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 Hometown:
Walpole, MA
Injury Date:
February 19, 1997
Diagnosis:
C6-7 Incomplete
Kristen's Story:
Tragedy often strikes when we least expect it. While
riding as a passenger with three friends late one
night, enjoying the conclusion of pleasant evening
at a friend’s house, distraction lead the
driver to suddenly lose control of their vehicle.
Their car ran off the road and hit a tree.
Immediately following impact, one of her friends
panicked knowing that Kristen was in danger. Having
noble intentions, she decided to get Kristen out
of the car. With both car doors inoperable, however,
her friend extracted through one of the windows,
which doctors believe may have inadvertently caused
more damage.
Once removed from the car, the paramedics took Kristen
to Norwood Hospital where it was determined she
needed an MRI. Unable to perform the test in Norwood,
however, Kristen was then transferred to Boston
Medical Center where the MRI revealed she had sustained
an incomplete injury to her spinal cord at the C6-7
level, along with a collapsed lung.
After recovering from the collapsed lung and leaving
the ICU, Kristen started inpatient rehabilitation
which lasted three and a half months. She then started
outpatient rehab and managed to keep going on and
off for about a year and a half. Over that two year
period, Kristen was told that there was really no
hope of recovery and that walking was not a realistic
goal. Not satisfied with that prognosis, Kristen
hired a PT to come to her house to help her with
therapy. She then hired a trainer to work out with
her at home at the conclusion of her therapy, and
also tried other modalities like massage and acupuncture.
It’s particularly remarkable that Kristen
did all this while attending Regis College as a
math major.
Over the next few years, Kristen embarked on a nationwide
mission of seeking out the best in SCI rehabilitation.
As good fortune often follows adversity, she eventually
heard of Journey Forward and its unique program
of exercise-based recovery.
Kristen has been working with us at Journey Forward
since we opened and we’re all excited to be
working with her toward the next level of recovery.
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