centers out there. Excellent.
Yeah, definitely from a hospital setting, it's great to have be at an in house rehab facility within your hospital because things are intertwined, the doctors involved, things like that, and it's definitely necessary. But once you can break that and go to a third party or an outsource a rehab facility, you're moving to the next step. And that's where you're going to find the most progression, in my view, because like I said, you feed off of other people that are in your same position. You're not anymore in a hospital setting where you're kind of like, okay, let's go to rehab, and then let's go back to the room, and this is okay, I'm going to rehab. I'm going to work my tail off. I'm going to meet new people that I haven't met, and I'm going to make friends that I'm going to have forever. And then I'm going back to my house and I'm being with my family. It's a whole different ballgame. But like I said, hospital rehabs are definitely necessary. But once you get past that and break past the hospital setting, then you're on your way for sure.
And some and most of the rehabilitation centers that we love and who are the best in the country are spearheaded by someone with a spinal cord injury. So they know what it takes. They know the equipment. I just went we just went to visit a facility in California. There was somebody that trained with Anthony at Project Walk. He opened up his own rehabilitation center, and it was just unbelievable because they know first hand what you need to get better. But yeah, there's a lot of great centers out there that can really help.
What are some of the therapy modalities that are really necessary to help the rehab process and the spinal cord injury feel that most people don't know about? So what are the things to look for when you go to a PT center that they should have for spinal cord injury?
It's going to depend upon your injury and what your function is. But from my standpoint, if somebody were to say, hey, if I got on the phone with somebody who's nearly hurt and I talked to their parents and their parents like, hey, what can I get to help out my kid? I'd say the first thing would be, I don't know necessarily be the first thing, but I can't tell you that a standing frame is extremely important. It's going to depend upon if they're ready to stand and things like that. I'd say anything that they're moving their body around would be beneficial, even if it's just anything that can massage the body. And I'm trying to think back now from FBS are big stimulation that you can have are big as well. But if somebody sent me on an island for the rest of my life and said, hey, you can only bring one thing to help you rehab or whatever with your final injury. I would say standing frame 100% when you'd be close and tell them why there's load bearing. So it's good for your bone. It's going to decrease your bones getting rid of also, it's going to help with your muscle atrophy.
It's going to create muscle. It's going to create spasms, which are then going to create circulation. So it's going to decrease blood clots, and it's also going to help your blood pressure when you're standing up. So there's a lot of things that it's beneficial for. And of course, our bodies were made to stand and walk and do all that. They weren't made to sit. I just feel like it would tackle a lot of things that unfortunately come with this model cord.
What about swimming?
Swimming is huge. Swimming is huge for your muscles. When you get into an area that's antigravity, you won't have that pull that's going to make you feel funny. Swimming will allow you to move, like I said, without any gravity. So you'll be able to take even on your knees, you can move and take knee steps or move your arms around, and there's still going to be pushback or resistance from the water. So fools are extremely beneficial for somebody that has neurological problems.
Good to know when you talk about the house. So my experience with PT and I've done it on and off through my life, and I've been consistent with it now because of some minor injuries. What I have found in my experience is that they are fantastic. They're not afraid of my body, and they have helped me get much stronger and past injuries that the doctors were not helpful with. So I think that finding a good PT for anybody with a disability is to me, they're one of the biggest allies. If I feel pain today, I'm going to go to my PT before I go to my doctor, unless obviously, if it's an emergency, it's an emergency. But that's how I feel about how the medical system is structured today. Do you agree with that?
Absolutely. Real quick. Now that I'm thinking about things that are important that some people really don't pay attention to when they first get hurt or when they're maybe in their first year or two or just in general when they have a spinal cord injury, is diet is something that's overlooked. And it's extremely important because you want to manage your weight and you want to make sure your body is getting the proper nutrition that it needs to move forward in life. And I think that's not really talked about. A lot of people talk about, okay, we have this, which is obviously we're having a conversation. It's really important. But when you mix in diet with that, you're going to really exceed the expectation of somebody who's unfortunately hit with this injury. I think that should have a light jet on it, for sure.
Anti only eats protein and vegetables and water. He'll have some beers on the weekend, but he is a diet. He's slim in shape. He works out every day, and you see a lot of people in the wheelchairs that let himself go. But diet is so important.
And I know you will talk about this in a little bit, but I know you have a whole range of supplements on your website that you're supporting and selling, and I do want to get into that. But do you also recommend or work with nutritionist?
Yeah, I personally, I have people that are nutritionist that I check in with you. And there I think that depending on the person, if they want to get serious about it, it would definitely be beneficial. The proper nutrition. Like you said, we've partnered up with Thorn, which is a nutritional company, and we did that because I am very excited into nutrition as far as vitamins and supplements. And there are things that you can take with a spinal cord injury that will help you, for example, reduce spasms or reduce inflammation, tendons joints. There's a lot of things out there that are viewed from a nutrition standpoint that, again, don't have a lot of light shed on it. And I think that's pretty important, too, when you're going through something like this. So that way you're covering all bases, you know what I mean? And you're really taking all the things that you should be taking. You're doing all the right things. And once you start doing that, just like anything consistently, you're going to start seeing stuff that you want.
