RASM Member Receives Groundbreaking Equipment

You only need to interact with Brian and Shaun Dumas for a brief moment before the laughter that fills their 25-year marriage makes you forget that they were struck by tragedy just a year and a half earlier.

HELP BRIAN WALK AGAIN

If you read Brian’s GoFundMe Page, you will learn about how he passed out at the gym after a routine workout, leaving him diagnosed with incomplete quadriplegia. If you ask Brian about the accident, he might joke that he’s a prime example that working out can actually be bad for you.

Although he broke two cervical bones, Brian’s spinal cord is not completely severed; therefore, he is capable of learning to walk again. However, repetition is key to his recovery. According to Shaun, “Everything is kicking back on, but we wanted the Quadriciser because he needs that repetition to simulate walking, and that’s what the Quadriciser does.”

RRCF CHARITABLE DONATION

Through a generous donation from the RASM REALTORS® Charitable Foundation (RRCF), Brian received a groundbreaking activity-based therapy machine called the Quadricizer. Shaun explains that with the help of the Quadricizer, Brian has the “potential to lay down new pathways along the spine where it was bruised.”

Brian is sincerely grateful for the life-changing RRCF donation and for the RRCF Board of Directors for choosing to donate to his cause.

“I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for the generous donation made by the RASM REALTORS® Charitable Foundation, the proceeds of which were used to purchase much-needed rehab equipment to aid in the recovery after my recent accident. The equipment acquired with your donation has played a crucial role in my recovery journey to date, and it continues to make a substantial difference in my daily life. Your generosity has not only alleviated the financial burden associated with obtaining the necessary equipment but has also provided me with the tools to regain my strength, mobility, and independence. I am truly grateful for the positive impact your donation has had on my life,” said Brian.

BEFORE THE ACCIDENT

Before his accident, Brian worked as a business broker for Keller Williams Lakewood Ranch, and as such, became a member of the REALTOR® Association of Sarasota and Manatee Counties (RASM). Brian says he made “a lot of good contacts” through RASM, people he still talks to today.

KEEPING POSITIVE

Brian says of the past year-and-a-half, “You learn to live with it.” When asked how he accomplishes that, he replies: “By keeping a positive attitude, but more importantly, my support staff, and mainly my wife - she’s always pushing me.”

“It’s so easy to lie in bed for hours and hours at a time and start to feel sorry for yourself,” Brian explains. “My job is to get better, and I have a good support staff. Luckily, my wife won’t let me do that, and I don’t want to do that.”

Because everyone is so different, the prognosis is undeterminable, and Brian describes his improvement as “so slow that you almost don’t recognize it. Then he hears a friend say: “Wow! Look at the improvement!”

Give Today