Able to inspire

Whether he’s on his way to work or outside of his gym, Frankie LaMacchia can almost always feel the eyes on his back.

Some people will walk up to him and ask the 29-year-old why he’s in a wheelchair, while others will stare and draw their own conclusions.

LaMacchia tries to dispel stereotypes about people with disabilities by being outgoing and open, even if there are some he’ll never reach.

Paralysis forever changed his life six years ago, but it has failed to alter his outlook.

Upbeat and undaunted, LaMacchia will headline a fundraiser next week that will contribute to a national effort to cure paralysis.

"This is the first chance I’ve really had to give back and raise awareness of this cause," he said. "It’s a long overdue opportunity."

Though this is his first fundraiser, LaMacchia has long championed the cause that became his fate after a motorcycle accident in December 1998 left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Numerous operations and efforts to stabilize his body followed, including a six-month stint in a plastic body jacket known as a clamshell.

"I didn’t know what was going on. I had some doctors telling me I was never going to walk again, and others telling me the opposite," recalled LaMacchia, of the 2300 block of South 16th Street. "And my body felt like it was upside down."

When LaMacchia was literally able to emerge from his shell six months after his accident, his natural curiosity led him to approach a middle-aged man in Magee Rehabilitation Hospital who had just suffered a spinal-cord injury similar to his own.

"Being the social butterfly that I am, I went over and introduced myself. We had similar injuries, so we were able to relate and actually became good friends."

LaMacchia helped the man — Dan Brown, a former investment broker — as he worked through the impossibly difficult task of accepting his handicap. That simple gesture of reaching out spurred LaMacchia to become a peer mentor at Magee for younger victims of spinal-cord injuries.

"I try to stress the importance of positive thinking and inner willpower," he explained. "But they have to make the choice to live their lives to the best of their ability. They can’t allow negative thoughts to get the best of them."

LaMacchia said friends and family members buoyed his spirits after the accident but, like many other disabled people, he also found inspiration in a man who once wore a red cape and blue tights.

Christopher Reeve, the actor best known for portraying Superman, became the face of spinal-cord injuries and research after a 1995 horse-riding accident left him a quadriplegic.

Reeve campaigned throughout the country and before Congress for more extensive funding and actively championed stem-cell research, which surfaced as a controversial topic during the presidential election.

His death last month dealt a blow to many paralyzed people, including LaMacchia.

"Imagine what would happen to Microsoft if Bill Gates died. That’s what Chris meant to all of us," he said softly. "He gave you hope that you couldn’t have on your own."

Though the topic is not directly linked to the upcoming fundraiser, LaMacchia said he endorses adult and embryonic stem-cell research. The controversy that surrounds the subject is essentially limiting the possibilities for cures, he added.

"This isn’t just paralysis — we’re talking about Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and any number of diseases and afflictions that could be cured," LaMacchia said. "I personally don’t understand how we can take away people’s hope by telling them it’s wrong to experiment [with stem cells], but then throw away embryos that aren’t used."

For now, LaMacchia focuses on other means to help the disabled.

He sits on a diversity council at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he also works as a solutions consultant for the information technology department.

Through the council, he has actively worked with administrators to make the hospital more handicapped-accessible, especially for employment opportunities.

"I never wanted to see someone get turned down for a job because of their disability," LaMacchia said.

And when he’s not working or volunteering, LaMacchia tries to live his life like anyone else his age and, in doing so, has reversed some stereotypes.

"He completely changed my perspective of people in wheelchairs," noted his friend, Janine Furillo. "He’s never in a bad mood and never seems to be limited by anything. He’s an amazing, vibrant person."

Furillo said LaMacchia’s remarkable spirit and determination lead her to believe that he will walk again one day — a notion that he acknowledged himself.

In the early days after his accident, LaMacchia thought it was only a matter of time before he would be back on his feet — believing wholeheartedly that physical therapy was both helping and healing him.

However, doctors told him that if he were to regain some movement, it would most likely be within two years of his accident.

When two years came and went without any change in his condition, LaMacchia was faced with the prospect of being permanently paralyzed.

"I told myself that there would always be a chance, whether it was through stem cells or some other cure," he noted. "My life was obviously completely altered, but I still felt blessed to be here."

His focus has since shifted to the search for a cure.

Several months ago, the in-laws of Dan Brown, the man LaMacchia once mentored, discovered the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis while they were in Florida. The organization is the national fundraising arm of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the world’s largest spinal-cord injury research center.

LaMacchia teamed with Brown and his in-laws in June to found the Philadelphia Chapter of the Buoniconti Fund, and they will hold the First Annual Raise a Glass for a Cure next Thursday at the National Liberty Museum.

Furillo believes the fundraiser could be the start of something bigger for her friend.

"With Chris Reeve gone, I keep saying that Frankie needs to be the face of paralysis research," she said.

"I do like attention," LaMacchia responded with a laugh. "But this is so much bigger. It’s the first time I’ll be getting out and asking people to support me and help us raise money."

The First Annual Raise a Glass for a Cure will be held Nov. 18, 6:30-10:30 p.m., at the National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St. Tickets are $50, and can be purchased by calling Sally Woolf at 610-356-3252.