Thank you for that. And nutrition is widely overlooked and it's really hard to find a good nutritionist.
And not to plug our website, but if you go on our website, Anthony has a list of vitamins that pertain to spinal cord which can help.
No. And we are here to plug those things. Yes, definitely want people to go on the website and check that out. My next question is for both of you. I like to hear from Mickey first and then Anthony. I find this really interesting and it really, I think gets to the heart of who you both are, at least in part. You had this injury, Anthony. Your life was turned upside down. You did your rehab, you did your work. There was no need to start a foundation to help other people. You could have gone on with your life, done whatever it is that you wanted to do. Same thing with. What was it if there was a moment or a series of moments that really made you both say, we want to do something about this because you didn't have to. And I think it's amazing that you did.
Well, I'm going to let her answer it first, but I will say that I did not want to start the foundation. When I was in my beginning years, I thought it was a really crappy idea. I didn't want to help. I don't want anything to do. I was in a state where I did not want anyone. I just get out, do not come to my room, stay suicide study. So go ahead. You can take it. And then I'll add on if I need to, but you can answer it.
No. What happened is and I didn't need Anthony's side for seven years. I was with him. We had a family business and I just focused right on Anthony. But I was fortunate that I was in that position, too. But what happened is I went to Project Walk every day and he worked out 3 hours a day. And I ended up becoming very involved in Project Walk. And I would be their MC at their red carpet events because I Dove it because I wanted to know everything I could. And I started meeting parents that didn't know what to do, not only the money, but where am I going to go? How am I going to do this? What do you do? And I just said, I came home one day. It was six months after his accident. And I said, I'm going to start a charity to help these people. They need help. And I know we can make a difference. And I walk into Anthony's room and I said, we're starting a charity. And he said, blah, blah, blah. Read between the lines. He goes, get out of my room because he was very unhappy. He was a basketball star.
He had light. And the split of a second, it all changed. And it took some time to get his mental health back, which we did. And by the way, he never took a pill the entire time. Doctors tried to give him all kinds of pills, never took one pill. And I think that's kudos to Anthony. And we started it. I'll never forget starting it. And my niece Tanya joined hands with me. And we had an event six months later, our first event, and gradually Anthony would see what was going on and start I think it was the first event we had is when he realized, wow, we're helping people. And he attended the event. The first event was in Chicago at Soldier Stadium. And Auntie came and he saw this huge crowd of people and what we were doing. And gradually he said, Mom, I want to get involved. And I really think that helped his progression because his mental I knew he needed something to do every day and talk to people. And I really think that helped his recovery. And we've been going strong ever since. We've grown into a pretty well known non profit.
And I think to going, we're do some great things in 2022. And I'm real happy and passionate. This is our passion. This is the reason to get up every day is walking with Anthony.
I think Anthony and Mickey. So I'm going to finish the book. But I know that in the beginning of the book, you said that Anthony is not the same person as he was before. And I think that this merits some further exploration. Anthony, how as you started to get involved with this charity and you started to change your mind, like, who are you today? And what has made you, if you didn't have this injury, you wouldn't be the person you are today. And I think that we should celebrate who you are today and who you've become and the resilience, how has this changed you in a way that you've inspired other people? And you continue to say, I'm carving a new path for myself. I'm doing things that I never thought I would be able to do.
Tow okay, you get there, please. Yeah, I got you. Before I got hurt, I was extremely depressed internally. However, externally, I was having the time of my life. I was living in California. I just came out of College. I've had a couple of my buddies out here. We were doling out every night. We had our friends this and cocktails and girls. And everything was great. We were going plugging in it internally. Extremely depressed now got hurt. Life turned upside down, even more depressed in a hole. And when we started creating this foundation and I started seeing first hand what or how we're actually changing lives. And the joy that that brought me, that's when a light bulb popped into my head and said, this is life. This is how you're going to be remembered as this is the legacy that you're going to create. And like she mentioned in the book that we're totally different people. I'm trying to make that make sense. Being me before my injury and after my injury, I always say that I died on February 6, 2010, and I was reincarnated into a new person. I am not the same person I was before I remember him.
I remember everything that he did. Now, there are some similarities, but in total, I am definitely not that same person. And I'm as crazy as it sounds, I'm thankful that I have gotten put into this position. And I say that every year speeches that I do at the Galaxy and things like that because we are in an opportunity with Walking with Anthony to help other people get past their depression, their immediate hit by spinal cord injury. So from a standpoint of, was I the same person as before? Absolutely not. Totally. Do I have a second chance at life? When I first got hurt, I thought my life ended. Little did I know that I was creating a new one, and I was almost seemed like I was in purgatory. I got past that. And now I'm the happiest I've ever been. I have a beautiful wife. I'm driving. I'm rehabbing. I'm working out. I'm working. My life is 100,000 times better than it was before I got hurt. And if you were to ask the common person who knew me both ways, they would totally agree with me. But if you were to see it from a random person standpoint, there's no way he had the cars and the friends and he was living in Los Angeles, and there's no way he's happier now.
