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 Hometown:
Needham, MA
Injury Date:
July 4, 1999
Diagnosis:
C-5-6 Complete
Ben's Story:
Ben’s story is one of abrupt life change and
perseverance that is typical with clients who have
experienced traumatic neck injury.
Prior to his injury, Ben was a carefree high school
freshman who excelled as an athlete and was popular
among the student body. In fact, according to Ben,
although he was very smart (indeed, upon meeting
him you can immediately discern that he is gifted
intellectually with a keen wit) his socializing
interfered with his academic performance. Ben loved
all sports; he played soccer each and every season,
and was on the tennis team. Moreover, he ran everyday
and worked out at a gym three times a week to prepare
his body. Ben was passionate and dedicated to the
things he loved.
His accident occurred in a lake while at summer
camp. Like he’d done many times before, Ben
ran down the beach and headed for the water. What
he didn’t know was that he would be headed
to a place where his life would be permanently changed.
Ben ran into the water and dove head-first (“like
on Baywatch”). However, this time he hit a
submerged object and was seen floating helplessly
in the water.
Even though he blacked out from the incident, Ben
says he remembers everything he did that day and
the night leading up to it. He remembers running
into the water, diving in and floating—unable
to move anything but his head. He remembers struggling
to breathe, then awakening on the beach surrounded
by a throng of onlookers.
Ben spent the next three weeks at Massachusetts
General Hospital, and then underwent three months
of occupational therapy at the Sheperd Center which
he says was very worthwhile. There, he learned what
he needed to know in order to function in his new
situation. He also did physical therapy every day,
working on strengthening and stretching. But it
wasn’t until just the winter of 2008 that
Ben learned about Journey Forward through word-of-mouth.
Although he’s very new, he says he’s
been very pleased with his experience. He feels
better and likes the positive atmosphere. Staff
has also noticed positive physiological changes
in a short time; for example, he doesn’t experience
as much disreflexia during exercise as he first
did.
Ben’s short-term goal is to be healthier and
overcome the general atrophy as a result of life
in a wheelchair. In the long run, his plan is to
recover as much of his original function as possible.
As a high school math teacher, his main life goal
is to be tops among his peers and win Teacher of
the Year. In support of that, he’s been gaining
ground on his master’s degree from Boston’s
prestigious Harvard University.
He’s also working on a new girlfriend.
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