By the time he was 21, Ryder had been racing dirt bikes competitively for 11 years. He skateboarded every day of his life and mountain biked nearly as much. If it sped, roared, or soared, he was on it.

“So,” Ryder shares, “to go from all that to a chair was pretty demoralizing.”

He’s talking about the spinal cord injury he sustained back in 2016, one that resulted in a T-12 complete fracture. And if you’re guessing how it happened based on Ryder’s passions, you’re going to be wrong. Proving that injuries can happen any number of ways, Ryder’s occurred when he fell from a tree. He simply grabbed a dead branch that gave way while he was putting up a rope swing for his younger sister at their family’s home in Athens, Georgia. Ryder’s rehabilitation took him to Shepherd Center for an anticipated nine-week inpatient stint; he went home in three. Ryder attributes his ability to adapt quickly to three things: his athleticism, his positivity and mental strength, and Shepherd Center’s staff.

“A big part of it was that everyone on the rehab team there — occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists — helped me get a grip on what I’d have ahead of me, right away. It was straightforward, no sugarcoating, and it really kickstarted my mind into the state I needed to be in. Sports would be possible to do again, and if I just went all in, they’d show me how.”

All in, indeed. Ryder’s injury happened in April 2016. By the following January, he was on a sit-ski in Alaska, hitting the same slopes that he’d run there on a trip the year before.

Ryder says two things stood out in his recovery at Shepherd Center. First, it was the recreation therapy that allowed him to quickly get active again and reconnect with sports right on Shepherd’s campus. Another big boost for Ryder was the peer support sessions. One of the SCI program alums he met was Jeremy Maddox, a bit of an adrenaline junkie himself. Jeremy sustained a spinal cord injury at 16, rehabbed at Shepherd Center, and found new ways to compete in sports — including as a national, and international, champion in adaptive waterskiing. The two bonded over their love of sports and remain friends to this day. Jeremy also connected Ryder to his first team sport opportunity — joining Shepherd Center’s competitive softball team, the Shepherd Sluggers.

“That’s been huge for me,” Ryder says. “I was always a solo sport guy for the rush of them, but joining the softball team is all about camaraderie. We get to travel, play other teams, and hang out with each other before and after the games. It’s a new avenue for competitiveness and friendship.”

Ryder followed Jeremy’s lead in other ways, too. Within a month of completing his inpatient rehabilitation, Ryder was back as a volunteer in the peer support program. Ryder still volunteers at Shepherd’s adaptive sports expos, often demonstrating how he uses his sit-ski.

Shepherd Center hosts a wide range of health and wellness clinics through the hospital’s donor-funded Recreation Therapy Program, giving people the opportunity to try everything from adaptive skiing to adaptive hiking, target shooting, wildlife viewing, horticulture, jewelry making, and cycling, to name a few. The clinics are open to former patients and community members alike, taking place in both the metro Atlanta area and around the country. Led by Shepherd Center recreation therapists and subject experts like Ryder, the clinics offer people a chance to try something new while knowing they’re in good hands.

The teaching talent comes naturally to Ryder, as he taught production and robotics for several years at Athens Academy. This year, he’s transitioning to a new opportunity as a full-time film editor. He’s also passing on his love of sport to the next generation. Ryder and his wife Carly have a daughter, Ramsey, who he often takes hunting, fishing, and camping.

“Before my injury, I was always so fast-paced, just go, go, go,” Ryder says. “I still love the thrills, but I can appreciate the slower moments now, too. It’s all fulfilling now."

Written by Phillip Jordan

Koltyn Roper has been playing baseball for eight years. 

It would be a long time for anyone, but for 12-year-old Koltyn, it seems even longer. He’s been playing the sport for two-thirds of his life.

Koltyn’s baseball career shifted, however, after he sustained a spinal cord injury in an accident in December 2025. After two weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, he transferred to Shepherd Center to begin rehabilitation in the Adolescent Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Koltyn said before leaving Shepherd Center to return home to Dawsonville, Georgia, in April. During his several months at the hospital, he became known on the floor for telling jokes and getting laughs out of his therapists.

Throughout his time at Shepherd Center, his therapy team found ways to infuse his passion for baseball into his therapy. One activity brought the baseball diamond straight into his room: video games.

“I did play a lot of video games before, I played with a lot of my friends from different counties, just because [we aren’t able to see each other as much],” Koltyn says. “I played with my brothers, too.”

Playing video games after his injury proved to be a little different. Koltyn had reduced mobility in his hands and couldn’t use the controller the same way he did before his injury. But Graylyn Jones, OTR/L, an assistive technology therapist in the Access Technology Lab, showed Koltyn how an adaptive controller could help him play his favorite XBOX games again. Video games are often incorporated into recreation therapy sessions at Shepherd Center, which aim to help patients rebuild confidence and independence after injury through engaging in activities outside the hospital room or therapy gym. Thanks to generous donor support, rec therapy is a throughline over the course of a patient’s time at Shepherd.

For Koltyn, other recreation therapy sessions included playing wiffle ball and going on outings to the World of Coca-Cola and the SkyView Ferris wheel in Atlanta. But video games, especially, have been a continued hobby for him throughout his rehabilitation. After Koltyn’s session with Jones, his mom, Heather McCall, applied for an adaptive controller from AbleGamers Foundation. AbleGamers’ mission is to create opportunities that enable play in order to combat social isolation, foster inclusive communities, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. The organization provides adaptive controllers and other assistive technology to people like Koltyn, keeping them in the game.

