DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan's Top 5 Biggest News Stories of 2011: #1 Revealed

All this week we’ve been counting down RIM’s top 5 biggest news stories of  2011 and today we reveal #1 on our list.

Drum roll please….DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM) helps paralyzed bride walk down the aisle.

Our story about Jennifer Darmon’s journey to walk on her wedding day captured the hearts of every one, resulting in national and international headlines.

Jennifer was paralyzed in a 2008 car accident. She began therapy in RIM’s Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery program shortly after. At first her goals were simple; to get stronger, be more independent, to be able to stand. But when her boyfriend Mike Belawetz proposed, Jennifer set a new goal; to walk down the aisle at her April 16, 2011 wedding in Windsor, Canada.

We first starting sharing Jennifer’s story in February by recording a video diary of her progress and sharing it on YouTube where her “Walk for Love” series received almost 100,000 views. From her first awkward steps practicing in therapy in a borrowed wedding dress from RIM physical therapist, Katie McSween, to her breathtaking walk down the aisle and first dance with her husband, viewers couldn’t get enough of Jennifer’s story.

Jennifer’s story appeared on The CBS Early Show, Today Show, Inside Edition, ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, and countless newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. And the media is still sharing her story. This week she was featured on a national news program in Japan and is profiled in this week’s Women’s World magazine.

Jennifer’s entire “Walk for Love” video series can still be viewed on YouTube but here a is link to our favorite…Jennifer on her wedding day http://youtu.be/6-AwqJGmh6k