Hockey hero walks again

By Gerry Callahan, Karen Guregian and Laurel J. Sweet

July 27, 2000 Web posted at: 10:46 AM EDT (1446 GMT)

In this story: Progress stunned doctors Hard work paid off RELATED STORIES

BOSTON, Massachusetts (The Boston Herald) -- He entered the restaurant like a person who had just shed a few unwanted pounds or changed his hairstyle. Beaming with pride and packing a surprise, he asked two friends to meet him for lunch and made sure his friends were sitting down because there is something very different about John Gilpatrick these days.

He is standing up. He is walking again.

``His friends just freaked,'' said Terri Kenney of Stoneham, a waitress at The Fours restaurant on Canal Street.

``They were saying, `I can't believe it. I just can't believe it.' The two of them were in shock. It is a miracle,'' she said. ``It's an absolute miracle.''

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It has been 4 1/2 years since Gilpatrick suffered a serious spinal cord injury while playing hockey for Suffolk University and was paralyzed from the waist down.

The Hanover native was confined to a wheelchair and told by doctors that the first two years of his recovery were critical. If he was not back on his feet by then, they said, there was little chance he would ever walk again. His remarkable progress has left medical experts nearly as stunned and amazed as Gilpatrick's many friends and fans.

``Most people max out at two years,'' said Dr. David Apple, the medical director of the Shepherd Center, an Atlanta facility that specializes in spinal cord injuries and treated Gilpatrick as well as Travis Roy, the Boston University student who was also paralyzed in a hockey accident.

``We tell people right at the beginning - `Whatever progress you make in the first two years, that's it. You're probably stuck right there.' But obviously, with John, that's not the case. He just keeps making progress. I wouldn't call it a miracle, but it's close.''

Gilpatrick was reluctant to elaborate on the shocking strides he has made, but said yesterday he would answer everyone's questions at a press conference in early August.

He doesn't want people to think he's ready to take up ballet dancing - he says he first took ``a couple of steps a few weeks ago'' - but he did appear to enjoy the reaction he got when he strolled unannounced and unassisted into the North Station-area sports bar the other day. A photograph of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team hangs from a wall in the pub, but on this day, the real miracle sat at a table and had lunch.

``He walked in like anybody else - like you or I would,'' said Peter Colton, the manager at the restaurant. ``It is unreal. It's incredible. The last time I saw him on television he was in a wheelchair.''

Gilpatrick, he said, ``had a big smile'' as his friends hugged him.

``It was a pretty touching scene,'' Colton said. ``He was walking kind of slowly, but he was walking. This will give a lot of hope to a lot of people.''

Kenney said Gilpatrick was accompanied to The Fours by an older man, who Gilpatrick said keeps his wheelchair on standby for when he tires.

She said the group spent about 90 minutes talking and getting caught up. She overheard Gilpatrick tell his buddies how, right before he stood up, ``he started feeling numbness and tingling.''

Gilpatrick, she said, ``looked wonderful. I told him, `Somebody's been watching over you.'

``You may have thought he was a little lame, but to look at him, no one would have thought he'd been in the situation he was,'' she said.

Despite his devastating injury, Gilpatrick remained the picture of determination and resilience. He lost use of his legs and one arm when he slammed into the crossbar of the goal on Jan. 25, 1996, but he never lost hope.

He returned to Suffolk and this spring, at the age of 26, earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He also served as an assistant coach of the hockey team.

Two months ago, on the eve of Gilpatrick's graduation, Suffolk head coach Brian Horan, sung the praises of his assistant to the Herald.

``Nothing has slowed this kid down, not even being in a wheelchair,'' said Horan. ``He's just accomplished so much with his hard work and desire. The kid just doesn't stop. He's unbelievable. He's my idol.''

Early in his recovery, Gilpatrick made two visits to the renowned Shepherd Center and was told flat-out that he would probably remain confined to a wheelchair.

``We try not to remove all hope, but it is usually a bleak situation,'' said Dr. Apple. ``We try to be honest. I remember when he left the center, I was thinking, `That's it. That's about as much progress as he's going to make.' And now, to find out he's walking, well, that's beyond the best of what we were expecting.''

Apple praised Gilpatrick for his dedication to therapy, particularly his countless hours in the swimming pool, but the doctor made it clear that hard work and high spirits are often no match for a spinal cord injury.

``He had an incomplete injury, so we knew he could make improvements,'' said Dr. Apple, who has been treating spinal cord injuries for 25 years. ``But he still went well beyond the high-water mark. All the swimming and all the therapy, that may have contributed to his recovery, but that's not the reason he is walking again.''

So how, the doctor was asked, has Gilpatrick managed to beat the odds and walk again?

``I think he's just one of the lucky ones,'' said Apple. ``And maybe he prays more than anyone else.''

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