In December 2011, 16-year-old Jack Jablonski was injured severely during a high school hockey game. In late January 2012, he began inpatient rehabilitation at Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute - Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
Susan Fink broke her neck and injured her spinal cord in a cross-country skiing accident. When she arrived at Sister Kenny she was only able to move the big toe on her right foot.
A motorcycle crash broke Nick Fischer's back and left him paralyzed from the waist down. After hearing his diagnosis he had two questions "Can I get my laptop to check emails?" and "When does rehab start?"
Tom Paulus is thankful he never heard the news his family did in April 2007. After suffering serious injuries from a three-story fall during a construction accident, doctors told his family that he would most likely be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life.
Joe Stone's life as he knew it came crashing down on Montana's Mount Jumbo. The impact left him paralyzed from the chest down. One year later, Stone rode through Glacier National Park on his hand-powered bicycle.
It began 25 years ago with weakness that caused Doreen Harrington's legs to give way without warning. It turned out to be a spinal infarction that left her a paraplegic. Her doctors told her she'd never walk again.
Jablonski continues to recover as an outpatient at Courage Center, a Minnesota-based non-profit rehabilitation and resource center, and has a great attitude and work ethic in facing the challenges ahead.
Because of Jablonski's on-ice injury, new high school hockey rules have been put in place to make the game safer.
My association with Sister Kenny began 10 years ago when I arrived at its front entrance strapped to a stretcher, able to move my arms a little, but paralyzed below the chest, only able to move the big toe on my right foot.
A week earlier I broke my neck and injured my spinal cord after falling while cross-country skiing in northern Wisconsin. As I lay in the snow waiting for my husband to get help, I said a little prayer promising to work my hardest if I could live to see my daughters again.
I was rescued by snowmobile and then airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth where a great surgeon operated on me. Fortunately, the injury to my spinal cord was incomplete.
Getting back on my feet
After a week in intensive care, I was transferred to Sister Kenny at Abbott Northwestern Hospital to begin rehab. For 10 weeks I worked hard to re-learn the basics, like sitting up, lifting my arms, and feeding myself.
Every day my body was totally spent. My doctors, nurses and therapists pushed me to get my body working again – and equally important – taught me how to erase the word "can't" from my vocabulary.
Becoming an artist
Although I determined I had no artistic ability back in junior high, I decided to try watercolor painting during my stay at Sister Kenny. A recreational therapist hooked a brush holder to my hand and urged me to try making something.
It was exhausting work just getting the paint on the brush and then to the paper and it took two sessions to complete. I painted three small hearts; one for my husband and one each for my daughters. It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever painted, but worth the effort.
After leaving Sister Kenny, I got busy with family life and for five years Idid not think any more about painting. When walking became more difficult and I needed a power wheelchair to get around, I decided to find a hobby to pursue while my family hiked, biked or skied. Watercolor sounded like it might be the ticket, with simple materials to handle and transport, so I took my first class at the Edina Art Center and was hooked.
I made a goal to be brave enough to enter two paintings in the Sister Kenny Art Show. I remember on opening night feeling so awkward wearing a ribbon that said "artist" because I just did not think I was one. To my amazement, when I found my paintings in the hallways, they each had an encouragement award next to them. It is so rewarding and confidence building to be part of this event, even when you do not win an award or sell your painting. The energy is so positive for everyone involved.
Painting what I love
There is so much to learn in watercolor. When I paint, I start with a subject I love, like a tree, the sky or light shining on a window. I mix colors on the paper and am never sure what the end results will be. Often it is the accidental things that end up pleasing me most.
I love the art show and Sister Kenny. In fact, I am still a regular in the therapy gym on the second floor. Three times a week you can find me pedaling away on the electric "stim" bike.
I see the therapists working with patients and see the way people change. It is an amazing place worthy of all our support.
