(ABC NEWS)- A determined groom took a huge stride last weekend when he walked down the aisle at his own wedding, despite a spinal cord injury that had left him in a wheelchair for the past seven years.
After years of physical therapy, training and help from his dedicated partner, Chris Norton walked seven incredible yards down the aisle hand-in-hand with his new bride, Emily Summers-Norton.
“It was unbelievable because I was doing it with Emily. Emily is the love of my life — She’s Wonder Woman without the cape,” Norton said Friday on “Good Morning America,” alongside his new bride. “We did it together as a team and as a couple and to know that I’m going to have her by my side forever and that we’re going to take those next steps as married in love, it was just unbelievable.”
Norton suffered a spinal chord injury when he was 18 years old, playing football for Luther College. The injury left him paralyzed from the neck down with just a three percent chance of ever walking again, according to his doctors.
Since his injury, Norton has become a motivational speaker and lives his motto of “turn your mess into a message.” In addition to working on strengthening their own relationship and physical well being, the newlyweds are also foster parents to five children under the age of eight.