While Heather and Koltyn awaited the adaptive controller, there was still one game Koltyn could play with the standard controller. It just so happened to be MLB The Show, a baseball game. During his time in the Spinal Cord Injury Day Program, he would play the game in his family’s apartment at the Woodruff Family Residence Center.

Koltyn had other baseball experiences during his time at Shepherd, too. In March, he returned to his middle school to throw out the first pitch of a baseball game. And in April, just a couple of days before his graduation from the day program, he and his family attended the annual University of Georgia versus Georgia Tech baseball game at Truist Park. Outings like these prepared Koltyn and his family to return home, even if it was bittersweet to say goodbye to their care team here.

“You know, never being in this situation, somebody might not understand, but when they say you're part of the Shepherd family, you really are,” Heather says. ‘These people have become our family.”

Even though Koltyn’s discharge meant saying goodbye to his Shepherd family, going home meant he, his parents, and siblings were all under one roof again, after four months apart. While Heather and Koltyn were at Shepherd Center, Koltyn’s dad, Brady McCall, went back and forth between the hospital and Dawsonville, participating in Koltyn’s therapy sessions and also taking care of his three siblings at home. Getting ready to return home, Koltyn was excited to be with his siblings again, and especially excited for home-cooked meals made by his dad.

It wasn’t long before Koltyn and his family returned to Shepherd Center for a visit. By the time they came back for Project Rollway in June, they had been settling back into life at home. AbleGamers sent Koltyn an adaptive video game controller, giving him the ability to play more video games with his siblings and friends. When Koltyn took to the stage that evening, he and his family got to celebrate the progress he’s made so far.

“It has been absolutely amazing,” Heather says. “From start to finish, he’s made so much progress that we know he would not have made elsewhere. It has been life changing.”

Koltyn plans to return to Shepherd Center next summer for continued therapy, more laughs with his therapists, and to keep making progress. But in the meantime, video games are keeping him connected: to his friends, to the sport that he loves, and simply to life as a 12-year-old kid. 

Written by Erin Kenney

Megan Collins Bordon, like many moms, is no stranger to multitasking. One January morning, when reached by phone for an interview, she worked away on a to-do list while her 11-month-old, Wyatt, was down for a nap. Thirty minutes later, she’d gotten him up and out of his crib, getting ready to nurse him. 

“Everything I’ve wanted from [the experience of being a mom], we’ve been able to do,” she says. “I feel really blessed about that.” 

Megan and her husband, Adrian Bordon, welcomed Wyatt in February 2025, seven years after she sustained a spinal cord injury (SCI) after running off the road in her car. After two months in the ICU, she came to Shepherd Center for the SCI rehabilitation program. She moved from the inpatient program to the SCI Day Program to outpatient therapy, before ultimately moving from Tennessee to Atlanta to stay close to her new Shepherd community. 

She found an apartment, enrolled in graduate school, and started a full-time office position at Shepherd Center — milestones she credits to her rehab at Shepherd. 

“Shepherd from the start gave me the tools to adapt in any kind of environment,” she says. “Because of the wheelchair skills and social skills and confidence that I’d built at Shepherd, I felt like I could navigate any situation.”

Megan points to recreation therapy and peer support as crucial components of her recovery. The programs taught her how to navigate life post-injury, including the Atlanta dating scene. Less than two years after her injury, she met her husband, Adrian. 

The two married and moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where they began a new chapter in their life. Megan got pregnant in 2024 and began calling different OB-GYN practices to find a doctor who had experience with SCI patients. Luckily, she did. 

During her relatively smooth, though still considered high-risk pregnancy, she hoped to have an unmedicated, natural birth. But she ultimately ended up delivering via a C-section (due to standard labor complications, not as a result of her SCI). 

“My support system, asking the right questions, being well educated about my diagnosis and my care, all of that really contributed to a good [pregnancy and delivery] experience for me,” she says. 

Since bringing Wyatt home, Megan has adapted to every challenge with help from a dedicated support system. Sarah Dubois, PT, DPT, one of her physical therapists from Shepherd, had her first baby just four months before Megan, making her uniquely suited to offer advice and support. 

Megan also met two other Charleston-based mothers who use wheelchairs through her OB-GYN. Her friends and family round out her support network, helping with everything from Costco trips to replying to late-night texts. 

As Wyatt neared his first birthday in February, Megan reflected on his first year. 

“Especially in the beginning, I was so scared about what everything would look like. Once I got into it, I would be fine,” she says. “When he started crawling, I was terrified, but after two days of crawling, I was like, ‘Oh okay, this is the same thing, but harder.’”

She sometimes gets asked how she’ll keep up with Wyatt once he’s walking and running, but her answer is simple: the same way any mother would. 

“[I’ll] follow him around. Wyatt is just going to have to learn that mommy can’t [always] chase after him, and he needs to be safe and be careful and listen,” she says. “A lot of that is just going to be up to me and Adrian as parents to teach him.” 

