Jack Weeks works with Mitch Mullin, an athletic trainer who comes to his house for sessions twice a week. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

GORHAM — Jack Weeks gripped a resistance band in his right hand and moved his arm in a circle, his face tense with concentration.

He repeated the movements with his left arm — his weaker one — as his athletic trainer looked on.

Four and a half years ago, Jack was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. In the months after, it was hard for him to imagine having enough core strength to hold himself up, let alone lift 7.5-pound weights.

“It feels good today. It feels really loose,” he told his trainer Mitch Mullin, who was stretching Jack’s left hand and forearm during one of his twice-weekly at-home sessions.

A lot has changed since Jack’s accident. He can lift his arms above his head and hug his mom. He’s grown 5 inches and increased his muscle strength. And he’s found peace with the moment that changed nearly every aspect of his life.

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“He has done a phenomenal job of being absurdly positive for being in a situation that nobody wants to be in,” Mullin said.

Now closing in on his 21st birthday, Jack faces many of the same decisions as his peers. What does he want to do with his life? What type of college classes should he be taking?

But he also faces challenges most could never imagine.

Jack Weeks greets his longtime friend Kaethe Wilson. The two have been friends since elementary school and have remained very close in the years following Weeks’ accident. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

He spends six days a week working with therapists in Maine and New Hampshire. He wants to learn to drive and become strong enough to use a manual wheelchair. More than anything, he wants to be independent and happy.

At home, his living area is set up to accommodate his large electric wheelchair, but the narrow kitchen is hard to maneuver. He can’t sit at the table to share a meal with his family or make himself ramen noodles. He can hang out on the back deck with his friends, but can’t easily get across the yard to the pool he could use for physical therapy.

After the accident, the Weeks family started a fundraiser through Help Hope Live, a national nonprofit that collects donations for medical expenses.  The money, including two $50,000 individual contributions, allowed the family to buy a wheelchair accessible van and cover medical expenses.

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Cammie Weeks, Jack’s mother and primary caregiver, said that fund is almost depleted and they have started fundraising again because they want to keep Jack’s therapies in place to help him reach his goals. Those therapies aren’t covered by insurance and cost about $65,000 a year, or $5,500 a month. The family is also hoping to raise enough to make the kitchen and pool accessible.

“It’s not just about maintaining, it’s about growing and getting to the next place,” she said. “He’s getting his own life.”

Cammie Weeks watches her son Jack work with his trainer, Mitch Mullin, on Dec. 12. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

A NEW REALITY 

Jack’s injury happened quickly, during a perfect beach day, on June 27, 2020.

While on a family vacation in Lewes, Delaware, Jack and his cousin were playing on a floating mat, jumping through the waves into the murky, shallow water. His father, Kip, had warned his son to stop, but Jack dove in one more time after his parents left the beach to get lunch.

Jack’s lungs filled with sand and water and he was instantly paralyzed. He knew immediately that something was very wrong. His cousin got him to shore and a doctor and EMT who were nearby started CPR. When paramedics moved Jack onto a stretcher, his arms flopped down.

At the hospital, Jack told doctors he couldn’t feel anything. Minutes after arriving at the local emergency room, he was flown to a larger hospital, where two days later he had surgery on his C4 and C6 vertebrae, crucial parts of his cervical spine.

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Jack and his parents learned that his spinal cord could still convey messages to and from his brain and there may be some sensation and movement below the injury. Today, Jack has feeling above his upper chest and can move his arms and hands.

Jack Weeks works with Mitch Mullin on building strength in his hands. Mullin said when they first started working together, Weeks was unable to open his hand. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

His parents – who had divorced years earlier but were still friends – sold their houses and bought a family home in Gorham where they could all live together. They spent about $40,000 to build an accessible addition with voice-controlled lighting and heating systems, an adaptive bathroom and a separate living room area so Jack doesn’t feel confined to a bedroom.

Jack finally came home to Maine on Dec. 11, 2020, and the Weeks family settled into a new routine.

“I had to grow up faster than I thought I would when I got hurt,” he said.

Cammie Weeks at her home in Gorham, where she moved in with her ex-husband after their son’s accident so he would have an accessible place to live and recover. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Jack was surrounded by supportive family and friends, but things didn’t always go smoothly. He didn’t enjoy his schoolwork at Casco Bay High School and was frustrated that his physical therapy sessions weren’t as intensive as the ones at the Shepherd Center. He had to learn to deal with depression and muscle spasms.

He had a setback in April 2021 when he developed a pressure sore on his ischium, or sit bone, and was unable to get out of bed for months. He said being stuck at home made him think about his future and focus on moving forward.

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In the three years since, Jack has gone all in on his physical therapy. His main focuses are core stability, regaining motor function for upper body movement, muscle reeducation, training neuropathways to connect and weight-bearing activities. He works with Mullin at home and goes twice weekly to both StretchLab in Scarborough and Project Walk Boston, a therapy program in Stratham, New Hampshire, with expertise in spinal cord injuries.

Jack Weeks rotates his arms in a circular motion while working out with Mitch Mullin, an athletic trainer. Weeks is trying to build up strength so he can use a manual wheelchair. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Jack has also put himself out there in other ways.

He spends lots of time with friends, often hanging out in his living room or on the deck, talking and joking around. He also likes to spend time with his 16-year-old sister Maggie and 13-year-old brother Gus.

More recently, he was invited to be part of an advisory committee for an accessible apartment building in Scarborough and will give input on technology that can be included in the apartments to make basic tasks like opening blinds and kitchen drawers easier.

MOVING FORWARD

Mullin, the athletic trainer, has been working with Jack for about three years and said he’s seen Jack’s tremendous progress, both physically and mentally.

Jack now has a stronger neurological connection to his upper body, Mullin said. He also has better control of his muscles, especially on his dominant side. Jack can use weights that are more than 5 pounds heavier than the ones he started with.

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“He has done a phenomenal job of being so steady through things that most people would just be, as he describes, angry or depressed about,” Mullin said. “Every time I come in he’s in a good mood, chatty. He’s never down on himself for where he’s at.”

Mitch Mullin, an athletic trainer, chats with Jack Weeks during their session on Dec. 12. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Jack knows that every session puts him a little closer to his goals, which have changed over time. A few years ago, he’d tell people his goal was to walk again. These days, he’s more focused on the short-term.

“It allows me to do more just throughout my day, instead of just being home all day,” he said. “Now that I’m older, I kind of understand that that’s kind of what I want to do instead of sit around.”

Jack and his mother both want to find ways to help other families who are dealing with similar situations. Cammie Weeks would like to help other parents navigate all that needs to be done in the aftermath of a major injury. Once he has more life experience, Jack feels like he’ll be in a better place to mentor young people who are paralyzed.

For now, Jack is focused on maintaining the positive outlook he embraced when he said he stopped taking himself for granted, which allowed him to focus on healing.

“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of people who I know who don’t have as much function as I do,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the best position, but I’m not in the worst.”

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