WE ARE A COLLABORATIVE OF PATIENTS AND RESEARCHERS WORKING TOWARD CURING SPINAL CORD INJURY.

Massachusetts Walks Again is our state’s representative agency of Quest for the Cure, a National organization dedicated to research, awareness, political activism, and fundraising on behalf of SCI patients, their families, and friends. Wise Young, M.D., Ph.D., a research neurosurgeon from the Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University in New Jersey, is credited with this movement.

In 2001 Dr. Eric Ruby, a pediatrician in solo pediatric practice in Taunton, wanted to make a difference when his son, Ethan, then 25 years old was struck by a car in NYC and sustained a complete T6 injury. In 2004 with the help of Taunton’s Representative Jim Fagan and Senator Marc Pacheco, Massachusetts passed the SCI Research for a Cure Trust Fund, which generated initially $100,000 per year from fees of reinstated Motor Vehicle licenses. Grants from the fund are awarded by the Department of Public Health, under the supervision of a committee and reviewed by out-of-state spinal cord injury researchers.

We gather each year to present a Proclamation from the Governor who has declared September, SCI Awareness Month. The purpose is to inform and remind the legislators, the media, and the public of our presence and our position on research, leadership, and the economic and humanitarian benefits of funding for a cure. We present progress on the research leading to a cure for SCI, which includes political and financial considerations.

Through short talks by the legislators, researchers, fundraisers, rehabilitation organizations, and SCI motivational speakers, we network, build bridges, and generate enthusiasm and hope in support of quality of life issues, prevention, and cure.

State House
Boston, MA 02133