But really truthfully, I am. And like my mom said at the beginning of the interviews, that's where we get our joy. Literally, our joy is helping other people. And when we see them and we see the smile on their faces and when they come to the events and they say thank you and they really are thankful with what we're doing, that's why we're so adamant and passionate about raising as much money as possible, just like these other charities are. We want to get put on the map because we want to help as many people as possible get through this injury, not only physically, but more importantly mentally.
And I want to also reiterate I don't know if I mentioned this, but we don't take a dime out of this nonprofit. This money, every dime we raise goes to helping people. And I think that's important that people know that it's a very expensive recovery and so many people can be helped. If we had the money to help them so they can get better, they can get their lives back. And that's a big message. And some parents, loved ones or brothers and sisters, they don't know that because they don't understand or they're not educated. But I'm here to tell you today, and you know that you can get your life back. It's going to cost money, but you can get your life back. And every day that's our passion is to raise money and help one other person, one person you can't put a price on it.
Absolutely true. So for me, being born this way, this is all I have ever known. The way I think it's important for people who maybe don't have a disability to try to relate to this and understand how important it is that hopefully it can happen to all of us. But when it does happen, just as we age and we start to lose certain abilities, we start to not able to do certain things that we were able to do before half pain, all these things. We are capable of adapting. We are capable of with the right structure, with the right support, with the right people in place, we can get through Besides dying, we can get through pretty much whatever life throws our way. And I think that's what my takeaway is. You're a different person now and you were able to adapt in a way that is inspiring and powerful. And more people should hear about that because it is possible.
Absolutely.
So my last question for you both is what have I missed in this interview that you feel is important to talk about on what have you missed?
I think we hit it on the nail that we need money to help people and you can get better. Anthony is a big advocate on mental health, and that's important. I think that we covered all the important facts. What are you thinking of, Anthony?
I'm thinking that if anybody wants to help or as interest in helping us achieve our goals, they can go to walkingwithany.org. And if they'd be so kind to donate, like you said before, every set goes to individuals that we help, and it really does make a difference in their lives. You could see the stories of the people that we've helped on our website and it will inspire you. I think that we've hit on some pretty important topics from my view. Like I said, the more people that we help, the more lives that we change. Like mom, you were saying, I don't care if it's one other person, changing one life is worth it to me. So again, walking with Anthony.org, you guys would be so kind to either just go on and just get educated and just have the ability to spread the awareness of what we're doing and what we're trying to accomplish. We'd greatly appreciate it. And it will help a lot of people that inherit spinal cord injury.
Absolutely. And please also share with me the information about the event in May. I'm in Fort Lauderdale. I would love to come and meet you both and actually help promote that event down here as well as much as possible.
You're in Fort Lauderdale.
I am.
I never knew that. We also live in Fort Lauderdale because of his rehab. That's why we came to la but as a matter of fact, I'll be in Fort Lauderdale in two weeks. I'd love to meet you because I'm meeting with we're having a major event on may 16 which is a Monday at the coral Ridge country club. Are you familiar with that right off and it's going to be a major event. It's the first one we've had since covet. Anthony will be there. We're honoring chip LaMarca who is a very big Republican politician there who is very involved with disability. That's somebody you should meet too and we're giving two grants out. One is to a young boy at the Broward community hospital which is in their disability center. I don't know if you've heard of them and then we're helping that mother who I told you about who lost her child in a car accident. Tar Nolan, it's going to be a golf tournament and it's going to be a dinner after and we put it on first class so we'll have it posted on our website, hopefully by next week, but it's going to be quite an event and I would love to meet you.
I didn't know you were in Fort Lauderdale. You and I are going to meet when I'm in town.
That sounds fantastic.
Okay.
Good.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. For reaching out. This was a fantastic conversation.
Can I plug my book at the end?
Yes, please. Plug everything that there is to plug.
No. I wrote a book and it just came out on Amazon And I think it's very educational for anyone who knows someone who's had this injury. I think that they should get it. It's called walking with Anthony on Amazon And I think it would be very inspirational for the person who's hurt to read it to.
Absolutely. And I am going to read the book and I would love to have you both banks back on the show again to dive into that a little bit deeper to be honored. All right. Thank you so much for the time and we'll talk soon.
Thank you. Thanks.
Helpful links:
Website: https://walkingwithanthony.org/
Connect with Walking With Anthony on Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WalkingWithAnt
Connect with Anthony Purcell on Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonypurcell/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anthonypurcell
Connect with Micki Purcell on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/micki.purcell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickipurcell/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MickiPurcell