Former IndyCar racer Sam Schmidt doesn’t remember the crash almost nine years ago that left him without feeling below his neck.
In an instant he went from Indianapolis 500 competitor to a quadriplegic who needed a ventilator to breath.
By the end of 2000, he started the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation to fund scientific research and rehabilitation advances.
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation has taken notice of Schmidt’s foundation, and on Tuesday it honored Schmidt with its 2008 Visionary Leadership Award.
“Sam is a very talented individual and people respect him even though he can only move his head and shrug his shoulders, ” said Ida Cahill, president of the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation.
Schmidt had met Reeve, who was a quadriplegic later in life, on several occasions and was inspired by the late actor’s ability to overcome his disability.
Schmidt was inspired to start his foundation after seeing other quadriplegic leave rehabilitation before recovery because their insurance ran out.
As he saw research develop throughout the years, Schmidt developed a loftier goal — to one day walk again.
His foundation estimates its donations to scientific research to be more than $1.5 million in the last three years.
And while its takes him two hours to get out of bed each morning, he travels more than 100 days out of the year, spending much of his time running Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which sponsors drivers in the IndyCar and Indy Lights Series.
“Racing is what I wanted to do since I was 5 years old,” he said. “I always wanted to race the Indianapolis 500 and I did that. I always had it in my blood and I would have regretted it if I hadn’t taken the opportunity.”
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