In March 2019, Janne Kouri (B’97) set off from Los Angeles on a cross-country trip. Two months later, crossing under a balloon arch at Healy Gates, he completed his journey— traveling 3,100 miles in an electric wheelchair.
Kouri, a Hall of Fame Hoyas football defensive lineman, had become paralyzed in 2006 after breaking two vertebrae in his neck. He made the LA to DC “Ride for Paralysis” this spring to raise funds and awareness for the six million individuals and wounded service members living with paralysis in the U.S. today.
Kouri’s wife, Susan Moffat, his doctor and his trainers all tried to talk him out of the idea, “but I was at a point in my life when I needed to do this,” he says. “Before the accident, I was adventurous and spontaneous. I needed to recapture that.”
Following his accident, Kouri had struggled to find the rehabilitation resources he needed. He and his wife moved from California to Louisville, Kentucky, to undergo a year of specialized therapy at the Frazier Rehab Institute. To help others like him, Kouri went on to found NextStep, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing progressive, accessible and affordable care. On average, insurance coverage ends after 31 days of hospital-based rehabilitation, leaving the majority of the six million people suffering from paralysis stuck at home with no access to therapy, Kouri says. NextStep now has seven training centers in the U.S. and two international sites.
Ride for Paralysis was inspired when several of Kouri’s friends completed a bike ride from Denver to Los Angeles to raise money for NextStep’s wounded service members scholarship fund. Kouri and his team made stops in 14 cities and countless towns during the ride, providing quality-of-life grants, donating medical equipment and hosting charity events.
The group traveled east on bike trails and country roads but sometimes had to use highway shoulders, leading to “some scary moments with semis whipping by,” he says.
Throughout the trip, Kouri had Hoyas by his side: More than 40 Georgetown alumni and friends were involved, biking beside him for long stretches. Anderson Bell (B’99) was by his side for the entire trip. “The people I met through the football program, the players and the coaching staff—it’s the people who really made the difference in my Georgetown experience.”
Kouri adds that his Hoya friends were key to his initial recovery, which is why he chose the Hilltop as the finish line for his long trek. “Georgetown has been unbelievably supportive of me and my wife,” he says.
The Ride for Paralysis campaign has raised more than $400,000 thus far. “Our next step is to go global,” Kouri says. “These services are desperately needed everywhere.”