Spinal cord injury survivor wakes up to a 'good day'
When Nick Fischer and his then fiancée, Stacie, saddled upon their motorcycle for a trip from their home in Woodbury, Minnesota, to Fargo, North Dakota in June 2009, they planned to pick up their marriage license and participate in a charity motorcycle ride. They obtained the marriage license, but the charity ride would be out of the question.
It had been raining and the traffic on Interstate 94 was slow. Just as Fischer started merging into the left lane, a car from behind shot around and cut him off.
"I was only traveling 10 miles per hour — but my motorcycle skidded across the wet road, right into the back of my Mom's car," he recalled. As Fischer hit the ground — the vertebrae in his lower back snapped, paralyzing his legs.
When his doctor gave him the diagnosis, he had only two questions. "Can I get my laptop to check e-mails?" and "when does rehab start?" "I didn't have time to waste," says Fischer. "I can't change what happened, but I can move forward."
Moving forward
Following surgery and two weeks in the intensive care unit, Fischer moved to a regular hospital room where he had another life-changing experience. Sporting a Superman t-shirt while surrounded by family and friends, Fischer and his fiancé exchanged wedding vows.
The day after Fischer was discharged from the Institute, he returned to work as Director of Admissions at DeVry University. He continued outpatient therapy for several weeks, focusing on wheelchair mobility, transferring in and out of the chair and negotiating curbs.
"My favorite part was using the standing frame," says Fischer. "It simply felt great to stand and see people at eye-level again." Once Fischer's back brace was removed in September 2009, he quickly learned to drive a car using hand controls to accelerate and brake.
Life after Sister Kenny
Fischer has completed therapy, but remains close to many team members at the Institute. "I was kind of sad to leave Sister Kenny. The nursing staff and therapists were incredible. They challenged me and played an important role in preparing me for my new life."
In time, he hopes to return to the Institute to help other spinal cord injury survivors adjust to life. First things first though — Fischer and his wife, Stacie, will celebrate with a long overdue honeymoon.
"Of course, it'd be nice if the accident had never happened, but it's not going to hold me back. I can't always control life, but I can control my attitude. If I wake up and decide it's going to be a good day, then it's going to be a good day."
Tom Paulus is thankful that he never heard the news that his family did in April 2007. After suffering serious injuries from a three-story fall during a construction accident, doctors told his family he would most likely be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life.
"At the time, I couldn't move my feet or legs," explained Paulus. "But the good news was I did have some feeling in my feet."
Paulus spent 11 days at Regions Hospital and then choseto be transferred to Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. "It was a wonderful experience to arrive at Sister Kenny, especially when I saw my therapy schedule," said Paulus. "The care from everyone — nurses, doctors, therapists and others — was outstanding."
A 40-year-old married father of three, Paulus spent the next month in intense inpatient therapy. He quickly learned to sit up and then balance himself, and small milestones kept him moving forward day after day. He credits the staff and doctors for taking the time to really listen and setting him on a path for success.
Every couple of weeks, his therapists introduced a new technology into his therapy. He benefited from partial weight bearing gait therapy on the LiteGait® and the Lokomat® — a highly specialized piece of equipment that automates therapy on a treadmill. The simulated walking helped prepare him for his first few steps he took with the aid of parallel bars. "A week later I started walking with a walker," he said. "Those were exciting days."
Aquatic therapy also helped in his recovery. Through Abbott Northwestern's Institute for Health and Healing, he also received integrative medicine services including massage therapy, acupuncture and reflexology. "All of those services helped me recover," he stated. "It was very unique to have them available."
Today, Paulus spends three days a week at the Institute for outpatient therapy sessions. He is able to walk with a cane and hopes to walk on his own by summer. "Luckily, I never heard the words 'you're paralyzed,' " said Paulus. "Nobody ever told me that I couldn't walk, so I just did."
In the summer of 2010, Joe Stone sustained a spinal cord injury while engaged in a speed flying accident on Montana's Mount Jumbo. The impact left him with seven broken vertebrae, spinal cord damage and paralysis from the chest down.
