Following the unfortunate incident on October 16, 2013, doctors told him that it was unlikely that he would ever walk again, but on Sunday he climbed out of his wheelchair at his graduation ceremony and walked across the stage to collect his diploma.
Everyone in the crowd – other graduates and parents – rose to their feet and cheered as he walked to the podium.
Recalling the moment, he said, “It was an amazing moment to share with family and friends. It was incredible.”
He had fractured part of his spine after misjudging a tackle during a football game at Luther College in northeastern Iowa. When he awoke from an emergency surgery the following day he found that he had lost almost all movement below his neck.
“The top of my shoulders, I could feel. And then after that, down, I could not feel a thing,” he said.
Doctors told him he had only three percent chance of ever regaining movement below his neck again.
He said, “They told me I had about a three per cent chance of ever getting anything back.”
Despite the poor prognosis, the 23-year-old was not discouraged, and in 2014, he told the The Des Moines Register that he had set a goal to walk unaided across the stage to collect his diploma at his graduation.
“I might be using crutches. It might be with a walker. But it will be independently. I will do it on my own,” he said.
He began a challenging regime of physical therapy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and according to The Telegraph, after two months of grueling therapy, he began feeling sensations in a toe for the first time since the accident.
With more patience and perseverance, he gradually regained control of his limbs.
He later told NBC News that his graduation day walk was “his game day or Olympic event.”
“My full focus was to take the best steps I could possibly take and (1) not worry about the audience or anything else.”
After a four-year therapy, Norton accomplished his goal on Sunday. Graduating with the class of 2015, he walked across the stage, accompanied by his girlfriend Emily Summers, to a standing ovation from fellow students and parents.
Recalling the incident afterwards, he said, “I didn’t know how I was going to walk across the stage but I knew it was going to happen. I came into school able-bodied, and being injured was like starting a whole new life. But with hard work, your faith, your family and friends, anything is possible. You just have to believe in yourself.”
He also proposed to Summers on Saturday, the day before the graduation ceremony, and she accepted.
“It was the best weekend of my life,” he summed up.
He had met Summers while undergoing rehabilitation and she played a big role in his recovery. She accompanied him when he walked to collect his diploma.
“She’s the most incredible person I’ve ever met, and to share it with her, the woman I’m in love with, it couldn’t be any better.”
Norton has established a foundation, the SCI CAN Foundation, to help people with similar spinal injuries but who might not have the type of insurance cover he benefited from. With the help of the foundation, people with similar injuries would be able to have access to facilities and equipment that would help them recover.
Norton said he hopes that his success would encourage others with similar injuries to recover.
To fulfill the goal of walking on his graduation day, Norton finished classes in winter, and moved with Summers to Michigan where he dedicated six hours a day to exercises in preparation for the walk.
The couple plan to return to Michigan where Norton will continue the physical therapy.