March 8, 2023

New 2023 Goal. Michael is currently raising funds to attend physical therapy at Neuro Fit 360. Thank you for support and donations.

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November 8, 2022

My name is Michael Walthall and I am 32 years old. On March 3rd, 2016 my life changed and I was the victim of a violent crime.

I was in my car waiting for the traffic light to turn green when a car with unknown individuals drove next to me and began to shoot at my car. There was no motivation or provocation; just a random senseless act. I drove off to avoid being killed and in the process I drove down a ditch. I ran out the car and collapsed. When I was taken to hospital I was informed that I had been shot multiple times and sustained injuries to my lungs. Worst of all the T4 and T5 vertebrae of my spine had been damaged leaving me paralyzed.

Here is the news story detailing more about what I survived: abc7chicago.com

I was at my junior year of undergrad at DeVry University with a Business Administration major and I had just obtained a job with United Airlines when I was shot. My life was coming together and then this senseless act put everything to a halt. This changed not just my life, but the life of my family and friends. My family has sacrificed a lot to help me deal with the physical, emotional and psychological trauma.

Post injury, I decided to return to school to complete my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and am officially an alumni of DeVry University as of August 4th, 2019.

The Chicago area has a long history of adaptive sports achievements, including multiple Paralympic Athletes, National Collegiate Champions, and National Wheelchair Basketball and National Wheelchair Softball Champions. Today, wheelchair basketball and softball teams continue to compete at a national level and provide athletes a strong and meaningful community. However, too often adaptive sports athletes and their teams do not have the resources to continue training and participate in tournament year round. Michael Walthall believes that his current uninsured medical fees and financial barriers should not stand in the way of an wheelchair athlete being able to compete and be a part of the adaptive sports community. Adaptive athletes face unique challenges, especially in Chicago. Nearly 80% of the athletes have an injury defined with paralysis and the majority of the athletes spinal cord injuries on the adult team are due to gun violence in Chicago. Michael is dealing with trauma and the majority are socio-economically disadvantaged. This means fees for wheelchair equipment, and other related equipment maintenance ,fees to wheelchair sporting events, travel fees, local practices/tournaments and out of town tournament fees all can be barriers to participating each year.

Help Hope Live helps Michael Walthall raise funds for:

• Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy, Adaptive Sports/ Fitness

• Home Health Care

• Home and Vehicle Modifications

• Medically Necessary Vehicle With Handicap Modifications

• Medical Equipment including wheelchairs and Accessories

• Medical Supplies Including catheters

• Experimental Therapies

• Assistive Technology

• Exoskeleton Legs for Paraplegic

• Transportation (Local and Long Distance)

Family and friends of Michael Walthall are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with Catastrophic Injury.

Michael has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

Thank you for your support!

HERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT MIKE WHEELZ: linktr.ee