Sidelined, yet spirited, Taunton's Brian Ferris vows return to officiating

"Dressed in all black, sporting a "Better Everyday" T-shirt and Nike hat, Brian Ferris dropped to his knees and descended onto a bright blue mat Wednesday morning at Journey Forward in Canton. With his mother, Maureen Ferris, to his right, and neuroexercise specialist Rowan Curtin to his left, he methodically crawled from one end of the path to the other as the clock struck 10 a.m. He moved his right knee and right hand forward, then his left hand and left knee followed. Each movement told a story, each square of the mat was earned, and each inch marked another small, but significant, hurdle cleared."

"Less than six months ago, on Dec. 1, 2025, Ferris lay on the floor, paralyzed for six hours in his Taunton home, immobile after falling while preparing for a colonoscopy. He suffered a life-altering spinal cord injury that left him with minimal movement of his arms and legs. The 51-year-old Ferris spent 10 days in the intensive care unit at Rhode Island Hospital, 86 days at Spaulding Rehabilitation in Charlestown, and is currently rehabbing in Plymouth and Canton."

"Ferris, also a Bridgewater State men's basketball assistant coach and highly respected field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse official, took his first steps in early February. Now, when he goes to the ground, he can stand back up on his own. "It's not easy," Ferris said. "It's never going to be easy. But I'm going to fight it every single day. I'm not going to let it beat me.""

"Dec. 1 started out like any other Monday morning for Maureen Ferris; she put her other son Eric's children on the school bus. Then she got a call from Eric, who relayed that his brother had a serious accident at the house and had been whisked to Rhode Island. Maureen, 76, had already lost her husband, longtime"

Brian Ferris began neurorehabilitation at Journey Forward in Canton, using a bright blue mat to practice controlled crawling movements with support from his mother and a neuroexercise specialist. He previously suffered a spinal cord injury on Dec. 1, 2025, after falling while preparing for a colonoscopy, leaving him with minimal movement and requiring extensive hospital and rehabilitation stays. After intensive care and long-term rehab, he took his first steps in early February and can now go to the ground and stand back up on his own. He emphasizes that recovery is difficult and will require daily effort and determination to prevent the injury from winning.

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