Two hundred fifty guests heard incredible stories of courage and perseverance at the “Success Beyond Paralysis” luncheon, May 7 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.

Pushing Boundaries, in the Overlake area, is Washington state’s only intensive exercise facility for people paralyzed due to spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, stroke or neurological disorders.

How urgent is the need for such a center — and how much money is needed to keep it going?

Two spinal cord injuries occur every day in Washington state. In 2008, Pushing Boundaries provided over 5,000 hours of specialized exercise training, a third of which were subsidized. It costs about $25,000 a year or $2,000 a month for a person to participate in the programs that Pushing Boundaries provides. Yet 25 percent of people living with paralysis have an annual household income of less than $10,000 per year.

The luncheon’s master of ceremonies was Barry Long, president of Talk & Roll Enterprises. Eighteen years ago, he was speeding on his motorcycle when he hurtled off a cliff and became paralyzed from the chest down.

At that time, Long believed, “You sever your spinal cord, you sit in a wheelchair — end of story.”

When he first heard of Pushing Boundaries, he thought “a gym for guys in wheelchairs was a very cool idea,” but he didn’t know until he tried it, as a client, that the organization was doing something far more profound.

“It literally changed my life,” said Long.

Through exercise training at Pushing Boundaries, he recently stood for the first time since his accident 18 years ago. His children had never seen him stand before.

Other Pushing Boundaries clients, who’d been told they would never walk again, have defied the odds.

A paralyzing accident, stroke or diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis does not have to be the end of the story. It is never too late to avoid or reverse “learned non-use” in affected muscle groups, using revolutionary exercise equipment such as the Lokomat Robotic Gait Training System.

Even for those who might not walk again, exercise is crucial to avoid weight gain, cardiovascular disease, loss of bone density and depression.

“In a few years, we hope to have an endowment fund to help everyone,” said Sharon Northrup who founded Pushing Boundaries with her wheelchair-bound husband, Allan. She described the idyllic life they had before a devastating car accident — as well the desperate look in a client’s eyes or in the eyes of a mother or a spouse whose loved one is told that they will never walk again.

“Life can take a turn in the blink of an eye,” said Sharon. “No matter how careful you are, something can happen to you or your family.”

At Pushing Boundaries, the exercise is for the person with paralysis but there is emotional support for all who are touched by the life-changing incident.

“We are in the hope business,” said executive director Tricia Lazzar. “Clients that we have are searching for what comes next.”

Mary Stevens Decker can be contacted at mdecker@redmond-reporter.com.

To see Pushing Boundaries in action, attend a one-hour tour. Call 425.869-9506 or visit www.pushing-boundaries.org to sign up. Pushing Boundaries is located at 4162 148th Ave. N.E.