Walking with Anthony

SPINAL CORD INJURY AWARENESS MONTH

INTRODUCING SCI HEROES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

This September, we aim to raise SCI awareness by sharing 30 different stories from 30 individuals with SCI, highlighting their tragedies and triumphs each day on our social channels and website. Walking With Anthony receives thousands of grant applications every year from individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) in desperate need of help. Each story has the same underlying theme: these brave heroes need mental, physical, and financial guidance and support. 

SCI HERO

Vicki Shavers

Vicki Shavers

I was driving my pick-up truck, and we were turning left into our driveway. We had come to a complete stop to wait for oncoming traffic to clear. Our brake lights and blinkers were brand new and properly functioning. We saw in the rear view mirror a school bus approaching. The next thing we knew the bus collided with the passenger side rear end of the pick-up truck.

The impact pushed us nearly 50 feet into our neighbors yard. My wife was in the front passenger seat. Since most of the impact occured on the passenger side of the vehicle most of the force of the impact was transferred to her.

She was transferred from Athens Regional Hospital with a C-5 fracture to University of Tennessee Medical Center. She was given emergency surgery first thing in the morning. They fused her C-4 to C-7 vertebrae. She was left with complete paralysis.

She was in UT Medical Center for 2 months, where she gained minimal movement on her right side, mostly in her arm. She went to Patricia Neal Rehab center for 23 days. She was able to get partial control of her right hand and arm. She is now in Wood Village nursing home in Sweetwater, TN. They had promised to continue rehab, but in the two months she has been there she has received none. She is gradually losing any movement she had recovered.

It is integral that she receives continuous rehab within the first 6-months of injury, to allow the best possible recovery she can. There have been major lapses in rehab since she was put into the nursing home. We need rehab to continue, so that she will not be stuck with barely any use of her body.

I was injured and have been unable to work. I was diagnosed with cracks in my C-7 vertebrae. We are struggling to get by financially. On top of not being able to work, I am having to drive 1 hour round trip to visit and check on my wife in the nursing home almost everyday.

My wife is also have marked mental health decline from this. She is being left unattended for hours by medical staff, with dirty sopping wet diapers. When I am not there she is only checked on when she calls, and that can take hours.

She is struggling with major depression and the nursing home has no phycology medical professionals to offer her any help.

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More SCI Heroes

Please share these stories during the month of September to help us raise awareness for spinal cord injury:

SCI Heroes

Ian Malesiewski

I was wrestling at the junior freestyle and Greco world team trials. It was my first match of the Greco portion of the tournament and I threw my opponent. I landed hitting the mat with my...

Rhonda Williams
SCI Heroes

Rhonda Williams

I am a C5 C6 quadriplegic who had a car accident when I was 16 in 1989 in Virginia. Through the many years of living as a quadriplegic I have had ebbs and flows. I met my husband while living in...

David Wieselmann
SCI Heroes

David Wieselmann

I was Mt. Biking with friends up in Vermont after work. We were cutting down a hill at the very end of run, and my front wheel sunk in some soft dirt. I went over the handlebars and did a...

Stephanie Nichols-Rodas
SCI Heroes

Stephanie Nichols-Rodas

I had a car accident May 6th,2017, early in the morning on my way to work. Another car was going to hit me, so I swerved and hit a concrete median while merging on to the freeway. I flipped 3...

Eden Hoelscher
SCI Heroes

Eden Hoelscher

On December 23, 2015, our five-year-old daughter, Eden, collapsed on the ground after doing a backbend on our living room floor. Within 30 minutes, she was paralyzed from the waist down. She was...

Rebecca Koltun
SCI Heroes

Rebecca Koltun

On March 13, 2021, I was skiing with some friends in Vermont. While I do not recall the day itself, I was told that I had a very bad fall. I woke up in a hospital in New Hampshire, paralyzed from...

Rob Balucas
SCI Heroes

Rob Balucas

hey, i’m rob This part of my story starts in 2015. That year was a shaping up to be a breakout year for my business and me. My business, a boutique creative agency, was on track to grow by 12%...

Stevie VanAusdale
SCI Heroes

Stevie VanAusdale

I was in a car accident the summer going into my junior year of high school. I was with 4 friends. We made the poor choice of throwing water bottles at other cars, which caused one car to chase...

Casey Ellin
SCI Heroes

Casey Ellin

On June 1st, 2013, when Casey was only 26 years old, he had an accident at Jones Beach that forever changed his life. After diving into the ocean, he fractured his C4 – C6 vertebrae, leaving him...

Michael Kim
SCI Heroes

Michael Kim

38 years old father of two young children, PARALYZED. This fund is set up for Mike's family during a time of incredible heartache, to help them navigate a long road of recovery and treatment....

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DISCLAIMER:

Walking With Anthony receives thousands of grant applications every year from individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) in desperate need of help. Although we are not able to directly support every individual, for your participation you will receive valuable resources regarding mentorship, mental health, community, advice, and education to help you on your SCI journey. 30 stories will be chosen to share on social media, and those individuals will also receive $200 of wellness supplements to aid in their recovery.

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