While each new phase presents its own challenges, she especially looks forward to some milestones, like their first flight as a family of three, hearing Wyatt form his first full sentences, and navigating the beach for the first time. But in the meantime, she is savoring every moment.

Written by Erin Kenney

Gabrielle won the title in March. The competition included delivering a speech to share her advocacy platform, which focuses on improving accessibility in Georgia's transportation and infrastructure.

But there was a time when Gabrielle had to work hard just to regain her voice. In Sept. 2019, she sustained a spinal cord injury during an ATV excursion while vacationing in Aruba. The hospital in Aruba was not equipped to perform the surgery she needed, so she was medically transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. She arrived at Grady on Oct. 2. There, she had surgery for her spinal cord injury and was treated for other complications. And she learned about Shepherd Center.

“To be honest, I had no knowledge of Shepherd because, of course, I never knew anyone with a spinal injury or brain injury,” she says. But when she and her family were contemplating where Gabrielle should go after leaving Grady, “Somehow all of the nurses and the doctors were saying, ‘Shepherd, Shepherd, Shepherd, Shepherd.’ That's all I was hearing in the hospital,” she recalls.

Gabrielle transferred to Shepherd Center on Oct. 31.

“I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the Halloween of 2019. Everybody was dressed up in Halloween costumes.”

Gabrielle participated in inpatient therapy at Shepherd for nine months. In speech therapy, she worked on regaining her voice; in physical therapy, she worked to strengthen her core, roll, and improve bed mobility.

“OT, they showed me … dressing, my bathing, getting my clothes put on, things like that — how to do my own makeup, hair, take my medicine, med management,” she recalls. She also worked to strengthen her hand function.

On recreation therapy outings, she learned how to navigate other tasks.

“They taught me how to use my credit cards, how to ride the public transportation system.” The pageant-winner’s favorite outing was to a nearby nail salon. But she enjoyed spending time at the hospital, too.

“I used to love going out to the [Anna and Hays Mershon] Secret Garden. That was another one of my go-tos, especially during COVID,” she says.

And as she explored the hospital in her power chair, she forged friendships with other patients and staff.  “I gained relationships — still to this day, like people know me by name,” she says. She keeps in touch with some of the people she connected with while she was an inpatient at Shepherd.

Gabrielle, now 41, graduated from Shepherd in 2020 and returned to her home. She says she was “career-driven” before her accident. She studied business at Georgia State University and started working at Walmart. She worked her way up to general store manager and then moved to the digital space at Walmart.com. Although she has decided she can’t return to work right now, she has made advocating for people with disabilities her focus. When she saw a post about Ms. Wheelchair on social media, she connected with previous winners to get more information, and the rest is history.

In June, Gabrielle received a commendation from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for her advocacy work. She’s busy sharing her platform and fundraising to cover the cost of a trip to Michigan this August, where she’d like to compete for another crown — Ms. Wheelchair America 2027.

Until then, she still comes to Shepherd on an outpatient basis — she says it’s one of her second homes. You may even see her in the hallway — you can’t miss the crown.

Written by Ruth Underwood

Every year, Tristan, 19, and his dad leave San Antonio, Texas, to go mountain biking in Bentonville, Arkansas. On July 2, 2025, Tristan went down a significant drop where he says he braked too late and was flung over his handlebars. Following his injury, he was life-flighted to the Mercy Hospital ICU in Springfield, Missouri. 

His family knew about Shepherd Center because the hospital was highly recommended by two of Tristan’s friends who had received care there. After 22 days, he was transferred to Shepherd’s ICU for specialized treatment, with his mom Jennifer by his side. His level of injury limited his movement from the neck down, and when he first arrived at Shepherd, he required assistance from a ventilator and trach to breathe. 

“We got to Shepherd, and they immediately had him sitting up out of bed and began motivating him,” Jennifer explains. “He even had a welcoming crew of kids who were patients. They wheeled into his ICU room, introduced themselves and their injuries, and talked about what they had gotten back so far. It was very uplifting.” 

On Aug. 6, Tristan graduated from the ICU to the inpatient unit, where the medical team put him right to work. Among the therapies Tristan recalls as most impactful was electrical stimulation, where stimulation was used over the spinal column to activate his muscles. His team helped him use a tilt table to regulate his fluctuating blood pressure. And they did speech therapy with breathing exercises, which helped him wean off the ventilator a month after arriving at Shepherd. But beyond the focused therapies Tristan received, he appreciated the hospital staff the most, and he showed them that appreciation with his signature sense of sarcasm. 

“I didn’t have a problem psychologically at Shepherd because it was so positive there,” Tristan recalls. “We would just make fun of each other and laugh – there was never an awkward moment. And whenever I’d see a therapist from my team working with another patient, I’d make sure to give them crap by reminding them, ‘Hey, that’s my therapist, give her back!’” 

Tristan not only made friends with his medical team. He quickly made two new best friends, fellow patients Teana Jackson and Libby Presnell. The trio found ways to poke fun at each other at every opportunity. 

“I remember we all went to church one day, and I told [Chaplain Ben Rose] that it was Libby’s birthday, even though it wasn’t. Everyone in the chapel sang happy birthday to her and kept doing it throughout the day. It was the best. We were crying laughing,” Tristan recalls. (Libby got him back later during one of Shepherd’s Tuesday night “family dinners,” where she told attendees it was Tristan’s birthday.) 