Following a period of hospitalization and healing, he came to Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital for inpatient rehabilitation.
From the first day, according to Jennifer Theis, occupational therapist and program coordinator for the Spinal Cord System of Care, Stone was motivated to get stronger and figure out ways of achieving success.
Each year, Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute recognizes people who are an inspiration to their fellow patients, families, caregivers and to all who hear their stories.
"Joe is a person who is motivated to work hard at any type of sport or leisure activity, and his injury proved to be a chance to see an opportunity for a new type of work," said Theis.
While in inpatient rehabilitation, Stone was an active participant in the spinal cord injury education group and encouraged fellow patients to share their experiences, knowledge, questions and concerns. He has maintained contact with some of group members and motivates them to set and achieve goals.
As an outpatient, he continued to push his therapists to explore options that would increase his function and independence in the community.
Stone is also committed to the continual improvement of medical rehabilitation. During the SKRI reaccreditation process by CARF (Committee on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities), Stone enthusiastically participated in a phone interview that provided useful information to the surveyor on the SKRI spinal cord program. He is also a participant in a University of Minnesota study on an external gait orthosis.
Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute Physician-in-chief Karl Sandin, MD, MPH (left) gives Joe Stone an Inspiration Award.
During his rehabilitation, Stone established a personal goal of learning how to ride a hand cycle, something he had not done before his accident.
In addition, he set an even loftier goal for himself – to ride the 105-mile distance through Glacier National Park in Montana to reach the site on the first anniversary of his original injury, August 2011.
In the process of preparing to achieve this goal, he inspired others as he shared his story and goals. He even sparked the interest of filmmakers who began work on a documentary about Stone and his preparation to ride in Montana.
Stone's success is not only that he learned to ride the cycle and take on an ambitious journey, but also that he connected with others in the community who supported him in his efforts and received encouragement from him in return.
Stone has been a featured speaker at the University of Minnesota physical therapy doctorate program, and is scheduled to present his story at an upcoming Sister Kenny Grad School program, where he will surely touch and inspire others with disabilities to set personal goals that push the boundaries of their abilities.
It began 25 years ago with weakness that caused Doreen Harrington's legs to give way without warning. It turned out to be a spinal infarction that left her a paraplegic. Her doctors told her she'd never gain function in her legs and would never walk again.
Harrington learned to get along in a wheelchair. She raised her three children, and cooked and cleaned for her family.
However, 23 years later, both of her shoulders gave out from wear and tear on her rotator cuffs. In 2009, she began physical therapy treatment for her shoulder symptoms at Sister Kenny Sports & Physical Therapy Center – Shoreview.
During therapy on Harrington's arms, something else grabbed the attention of Lloyd Fjare, PT, Harrington's physical therapist.
Each year, Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute recognizes people who are an inspiration to their fellow patients, families, caregivers and to all who hear their stories.
"As I went to lift Doreen's legs," he said, "I realized she had already done it herself. I commented to Doreen – 'I thought you couldn't move your legs.' She said 'I can't.' 'But you just did,' I told her."
Fjare then got an order from Harrington's physician to work on leg strengthening and to evaluate ambulation capabilities.
Within months, Harrington had learned to walk – at first going only five feet, using a platform walker and requiring a lot of assistance – progressing to independent transfers for sitting and standing and then walking laps around the clinic.
Harrington is an upbeat and energetic person, who says she learned a lot from using a wheelchair and doesn't regret anything about her life.
However, she always had the sense she would walk again. Her positive attitude, will and determination to "never give up" are inspirational to other patients and everyone else she encounters.
When Nick Fischer and his then fiancée, Stacie, saddled upon their motorcycle for a trip from their home in Woodbury, Minnesota, to Fargo, North Dakota in June 2009, they planned to pick up their marriage license and participate in a charity motorcycle ride. They obtained the marriage license, but the charity ride would be out of the question.
