Road to Recovery (continued) -
“I’m not completely depressed because although this happened to me it has changed me for the better. I have met so many wonderful people,” commented the teenager who brought a lump to this writer’s throat when adding: “I’m very proud to be Irish.”
He too wants to finish the Boston Marathon and, just for the hell of it, “to square off with the ould fella” in back yard football (father and son have had an ongoing rivalry for many years).
But if his son has goals aplenty to achieve, Johnny Elliffe is a man on a mission also. Associated with drywall and construction terminology in his recent past the big man is now something of an expert on neuro-science. He’ll give you a professional analysis on brain signals and the body’s power of recovery, and he’ll tell you unabashedly about the story which is developing before his eyes:
“The fella (Rory) I carried out of the Spaulding Hospital a few months ago is not the same fella that’s sitting in front of me today.”
When Rory’s car came off the road last Labor Day, life as he knew it was put on hold. He didn’t get to shop that day but from where he’s ‘standing’ now the Mall and journey’s end is getting ever closer.
Rory Elliffe’s plight has stirred the emotions of the Irish community in Boston. However he faces several obstacles over the coming months, chief among them being the ability to raise funds to continue his rehabilitation.
The following are just a few quotes from those who have helped him on his road to recovery.
Paul Adamson (‘Rally For Rory’ committee member):
“In a time of need everyone should be given the chance to succeed.”
Fergus Ryan (Treasurer of ‘Rally For Rory’)
Before I got involved in this project, a spinal cord injury meant to me that a person would live the rest of his life in a bed or a wheelchair. After seeing and hearing Dan Cummings and reading other articles about the treatments that are out there, I now believe, one hundred per cent, that Rory will not end up in a wheelchair or a bed for the rest of his life.”
Edmund ‘Tootsie’ Carr (founder of ‘Rally For Rory’):
“I think Rory will walk again because of modern science, Rory's determination, Johnny and Jeanette's 'never-quit-attitude' and progress reports indicating feelings of 'pins and needles' and sweat in the so called dead areas. “The recoveries made by Dan Cummings, and Matt Bigos (Florida) are living proof that this miracle is possible. In my opinion, the only thing that will stop this miracle from happening is MONEY! The Irish community in Boston responded to this tragedy by raising over $90,000 in just 6 weeks. Rory Elliffe is a very lucky boy to be a member of the most generous race on the face of the earth, the Boston Irish.
“I was always a proud Irish man, but such generosity towards Rory from my fellow Irish men and women has made me even prouder. We, at the Rory Elliffe Foundation don’t like asking our community for more money. With that said, even in these terrible economic times we are confident that the Boston Irish will not allow money to confine this 18 year-old to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
“One hundred dollars to us as individuals may be untimely, but our dollars combined may get Rory out of that wheelchair. Again, we thank you all in advance for answering your phones and putting your hand in your pocket for this young man.
This is a miracle in the making, and although science is great, I believe through their compassion and generosity, the miracle makers are the Boston Irish!"