In addition to human friends, Tristan loved the furry friends he made at Shepherd Center. 

“I loved every second with the facility dogs. Pippy was my favorite. Every other Friday, dogs that were in training would come up to the workout room and visit everyone,” Tristan says. 

While Tristan worked hard toward his goals, Jennifer was able to stay in family housing at Shepherd Center’s new Arthur M. Blank Family Residences. The donor-funded housing is provided to families and loved ones of patients who are in inpatient rehabilitation who live more than 50 miles from the hospital. 

“That was fabulous,” Jennifer says. “It was only two blocks away, but it was great for me to get breaks, sleep in a real bed, and do things like laundry for Tristan and me. It also gave him a little freedom from me being there all the time!” 

On Sept. 22, Tristan discharged from Shepherd and returned to his hometown in San Antonio. With help from the skills and care he received at Shepherd, he is making progress toward regaining independence. He is working with a pulmonologist to get his trach out and fully breathe on his own. He still experiences some blood pressure issues, but with the tilt table skills he learned with Shepherd’s physical therapists, the family knows how to manage it at home. 

Prior to his injury, Tristan attended college at Texas Tech with his girlfriend, Paula Brame. Paula stopped attending school in-person so she could be there for him, but now, the pair plan to return to school in-person together. They even talk about applying to work at Shepherd Center after completing their degrees. But perhaps the most exciting near-future milestone involves Tristan getting his own service dog. 

“I am not a dog person,” Jennifer says. “But my sister started this whole operation to peer pressure me to get a service dog, and they broke me down. I told Tristan he can apply for his own dog at the one-year mark of his injury.” 

Tristan continues to face his future with hope, humor, and determination. He encourages others to do the same. 

“Wake up and work hard. Every day is a new day and opportunity to keep the faith and stay positive.” 

Written by Damjana Alverson

On this morning, Dave is working with his occupational therapist, Kelsey Taylor, MHS, OTR/L, to learn how to dress himself. Dave’s girlfriend, Amelia Hepner, and his mom, Dana Vanderplank, attend the session with him. They have already learned a lot and look like pros, helping him transfer from his wheelchair to the mat using a lift. Dave jokingly refers to them as his pit crew.

Kelsey has an oversized pair of red shorts for Dave to put on over his own shorts as practice for getting himself dressed. She explains that another patient had the shorts customized as a joke. She holds them up to reveal the words “Hot Pants” emblazoned on the seat.

Kelsey positions a backrest on the mat behind Dave for support in case he needs to take a break. He starts with some stretches for his shoulders and legs.

Amelia pulls Dave’s hair back for him and gives him some fingerless gloves that keep his hands from sliding on the mat. Then Kelsey talks him through how to position himself using his shoulder strength. She demonstrates the process of putting on the shorts, with step-by-step instructions on how to position his arms and legs.

“The goals are to practice coming forward, getting your legs up in order to drag on your pants,” Kelsey explains. “I find that people have the most success, kind of getting a forearm underneath. So, we'll have one arm back behind as a prop. Get your forearm underneath, and then you can just lean back until your foot lands, is the goal.”

“Okay, I love it,” Dave says.

As Dave works through the process of pulling on the shorts, Kelsey offers him different adaptive tools, like a chain of nylon loops he can place around his foot, to try and see what works best.

“This is one of the first times we've really worked on this [putting on shorts], so I'm going to verbally coach him through it and try to physically assist the least amount that I have to, to give him the technique,” Kelsey explains. “But then, next time I'll just help you to the mat and give you some pants.”

Dave’s mom, Dana, says that Dave has always been a problem-solver, evaluating obstacles from many different angles with a curiosity about how things work — a trait that is proving useful as he figures out new ways to complete everyday activities.

She remarks on how the therapists work with Dave and says it’s like parenting in some ways, since parents often have to let their child struggle a bit to learn, but not so much that they get overwhelmed and don’t want to try again.

“I can see that's what the therapists are all doing,” she observes. “Work it out, and then at the right moments, they’ll come and give that little push or tweak, or verbal instruction.”

As Dave works on putting on the shorts, Kelsey talks to him about how he might be able to use spasms to his advantage. For instance, with some experimentation, he may learn how to trigger a spasm to lift his foot into the shorts.

When Dave has wriggled into the shorts, everyone cheers. He’s pleased, but also ready to tackle the next task — putting on a shirt. He has selected a Hawaiian shirt so he can practice buttoning it. When Kelsey starts to demonstrate how to use a tool to button one of the top buttons, Dave protests with a laugh.

“Wait, we can't do that button with a Hawaiian shirt. It’s got to be lower,” he says.

Before the 90-minute session ends, Dave is wearing his Hawaiian shirt and the “hot pants.” He reflects on how all the elements of therapy are coming together to help him meet functional goals.

“It's fun seeing all the goals blend together. So, putting on the shorts … will become more rolling. I've been working on rolling in PT and OT — just how to move and how to forward balance, how to forward sit. I'm seeing a lot of those come together, and then once I can roll to sit myself up, then I could get a slideboard … to slide myself to and from a chair and bed without having to use the lift. So, it's fun seeing all the little goals … all kind of combined together to get dressed, sit up, get to a chair. … It's a lot of things that all build.”

