ENGLEWOOD — Mike Utley’s desire is to return to a Detroit Lions game one day and do what he couldn’t do nearly 17 years ago — walk off the field on his own.
The paralyzed 42-year-old is doing everything in his power to facilitate that dream, from working out (he can bench close to 300 pounds) to raising funds for research through the Mike Utley Foundation.
“I wish I would find a Bill Gates to give me $1 billion to move forward with actually finding a cure for paralysis,” said Utley, who suffered his spinal cord injury while throwing a block against the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 17, 1991. “Just so somebody doesn’t have to suffer. . . . We can give them that magic pill, that magic shot.”
Until then, Utley takes great pride in helping others in a similar situation. His foundation donated more than $100,000 to help build a new, one-of-a-kind terrain park at Craig Hospital, a facility that specializes in spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries.
Utley rolled into the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday wearing a blue button-down shirt, tie and wide receiver gloves on his hands (for better traction to propel his wheels). While he is paralyzed below the chest, he has regained most of the use of his hands and some voluntary movement of muscles in his lower legs and feet.
He watched as wheelchairs navigated the terrain, gliding over the sloped curves and speed bumps. The park includes stairs, cobblestone paths, doorways and other challenges that those in wheelchairs will encounter in every day life once they’re out of Craig.
Utley, a former patient at Craig, didn’t try out the park bearing his name — not with cameras around.
“I don’t want to be shown up by some young punk,” he said with a grin. “It is something, though. It will make a difference.”
Will Lachenauer of Reno, Nev., was one of the first to roll over the crushed rock and an obstacle that served to duplicate a doorway threshold.
Lachenauer arrived at Craig in June after breaking his back in a motocross accident, mistiming a jump on a course in Honey Lake, Calif., and spilling off the track.
“Your first day in a chair, in a class, it opens up your world,” said Lachenauer, who is scheduled to go home July 26. “As your skills progress, and you can go down stairs, your world opens up even more. That’s why this is awesome.”
