Help My Daddy Walk Again

Grand Terrace sisters Ryleigh and Ashley Atwood took to social media on Sunday, Jan. 11 to ask for the public’s help in reaching one of their New Year’s resolutions: to help their dad walk. Holding signs in their front room, the girls smiled for the camera as they prepared a Facebook post in hopes that it will go viral and they will be able to see their goal of raising $100,000 to send their dad, Joe Atwood, to Project Walk Paralysis Recovery Center. Joe Atwood, 38, a Grand Terrace resident and T-ball coach, suffered injuries in a car accident in 2009, which left him with a broken neck and labeled a ‘C7 incomplete quadriplegic’. Atwood said immediately after the accident he couldn’t move from the neck down, but at about a month afterwards, he found he could move his toes and legs a little bit. Once physical therapy began, he could walk about 60 feet with the use of a walker but his insurance refused to pay for further treatment after a brief time and he now finds himself confined to a wheelchair. Atwood and his wife Rachael located Project Walk but were unable to raise the necessary funds for him to become a patient at the center with the nearest facility in Claremont. The program offers a very intensive treatment of physical therapy and takes about a year and a half. The money needed is to cover treatment, transportation and other costs required to meet the program’s stringent requirements. So Ryleigh, age 7, and Ashley, age 14, decided this year, the effort to see their dad walk again would start in full swing. “I want my daddy to be able to walk me down the aisle when I get married one day,” said Ashley. Ryleigh said, “I want my daddy to be able to carry me again; and I want for us to dance together again.” The Atwood girls were encouraged at the thought of seeking 100,000 people donating $1 each towards their cause. They set up a GoFundMe account and discovered that the smallest donation on the site has to be $5. So they have set their goal for 20,000 people to donate $5 each. Alongside the GoFundMe account, an account was set up in Joe Atwood’s name at HelpHOPELive.org, which is an organization that will dedicate the monies donated towards medical costs only. Miguel Jr.’s in Grand Terrace has also scheduled Jan. 24 as a fundraiser effort for the Atwoods and anyone bringing in a flyer dedicated to his cause will help put funds in the family’s coffers. You can donate to the Atwoods’ GoFundMe account at: gofundme.com/jva2bc. Those interested in further helping the Atwood girls and their "HELP MY DADDY WALK AGAIN" campaign, please contact Rachael Atwood at (909) 838-6761.