“I like to describe it as a pyramid,” Kelsey says. “We set the foundation, and we're just making these building blocks so that big goal is at the top. And that doesn't stop with inpatient, we just kind of keep adding to the pyramid from there.”

Written by Ruth Underwood

He equates learning new things in therapy with trying new drills at football practice.

“Sometimes I have to do [exercises] that I'm not comfortable with,” he explains, “And I end up getting used to it, and I'll get stronger at it.”

Bryson sustained a C4 spinal cord injury when he experienced a seizure and fell from his bed in his dorm room last year. He participated in therapy at Shepherd Center and graduated from the inpatient Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program and Day Program. He went home for six months and has returned to Shepherd for a second round of the Day Program. He’s only been back a week, but in addition to occupational and physical therapies, he says he’s started learning to play the piano in music therapy, attended yoga, gone to the ProMotion Fitness Center, and practiced what he’s learning in therapy in the apartment he shares with his mom in the Irene and George Woodruff Family Residence Center.

He’s working with Jasmin on several occupational therapy goals, including improving his posture, lengthening and stretching his biceps, and refining his hand movement, which will allow him to do more things independently.

First, Jasmin helps Bryson transfer to the mat, and he works on prop sitting — sitting up straight with his arms behind him for support. Bryson’s biceps are strong, but also very tight, so Jasmin is choosing exercises to help him stretch and lengthen his biceps and strengthen his triceps. 

“The first time we got into prop sit and worked on these exercises, it took me at least 20 minutes to get him into that position because he was just so tight and in so much pain,” Jasmin says. “It took us a while to progress to this.”

But Bryson has made a lot of progress in the past week and can get into the prop sit position more easily and hold it for an extended period. He can definitely feel the stretch, but says he’s getting used to it now, so it’s more comfortable.

Jasmin is also helping Bryson refine his movements. She explains that as a football player, Bryson likes to put a lot of power into his movement, and he spent a lot of time at home after the Day Program strengthening his biceps. But having strong biceps without relatively strong triceps is, in part, what led to tight muscles in his biceps and elbows, so they’re working on lengthening his biceps and coordinating his scapular muscles (muscles that attach to the shoulder blade. 

“In addition to getting more range in his elbows and biceps, he's working a lot on posture correction,” Jasmin explains. “He holds a lot of tension in his neck and upper back. So a lot of it is coordinating the muscles. When you have neurologic weakness, it's really hard to pinpoint the muscles that help with upright posture and neck alignment. So that's a lot of what we’ve been focusing on.”

“I used to depend on my headrest a lot,” Bryson says. “I don’t even use that anymore. I just sit up.”

After doing some exercises to improve his posture and strengthen his neck muscles, Bryson and Jasmin move on to hand exercises.

Bryson is learning to put a universal cuff (U-cuff) on his hand. It has a small pocket that can hold things like a marker, toothbrush, or eating utensil. Bryson practices drawing and writing his name with a marker. He wants to get back to writing and typing and return to college for his junior year.

Next, he chooses to work on picking up items using his fingers.

“Another goal of ours is to refine his hand movement, his pinch pattern, so that he's able to grasp and release a little bit more easily,” Jasmin says.

Bryson is working on holding his wrist up while opening his hand wider and wider to pick up increasingly large items. He has learned how to use spasms to help him open his fingers.

“The first time it happened, I had a regular spasm, and I started moving my fingers with it. Then I repeated it,” he recalls. “Then [my fingers] got tired and actually stopped moving for two or three days. And then I ended up triggering another spasm, and I started using it, making it stronger.”

Jasmin explains that the small muscles in our hands fatigue quickly, so they only do a little fine-motor work during each session.

As he works, Bryson sings along to a country song — he knows every word.

Turns out, the playlist is no coincidence.

“I just know that this is always what he wants to hear,” says Jasmin.

“24/7,” Bryson replies with a grin.

Written by Ruth Underwood

Upon Mike Hynes’ arrival at Shepherd Center, he remembers meeting Elliot Scott, his charge nurse, as well as the other nurses on his floor. 

“They were just super friendly and very smiley,” he remembers. “Laughter was such a good medicine with them, just to distract from my world being turned upside down. But their professionalism and customer service was just as good as their personalities.” 

Mike was living in Virginia and working as a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent in 2024 when he was assaulted, resulting in a spinal cord injury (SCI). He was in the intensive care unit at the University of Virginia Health University Medical Center for a month before transferring to Shepherd Center. 

During his inpatient therapy, Mike’s girlfriend and sister took turns staying in family housing to support him. After inpatient therapy, Mike stayed for a month of outpatient therapy in the Spinal Cord Injury Day Program, which he said helped prepare him for his transition home. 

“Not only was it nice to have that extra therapy, but [to stay in] housing, just to kind of transition to being on your own a little more, having a little kitchen to use ... it's a nice transition period,” he says. 

Mike also went on several recreation therapy outings, including a trip to an Atlanta Braves game and to the Atlanta FBI office, where he practiced navigating the building using his wheelchair. He also fondly remembers Tuesday night family dinners as a time to meet with other patients and their families. 

