Pushing Boundaries saved after community raises $200K to keep PNW’s lone paralysis center open

Pushing Boundaries, the only exercise therapy center in the Puget Sound region dedicated to people living with paralysis, was on the brink of shutting down. The nonprofit needed to raise $200,000 in just a few days in order to keep its doors open.

That’s when KIRO Newsradio listeners and others stepped up and, thanks to an outpouring of community support, Pushing Boundaries raised enough money to renew their lease after its Board of Directors were forced to vote to close the location due to a lack of funds.

“We were in dire straits,” Pushing Boundaries Associate Director Amanda Koppes said. “It wasn’t anything anyone wanted to do. It was a very, very emotional decision for everybody, but it was, at that time, the right and responsible thing to do.”

Fundraising comes in at the ‘last second’

Koppes said after KIRO Newsradio ran their story, hundreds of people contacted them and donated money.

“Almost immediately, we started receiving phone calls and pledges coming in from people who just wanted to help,” Koppes said. “It just showed the best side of people.”

Pushing Boundaries deals with treating severe neurological movement disorders, from complications associated with a stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injuries. The facility was in danger of closing its doors for good unless it raised $200,000 by April 30. The nearest facilities like it, which include specialized exercise equipment for prolonged rehabilitation, are located in British Columbia, Canada, California, and Colorado.

Because Pushing Boundaries is not considered a healthcare provider, they are not allowed to bill patients’ insurance companies for services, even though many of their clients require years of prolonged care to rehabilitate and maintain function. Koppes said the cost for their exercise care ranges from $120 to $130 per hour. The nonprofit subsidizes 76% of those charges, through donations, for every patient to ensure they get the care they need.

According to its website, Pushing Boundaries was founded by Allan Nothrup after he suffered paralysis during a 2001 car accident on Snoqualmie Pass.

Northrup spent eight weeks in intensive care and inpatient rehabilitation. Confined to a wheelchair, doctors told Northrup, unless he got movement back, there was nothing more they could do for him. Frustrated, Northrup and his wife, Sharon, moved to Southern California, away from friends and family, to the nearest rehab exercise facility at the time. Two years later, Northrup moved back to the Pacific Northwest and purchased specialized equipment he needed to continue his therapy. He also met many people who needed the same care as he did, but could not afford to buy their own equipment or travel and live thousands of miles away. Northrup passed away in 2011.

Donations can be made on Pushing Boundaries’ website.

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