Return to Work: Vocational Rehabilitation

Skylar Miller was a patient at Shepherd Center in 2022, rehabilitating from a paralyzing injury that occurred during a complicated surgery to remove a tumor in his spinal cord.

While at Shepherd Center, Skylar became proficient in using his new wheelchair. And his employer became proficient in supporting Skylar.

Ten days before the injury, Skylar had gotten a new position at PDI Kitchen, Bath, and Lighting that was a perfect fit. But the job required a great deal of mobility — he was a showroom manager at PDI’s Atlanta location, overseeing sales of bathroom, kitchen, and lighting fixtures.

Thanks to Shepherd Center’s expertise, the job remained a perfect fit post-injury.

“My counselors had great conversations with my employers to come up with a game plan for my return,” Skylar says. “And my boss was on board. He said, ‘I didn’t hire you to do this job because you could walk. I hired you because you could do the job.’”

By his first day back, Skylar’s company had moved his desk to a spot that was easier to get in and out of, rearranged floor items to make it easier for Skyler to navigate the showroom, and even ripped out a vanity sink in the bathroom to install a wall-hung sink that Skylar could get his wheelchair underneath.

 “It was a brand-new job with a brand-new body, essentially, but it went as smoothly as possible,” Skylar says.

Less than two years after returning to work, Skylar was assigned to PDI’s Alpharetta location — a higher-volume store and one of the company’s top showrooms. He also now volunteers as a guest speaker in Shepherd Center’s return-to-work classes, sharing his journey with current patients.

“Shepherd Center just prepares you so well to return to daily life,” Skylar says. “I remember Laura (McDowell) was such a great advocate and so good at taking my anxiety away. She would say, ‘Hey, you’re still you. It’s about what’s up here, not anything else. Your mind, your abilities will shine through.’”

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The Genuine Parts Company Vocational Rehabilitation Program at Shepherd Center is unique in a couple of ways. First of all, in addition to GPC’s philanthropic support, the company also hosts tours for Shepherd Center patients to give them in-person experiences navigating office, retail, and warehouse environments. Secondly, vocational services at Shepherd Center are offered early in each patient’s stay — within the rehabilitation setting. This approach allows Shepherd Center staff to collaborate closely with other members of a patient’s treatment team and clearly communicate the paths forward for each patient.

“I think the most important thing we do is demystify the process of returning to work after a catastrophic injury,” says McDowell. “Many patients, especially early on, think there is no way they will be able to work again. But our process helps to open their eyes to new ways of approaching the work.”

And, sometimes, it works the other way around – with patients initiating the fresh approaches.

Cynthia Trawick is the director of TRIO and public health programs at Morehouse College. In January 2023, Trawick sustained a hemorrhagic stroke while playing tennis. After just four days in the intensive care unit at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, she began Shepherd Center’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program. As Trawick’s speech and motor skills returned, she found herself itching to work again.

“I lobbied to start working while still inpatient,” Trawick says with a laugh. “To Shepherd Center’s credit, they allowed me to do it.”

Her vocational, physical, and speech therapists observed her in the process — communicating on Zoom, writing on her computer, researching grant proposals — and identified the cognitive gaps she was still experiencing.

“It was very helpful,” Trawick says. “By watching me work, they figured out what I needed to work on the most based on the type of work I do. There probably aren’t many places that would do that!”

Once it was time for her to leave Shepherd Center and return to campus, Trawick received the same type of support that Dominique Ross did when returning to school. Trawick’s vocational rehabilitation specialist — Zac Bradley, MS, CRC, NCC, CVE — got on the phone with her boss, as well as Morehouse’s HR director and facilities director. Together, they mapped out a plan for her return, which would eventually include a more accessible office.

“Zac was awesome in advocating for me,” Trawick recalls. “Everyone at Shepherd Center, what they do for patients just shows how much they care. They make you feel confident, and it’s such a holistic approach. I have so much respect for what they do.”

“I know we’re talking about work,” Bradley says, “but my role is really to assist folks in getting back to life. Because our lives revolve around our work. My goal is to make the path clearer, less confusing. To ease people’s minds and clear the hurdles between where they are and where they want to be.”

And where Trawick is today is far, far removed from the Atlanta tennis court where she collapsed that winter afternoon. Literally, far. When reached for an interview for this story, Trawick was on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, helping lead a group of Upward Bound pre-college students on a cultural tour of the islands. She secured the grant that funded the trip, too.

“This is what I love,” Trawick says. “These are first-generation college students who have never been on a flight before. Now, they’re being exposed to experiences that let them know there’s a whole world beyond their home communities.

“I’m so thankful to still be doing this. I may be a work in progress, but I know I wouldn’t be here right now if not for Shepherd Center.”

Written by Phillip Jordan