After Day Program, Mike returned to Virginia, but his transition has not been without its challenges. Unfortunately, Mike couldn’t return to his job as an FBI field agent, and the agency didn’t have an available office position compatible with his qualifications and pay grade. He’s also had to navigate a divorce. 

But his friends and former FBI colleagues have continued to support him, coming by for visits or going out for dinner or a movie. Mike has also continued physical and occupational therapy, working to increase his strength and independence. 

“It's been a rough year or two, but I think I'm out of the worst part,” he says. “[My goals for the next year] are maybe finding another job, and continuing to build strength in therapy, and to continue to become more independent.”

Written by Erin Kenney

Loranne Ausley remembers going to sleep on Oct. 31, 2024, in anticipation of competing in Ironman Florida — her sixth Ironman competition — in Panama City the next day. She doesn’t remember anything past that — until she woke up at Shepherd Center three weeks later. 

Loranne was injured in the bike segment of the race. Unsure of exactly what happened, she believes her tires hit something in the road, causing her to fly over the handlebars. She sustained a spinal cord injury, a traumatic brain injury, and a broken collarbone. After three weeks at Ascension Sacred Heart Emergency Care and Trauma Center in Panama City — where she was unconscious for several days and underwent neck surgery — she was transferred to Shepherd Center on Nov. 24. 

Loranne had a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. Her right arm was virtually unmovable. She used a wheelchair for the first few weeks. During therapy, she worked on regaining her strength, balance, memory, and executive functioning skills. 

As an athlete, attorney, former Florida state legislator, and community volunteer, Loranne was used to keeping a fast pace and working hard. She had to learn to take baby steps. 

“I had to set small goals,” she says. “My main goal was to get back to running races. That was my life.” 

After nearly two months at Shepherd Center, Loranne returned home on Jan. 9, 2025, to continue her rehabilitation. A victory came when she ran for the first time with her physical therapist next to her. In March, she completed a 10K race. 

The successes continued as she regained her independence. She returned to her board post at the Institute for Child Success and was able to travel alone to a board meeting in Washington, D.C., in April. She’ll take over as board chair for the nonprofit in January 2026. 

Loranne has promised her husband she will not get on a bike again. But she continues to run and swim, and believes there is still a marathon in her future. In August, she completed a 20-mile hike in Wyoming with friends. 

Loranne is still working on a few things, but is grateful for how far she’s come. 

“I give a lot of credit to Shepherd Center for getting me where I am right now,” she says. “I made incredible improvements there. It’s an amazing place that helps people in very difficult times.” 

Written by Sara Baxter

Thank You!

Thank you to our models, their families and friends, Shepherd Center staff, and everyone who made this event possible! And a special thank you to Ashley Kim, for eight years of leading Project Rollway, as well as all our event attendees and sponsors. 

Donors 
Andee’s Army 
Gas South 
Atlanta Sound and Lighting 
Haug Barron Law Group 

Clothing Partners 
Elk Head Clothing 
London Trading Company 
Patagonia 
Onward Reserve 
Megan Huntz 

DJ 
Jewels Beats 

Graphic Designer 
Eight Ball Creative by Austin Jones 

Photographers 
Laura Barnard 
Drew Oswald 

Hair & Makeup Specialists 
Sam Henry 
Morgan Hughes 
Kaitlyn Radler 
Dani Maslaney 
Alyssa Attride 
Tati Hayton 
Christel Irick 
Kristia Stokes 

Written by Erin Kenney

“To me, teamwork is working to build a good environment,” he says. “If you have that really good environment, where everyone is there to have fun and work hard, it’s a lot better than being just one person. You’re all trying to uplift each other.” 

He’s made use of his experience as a team player — as well as his impressive work ethic, infectious positive energy, and sense of humor (not to mention sarcasm) — throughout his spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation at Shepherd. 

Jackson sustained a C1-C2 SCI during a hockey game in February. Originally from Minnesota, Jackson had been attending boarding school in Idaho — Coeur d'Alene Hockey Academy, known for its prestigious hockey program. 

“What I really like about hockey is the physicality, and my teammates and coaches,” he says. “The atmosphere playing at the prep school is a lot of fun — everyone is there to [take the game seriously].” 

The team was playing a match in Vancouver, British Columbia, when Jackson had an awkward collision into the boards. Emergency responders rushed him to the hospital, where he had emergency surgery. Then, through the help of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, he made his way to Shepherd. 

After months of navigating complex medical challenges, from feeding issues to getting weaned off the ventilator, Jackson started reaching milestones. He celebrated his 18th birthday. He came off the ventilator. He started going on outings with other adolescents on his floor. He had his first therapy session in Shepherd’s pool. He got a moment in the spotlight in Project Rollway, presenting the hospital’s chief executive officer, Jamie Shepherd, and hospital co-founder Alana Shepherd, with special edition Nike Air Force 1s. He cheered on participants in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, and even got in on the excitement by taking his powerchair down to the Arthur M. Blank family residences to see his mom and sisters. 

In the therapy gym, Jackson’s been pouring the same level of passion he has for hockey into his recovery — walking with the Zero G, building up his arm strength, and cuddling with the facility dogs any chance he can get. He says none of it would be possible without his care team — a small army of nurses, doctors, therapists, and other specialists with over 115 years of combined experience at Shepherd alone. 

