Miracle on Christmas Day: Michael Dennedy’s journey from paralysis to victory

Westchester man beats the odds after spinal injury

A year ago, Michael Dennedy fell off of his roof while putting up Christmas lights and was given just a 3% chance to ever walk again. But he beat the odds and is not only walking but riding his bike 15 miles. FOX 5 NY's Richard Giacovas was there as he reunited with the medical team whom he credited for his recovery.

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. - When it comes to beating the odds, Michael Dennedy is a walking example.

It was last Christmas Day when this 41-year-old project manager climbed up on the roof of his home in Middletown in Orange County to adjust his Christmas lights. Michael slipped off his ladder and fell to the ground.

"If you’ve ever been scared real quickly, and you get the chills and your hair stands up. It felt like an electric shock going up my spine," Dennedy said.

Michael was paralyzed from the waist down.

A team of doctors at Westchester Medical Center determined that Michael had shattered his vertebrae. His chance of walking on his own wasn’t promising.

"Recovering the ability to walk totally independently like he is now without really without noticeable deficit limp is less than a 5% chance," said WMC neurosurgeon Dr. John Wainwright.

After an immediate 6-hour surgery, Dr. Wainwright decomposed Michael’s spine and then reconstructed it.

Then came the long, grueling months of rehab. Michael knew he had a short window to achieve any type of goal, but he was determined and never lost hope.

As the old saying goes, persistence overcomes resistance. Through endless hours of physical therapy, less than a year after he fell off that roof, Michael Dennedy was not only walking on his own, but he was bicycling, hiking and even doing leg presses in the gym.

This Christmas will look a lot different for Michael and his girlfriend. They don’t have much to ask for this year.

After all, last year’s Christmas wish was granted. Michael is back to his old self.