Stand with 68
Charlie Biggurs · Texas Tech #68 · Coach · Pastor

Help Charlie stand again.

A 12½-hour spinal surgery in 2023 left Charlie in a wheelchair. He still has feeling and movement in his legs. With full-time training at REACT, he's fighting to walk again. Insurance won't cover it.

$0of $12,000
Goal 1: Three months of training at REACT
0% funded · GoFundMe and REACT gifts combined Updated November 2026
Watch

His story, in his words.

May 3, 2023. The surgery started at 7 a.m.

“When I woke up from the anesthesia, the first thing I saw was the clock on the wall. It said 7:32. I asked the nurse if the surgery was over already. I didn't realize it was 7:32 in the evening.

Then the surgeon told me to move my legs. I could feel them a little. I couldn't move them.”

Charlie Biggurs

Read Charlie's full story

“If you quit, you'll start quitting for the rest of your life.”

What Charlie's father told him in fifth grade, the year he tried to quit football.
Two ways to give

Every gift goes to his recovery.

Give through GoFundMe to support everything Charlie needs, or give through REACT for a tax-deductible gift that goes straight to his training.

Charlie's GoFundMe

Support all of it

Organized by Charlie's family and teammates. Covers every part of his recovery:

  • Training sessions at REACT
  • Repairs to his power wheelchair
  • Accessibility changes at home
Give on GoFundMe
REACT Neuro Rehab

Fund his training

Give directly to REACT, the Addison nonprofit where Charlie trains. Your gift goes toward his sessions and may be tax-deductible.

On REACT's form, check Add a dedication to your donation and enter Charlie Biggurs as the name, so your gift is applied to his training.

Give through REACT
Before the chair

A life in the game.

For thirty years, Charlie's body carried him everywhere he wanted to go.

Charlie in his Waltrip #75 jersey
Waltrip High SchoolHouston
Charlie's Texas Tech #68 team portrait
Texas Tech #68Three-year starter, team captain
Charlie walking onto the field as a coach at Oklahoma
OklahomaCoaching
Charlie at Dallas Cowboys training camp
Dallas CowboysCoaching
The road ahead

Three milestones.

We'll celebrate each one here and on Facebook, with video from REACT.

  1. 01

    Three months of training Now

    Six one-hour sessions a week at REACT.

    $12,000
  2. 02

    Wheelchair repair and home access

    Fixing his power chair, and ramps and wider entries at home.

    Coming soon
  3. 03

    A full year of recovery

    Twelve months of training toward standing and walking.

    $65,000 total
The road so far

Follow his progress.

From the fall in 2014 to the work he's doing now. We'll add each new step here.

  1. 2014

    The fall

    On his way into the church he pastored, Charlie took the steps instead of the ramp. His right leg gave out at the top and he fell five feet onto the concrete. An MRI at Medical City Dallas showed a bulging disc.

  2. 2014

    First surgery

    A discectomy to relieve pressure on the nerve. It didn't work. His right leg kept weakening, he fell more often, and he started using a walker.

  3. 2018

    Second surgery

    A laminectomy with a new orthopedic spine surgeon. Once again, it didn't work.

  4. 2018–2022

    Years on the walker

    Chiropractors, injections, and everything people encouraged him to try. While moving, his leg gave out and he ended up on the front porch with boxes all around him.

  5. 2022

    A bigger plan

    His spine had started to curve. Doctors planned a full scoliosis correction and lower-back fusion. He waited a year so he wouldn't miss the school year, and lost about 98 pounds to prepare.

  6. May 3, 2023

    Twelve and a half hours

    He walked into Baylor on his walker for a six-hour surgery. He woke up at 7:32 that evening. He could feel his legs a little. He couldn't move them.

  7. 2023

    ICU and inpatient rehab

    About 12 days in the ICU, then inpatient rehab. The day he arrived was the most pain he had ever felt.

  8. 2023

    Home

    His wife became his caregiver. His sons helped him in and out of bed until the night he got in by himself and texted, “You don't have to come home.”

  9. 2025

    REACT

    He started training at REACT Neuro Rehab in Addison. Insurance denied coverage because it isn't inside a hospital.

  10. Now

    Getting stronger

    He can move from his chair, get in and out of bed, and handle more of his own care on his own. He wants six one-hour sessions a week.

  11. Next

    Three months of training

    Goal 1: $12,000 for three months of full-time training at REACT.

Donate REACT