“Working with the team here — it’s almost like hockey,” Jackson says. “They’re all uplifting, they’ve all created a good atmosphere, and they all want the best for you.” 

Meet Jackson’s Team*

*including the nicknames they've earned from Jackson and the Shepherd community

Erica Drum 
“97's #1 Fan”

Role: Caregiver 
Jackson’s mom, Erica, has been by his side throughout his recovery. During his time at Shepherd, she’s stayed in the Blank Family Residences — while sometimes spending the night in Jackson’s hospital room when he’s had a particularly hard day. She hasn’t been intimidated by the medical side of Jackson’s care. Instead, she’s learned as much as she can from his team and in Shepherd’s extensive family training, while also keeping Jackson’s hockey community up to date on his progress through the Facebook page: 97’s Journey. 

Jason Drum 
“The Jack of All Trades”

Role: Caregiver 
Jackson’s dad, Jason, has been at Shepherd for several of Jackson’s recovery milestones, like his 18th birthday and his first time getting in the pool. But when he’s not at Shepherd, Jason has been holding down the fort at the Drum household in Minnesota, taking care of Jackson’s three younger sisters and managing their busy schedules. He’s also started working on accessibility improvements to their house — including widened doorways, wheelchair ramps, and improved temperature control — so it’s ready for Jackson’s return this fall. 

Katie Beck, RN 
“The Protector”

Years at Shepherd: 3 
Role: Nurse 
Katie works closely with patients, nurse practitioners, and doctors, ensuring patients have their needs are met. She looks out for Jackson, making sure during shift change that incoming nurses know what makes him comfortable, any issues he’s had that day, and his personality quirks (for example, Jackson is a very, very hard sleeper). As Jackson’s medical challenges eased, she prepared him for more days in the therapy gym, and fewer days in his room. “I told him, ‘You’ll see less of me, and that’s a good thing,’” she says. 

Avery Blankenburg, MS, CTRS 
“The Adventurer”

Years at Shepherd: 4 
Role: Recreation Therapist 
As a recreation therapist, Avery helps patients get back to the things they love and return to their communities with confidence, and she has big plans for Jackson. Since he arrived at Shepherd, he’s been on many outings, like going to Target for new pajamas or going to Onward Reserve to pick out his Project Rollway outfit. Avery has also organized bigger outings with Jackson, like a trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Soon, Avery plans to do travel education with him, so he’s prepared for his trip back home to Minnesota. 

Wes Chay, M.D. 
“The Game Planner”

Years at Shepherd: 8 
Role: Physiatrist 
Dr. Chay’s interest in medicine began early, inspired by visits to his grandfather’s OB-GYN practice in Taiwan. Now, as the physiatrist on Jackson’s team, he leads the interdisciplinary group in navigating complex medical challenges. Working closely with Artica Jackson, NP, he evaluates patients, guides diagnostic workup and treatment, and coordinates with consultants for care at Shepherd Center or surgeries next door at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. Beyond problem-solving, Dr. Chay helps make sure Jackson has what he needs to succeed in therapy, collaborating with the rehabilitation team on any medical issues that might impact daily sessions.

Martha DeReimer, RRT 
“The Advocate”

Years at Shepherd: 3 (non-consecutive) 
Role: Respiratory Therapist 
Martha became a respiratory therapist because of an experience at Shepherd — her mom and sister both worked at the hospital, and she got an opportunity to shadow RTs on patient floors. Right away, she was hooked. Now, Martha helps patients like Jackson with breathing, and if appropriate, ventilator weaning. She knows coming off a ventilator can be anxiety-inducing, which is why she takes into account individual patient needs and preferences to tailor treatment to them, even if that means adjusting the pace of vent weaning. 

Deb Eldred, SLP 
“Derb”

Years at Shepherd: 17 
Role: Speech-Language Pathologist 
Deb met Jackson on his second day at Shepherd, when he was still in the Intensive Care Unit. As a speech-language pathologist, she helps with more than speaking — she also supports patients with eating, drinking, and cognitive challenges they may face when communicating or writing. She’s worked with Jackson to navigate speaking both on and off his ventilator, and she organized one of his first Shepherd outings to Shake Shack, so Jackson could have his first milkshake since his injury. 

Shannon Grizzle, LCSW, CCM 
“The Coordinator”

Years at Shepherd: 3 
Role: Case Manager 
Shannon has used her master’s in social work across the medical field — working as a therapist in adult psychiatry units, an emergency room crisis worker, and as a medical case manager. Out of everywhere she’s been, she says Shepherd Center is the most person-centered, something she loves. She has worked closely with Jackson and his family, from helping them get settled in upon admission through planning for discharge. She’s especially enjoyed working with Jackson’s mom, Erica. “Through it all, his mom has been the most positive person. She’s such a joy to work with,” she says. 

Artica Jackson, NP 
“Antartica”

Years at Shepherd: 13 
Role: Advanced Practice Provider 
After working as a night shift nurse for 15 years, Artica started her role as a nurse practitioner on the same floor. Working closely with Dr. Chay, she manages patients’ medical needs. Sometimes patients will call her “Dr. Jackson,” but she cautions that she’s a nurse practitioner, not an M.D. The main difference? “Many years of schooling!” she says with a laugh. When she’s not setting up appointments with specialists and reviewing medication lists, she’s probably joking around with patients or dreaming up the perfect prank... watch out, Jackson! 

