Chris Norton from Decorah, Iowa, was an incredibly avid college athlete with a promising future in football. But in spite of being so driven, his whole life was turned upside down after a shocking loss. Even though his time in the football field has ended, he created a new life for himself after facing incredible tragedy.
He Had a Promising Future
At the time, 18-year-old Chris Norton from Decorah, Iowa, was a freshman at Luther College who thought he had had a promising career in football--his favorite sport. He was so driven that no one could have foreseen the cruel twist of events life had in store for him.
The Game Changed His Life
On October, 16, 2010, Norton was on the football field, playing against Central College. He was a trained athlete, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened in the third quarter of that unforgettable game.
His Body Shut Down on Him
Just six weeks into his freshman year, Norton mistimed a play in the third quarter. He'd already trained hundreds of times, but his miscalculation led to a horrible spinal cord injury. Suddenly, the whole stadium got very quiet. But the 18-year-old was too busy wondering why he was lying on the ground feeling as if his body had shut down. He was scared. Sadly, this was only the beginning of his story.
He Couldn’t Get up Again
Norton had tried everything to get himself off the ground, but nothing was happening. "I’m trying to push [myself up] off the ground, but nothing’s working. I prayed to God to please let me just get up and walk off the field," he remembers. But sadly, he wouldn't get to walk away on that fateful day.
They Airlifted Him to the Hospital
Norton was airlifted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The young man hoped with every fiber of his being that the doctors would be able fix whatever injuries he had sustained. But once they examined him, the doctors gave him a prognosis that wasn’t very promising at all.
He Sustained Severe Spinal Damage
The doctors at the Mayo Clinic told Norton that he had fractured his C3-C4 vertebrae. And the news got even worse. He only had a three percent chance of ever being able to move his body below his neck. But they had no idea who they were dealing with.
He Lost Everything
Everything he ever imagined his future to be was gone. He would no longer get to be a football star. At this point, he would have been lucky to move his fingers or toes ever again. But Norton wasn’t raised to be a quitter. He summoned up the courage to fight his way through this. And he did.
He Didn’t Accept His Dark Fate
“I wasn’t going to accept that,” Norton told PEOPLE. “I was going to be part of that three percent.” And it turns out that his perseverance paid off in a way that would help others suffering with the same struggles.
He Started His Own Foundation
In 2012, a little over a year after his injury, Norton started a non-profit organization called the Chris Norton Foundation to help people with neuromuscular and spinal cord disabilities get their lives back. Norton has since raised over $800,000 for the cause. But he also had an amazing support system that would help him pull off a miracle.
He Had Plenty of Love and Support
Norton had a lot of support from his family, friends, trainers and plenty of special people who were touched by his story. "My circumstances would have been completely different if it wasn’t for these advantages," he explained on his website, ChrisNorton.org. His recovery was going great. Having so many people cheering for him and offering their love and support helped him beat the odds. But there was one particular person who changed his life, just when he thought the surprises were over.
He Met the Woman of His Dreams
Norton wanted to walk on stage for his college graduation to receive his diploma, which gave him plenty of motivation to focus on his recovery. He even moved to Michigan to work with physical therapist Mike Barwis. Three years after the accident that left him quadriplegic, Norton met Emily Summers on a dating app. He had no idea that this amazing woman would continue encouraging him to keep fighting. But was she the one he had been waiting for his whole life?
She Derailed His Original Plan
Norton knew that finding "the one" wouldn’t be easy. But after a couple of unsuccessful attempts at dating, he knew right away that Summers was the right one. "For someone to look past my injury and my physical challenges, and instantly I knew, Emily, she didn't see that -- she saw me for who I was, and I instantly had a connection with her," he explained. But this love derailed his original plan to claim his Business Management diploma.
He Asked Her to be His Wife
In May 2015, Norton popped the question, and Summers was practically in tears as she accepted his proposal. The following morning, Norton was able to walk the entire length of the stage to get his diploma, and Summers was with him the entire time. But that would not be the last time he would walk again...
She Motivated Him to Walk
Norton was dead set on walking during their wedding, but there were a couple of hiccups along the way. His body didn’t always cooperate, and there were moments he felt like giving up. But Summers continued to motivate him and after getting all the details set up, the couple was almost ready to say “I do.” But Summers wasn’t the only one who would eventually walk down the aisle.
A 17-Year-Old Needed Parents— And Norton Stepped Forward
To continue working on Norton’s recovery, the couple moved to Port Saint Lucie, Florida, in May 2016. Around that time, a 17-year-old student that Summers was mentoring was going through her own struggles. Her name was Whittley and she was getting too old to stay at the foster group for children where she was living. This presented the couple with an opportunity to become parents even before they got hitched.
They Became Foster Parents
Whittley had nowhere to go. So, Norton and Summers decided to foster her for a year, and they liked it so much that they decided to foster more kids. They took in a 2-month-old and a 3-year-old. Today the couple has five kids. But there was still one more thing left for them to do...
He Finally Walked Down the Aisle
On April 21, 2018, eight years after his accident, Norton finally married the girl of his dreams. Usually, it’s customary for the bride to walk down the aisle, but in this instance, it was Norton who walked down the aisle with a little help from his blushing bride. But, their biggest accomplishment was their growing family.
They Had to Adjust to a Full House
By this point, the loving couple had five children, all under the age of 8 and it felt great. The couple felt that this was one of the greatest things they had ever done, even more than the time Norton walked on stage at graduation or when he walked down the aisle at his wedding. But married life with kids was a bit of a juggling act.
He Took Care of the Finances
Norton took care of the financial aspects of the household like paying the bills and the mortgage. But he hired someone to do the basic housework like washing dishes, doing the laundry and cleaning the house. And since he couldn’t help his foster kids the way he wanted to, he found an alternative.
He Wanted to Do More for His Kids
He would have liked to help his kids put on their clothes or tie their shoes in the morning, but his condition made that difficult. So instead, he became their mentor and motivational coach to ensure that they stayed on the straight and narrow. And his wife Summers was like Wonder Woman in his eyes.
He Thinks His Wife is a Superhero
People often look at them and wonder how Summers does it, but Norton knows the kind of woman he married. And yet, he also marvels at how she gets him in and out of cars or up and down the stairs without ever complaining. "We can travel all over the place, and she can get me in these awkward cars and down or up stairs," he explained. "She doesn't complain. She just loves it and just has so much joy. I'm just in so much awe of her every single day."
They Decided to Surprise the Kids
Norton and Summers knew that their five foster kids had come from terrible living conditions and had never gotten the chance to enjoy the fun things in life that many people take for granted. So, on June 16, 2018, the couple decided to surprise their foster kids with a drive to a very special place.
They Had a Family Outing
The family went for a drive to Lion Country Safari in Loxahatche, Florida. “Emily and I played the song ‘Africa’ and announced 'we are going to a zoo' and like clockwork, the kids started screaming at the top of their lungs,” Norton told PEOPLE. “You would think that we just told them that we were spending a whole week in Disney World.” But that wasn’t the last time they screamed...
They Had an Unforgettable Time
Going to the zoo was a real treat for the little ones. The kids screamed with excitement whenever they saw an animal. The happy couple have also taken them to ride on water slides, a carousel, and they also stopped for some ice cream. But they know that nothing lasts forever.
They Want to Build Memories
Norton and Summers are determined to build memories for their family so that their foster kids know that they are loved. “We don’t know how long we will have them so it’s important to us that we give them some memorable experiences that they will never forget,” Norton told PEOPLE.