Quadriplegic man Perry Cross was given the crushing news as a 19-year-old that he'd never walk again.
Now 41, Mr Cross still can't move or feel anything below his neck and needs a mechanical ventilator to help him breathe.
But he does have hope.
Mr Cross says medical research under way at the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research, opened by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday, is giving renewed strength to paralysed people like himself.
The centre, at Griffith University's Nathan campus in Brisbane, is preparing to conduct clinical trials by 2018, focusing on restoring motor and sensory function to people with spinal cord injuries.
Essentially, it could help paraplegics and quadriplegics walk again.
"This centre offers true hope that one day we'll able to cure paralysis and other neurological disorders," Mr Cross said.
"Possibly get people in wheelchairs up walking again before too long."
Mr Cross, who was left wheelchair bound after rugby union accident in 1994, said his injuries were so severe he was unlikely to benefit from the initial trials.
But Mr Cross, who founded the Perry Cross Spinal Research Institute, said it would go a long way in helping less paralysed people and could also lead to him having feeling below his neck again.
"Not only can I not move, I can't feel - and that's the thing people forget," he said.
"To be able to have sensation, to be able to feel again, is a huge thing."
The centre's research involves transplanting certain cells from the nose into an injured spinal cord.
Team leader Dr James St John said stem cells that help regenerate people's sense of smell had been identified and studied for years, but the centre's research refines to process used to extract the cells to help repair the spinal cord.
Dr St John said his team was motivated by the real life outcome of the research - allowing people to walk and feel again.
"It's something we thought wasn't possible, but now actually may happen," he said.
Ms Palaszczuk flagged more funding for medical research in her June 14 budget, as part of her Advance Queensland push, but wouldn't provide a figure on Thursday.
"We need to continue to ... support research and capabilities like we are seeing at this institute," she said.
