Paralyzed dad 'walks' kids to school for 1st time since injury

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A San Jose man, who became paralyzed over the summer in a tragic accident, came back home from the hospital. The father of two took his kids to school with the entire neighborhood behind him.

For Chris Bergevin it was a walk he'll never forget. Ever since his spinal cord injury, he's had only one goal -- to walk his two kids to school just like he used to everyday.

"All I was doing was walking my kids to school, but it was one of those circumstances where the ordinary became the extraordinary," he said.

Neighbors along the route joined in on the walk cheering him on and holding signs along the way as he wheeled in his wheelchair.

Chris' wife, Lani, was overwhelmed. She said, "It was amazing, I didn't expect to see that many people. It was just the whole community: the teachers, the parents, the friends, the kids."

Many in the tight-knit Silver Creek Community were there the moment Chris got hurt. They were vacationing in Capitola when he dove into shallow water. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

"I remember the sky up above and I remember thinking, 'Uh oh, I'm in trouble. I can't move," Chris recalled.

Since then, the neighbors have been pitching in to help Chris and his family by delivering meals, doing the laundry and raising money. They say it will cost $200,000 a year for in-home care, and his friends are determined to make sure he gets the care he needs.

"They say in circumstances like this that people go through different stages of grief and from the very beginning, Chris just wanted to survive," Armand Tiano, a family friend said. "This was his second chance to him."

"It's just all community. You know, you don't come across that, that kind of strength, that kind of fiber in a community," Chris said.

And this community says they're in it for the long-haul, to be there for whatever extraordinary moment comes next.

If you would like to help donate to the The Bergevin Family click here.