STANDING--AND OVATION!

(Left to right): Luther College President Paula Carlson, Chris Norton and Emily Summers (Photo courtesy of Luther College)

When Luther College football player Chris Norton was injured in a football game against Central College his freshman year, doctors told him he had a 98 percent of being paralyzed from the neck down.

On Sunday Norton passed another milestone from his recovery from a spinal cord injury--he walked across part of the stage at the Luther Commencement to accept his diploma from President Paula Carlson.

Before the ceremony, Norton told decorahnews.com he was "proud and thankful" to have come so far that he could even attempt to walk across the stage.  He said there is a "night and day difference" between what he could do after the accident and what he can do now.  For instance, he now has function in his arms and can feed himself.

Chris had help from fiancee Emily Summers as he got out of his wheelchair and took a number of steps to get his diploma.

While walking across the stage--and getting a loud and sustained standing ovation from professors and fellow students alike--was a memorable milestone, Chris told decorahnews.com this won't be the end of his goals.  He plans to continue training to regain even more movement--and to continue delivering motivational speeches.

(See video of Chris Norton walking across the stage here)

(For more about Chris Norton's SCI CAN Foundation, which raises money for spinal cord injury causes, visit http://scicanfoundation.com/

Chris Norton poses for a portrait phot after getting his diploma (Photo by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott)

Paul Scott takes a photo of Chris Norton (Courtesy of Luther College)