Kelsey Lee, OT 
“Special K”

Years at Shepherd: 7 
Role: Occupational Therapist 
Kelsey helps patients perform daily activities like taking a shower or brushing their teeth, while also getting them back to the things they enjoy, in Jackson’s case, hockey. Like Jackson, she hails from the Midwest, resulting in a lot of sarcasm and “tough love” in therapy sessions, she says. One of her favorite parts of her job is collaborating with the other professionals on her floor. “One of the coolest parts of Shepherd is that you work on a team ... it's not always like that in other settings,” she says. “Being able to talk through some medical stuff with speech, with PT, with Dr. Chay, just to learn more about what was going on with Jackson, was really helpful.” 

Cheryl Linden, MA, LPC;MS, OT/L 
“The Supporter”

Years at Shepherd: 37 
Role: Counselor 
Cheryl started at Shepherd as an occupational therapist, but now, she offers a different kind of support for patients. As a counselor, Cheryl helps patients and families navigate emotional and mental health challenges after injury or illness. Counselors at Shepherd are a key part of the team — every patient meets with a psychologist, which Cheryl says can reduce stigma and aid in navigating mental health concerns during recovery. Cheryl also serves as the emcee for Project Rollway, where she told the audience Jackson’s story as he enjoyed the spotlight. 

Chris Ready, PT 
“The Workout Partner”

Years at Shepherd: 10 
Role: Physical Therapist 
Because of medical complications, Jackson has had some hard days at Shepherd. But once those complications were out of his way, Jackson was ready to hit the gym with his PT, Chris, as his sidekick. As a physical therapist, Chris helps patients independently get from point A to point B, whether that’s transferring from a wheelchair to a car or safely using a walker to get around. But as a PT in the adolescent program, he also knows sometimes that kids need to be kids — whether that’s just doing a workout in the gym or hanging out with other teens on the floor. 

Kelsey Shearman, Ph.D. 
“The Teacher”

Years at Shepherd: 7 
Role: Academic Coordinator 
As Jackson started his rehabilitation at Shepherd, he also had non-medical challenges to face, like Algebra 2. Kelsey worked with Jackson, like she does with other adolescent patients, to ensure he stayed on top of his schoolwork while recovering from his injury. She also serves as a liaison between Jackson, his parents, and his school, keeping an open line of communication. She helps students avoid potential snags by arranging accommodations with their schools, like obtaining an extension for Jackson to wrap up his algebra class despite missing several weeks of instruction. 

Julie Shepherd, CCM, CLCP, LMSW 
“Jules”

Years at Shepherd: 16 
Role: Director of Founding Family Relations & Canine Therapy Program Lead 
Julie leads the hospital’s facility dog program, which boasts seven highly trained pups. Through activities like brushing, petting, practicing commands, and leash management, the dogs give patients opportunities to increase strength and dexterity, practice cognitive skills, and gain experience using mobility aids like wheelchairs and walkers. Jackson is a big fan of the dogs, and while his 18th birthday wish of a facility dog slumber party in his room couldn’t exactly come true, Julie made sure to surprise him with Jaxx and Francisco in the gym, bringing some birthday cheer to his therapy session. 

Philip Wexler, M.D. 
“Big W”

Years at Shepherd: 5 
Role: Medical Director, Pulmonology and Respiratory Therapy 
Dr. Wexler heard about Jackson before his arrival at Shepherd — his family used to live in Boston, and his wife has stayed in touch with the close-knit hockey community they formed there. When Jackson arrived, Dr. Wexler wanted to help create a supportive, tight-knit, hockey-like atmosphere where Jackson could be himself. The two have a special bond — Dr. Wexler helped Jackson with his ventilator weaning, and now, he’s working to make sure Jackson has a strong cough, which he’ll need to tackle any future illnesses he may face. 

Shepherd Team

“The Family”

Jackson shares a special bond with these members of his team, but they’re only a fraction of his full Shepherd support system — it would take this whole magazine, and then some, to cover the impact each staff member, volunteer, and donor has on patients like Jackson. From nutrition services to assistive technology, family housing to environmental services, peer support to research, financial services to the Shepherd Foundation, everyone plays a role in patient recovery, helping patients like Jackson find hope after injury or illness. 

Editor’s Note: When this story was written in July 2025, Jackson was nearing the end of his time as an inpatient after over six months of rehabilitation. Jackson completed additional rehab in the Spinal Cord Injury Day Program before heading home to Minnesota in late September.

Written by Erin Kenney
 

“SCI impacts our bodies, not our minds.” — Chris Port 

“If you say that something is wheelchair accessible, please make sure that any and all wheelchairs are able to fit or be allowed to experience the same thing. Not every wheelchair is the same.” — Jordynn Woods

A misconception: “Thinking that ADA accessible is the same as accessible for my paralyzed husband.” — Ashley Buttersworth

“Handicap parking lines are for wheelchairs to exit, not for others to park on!” — Star Wolf

“Not all paralyzed people don’t have sensation, and everyone is always surprised that I have sensation. Some people say, well, you can’t feel it, but I can, and people think I am lying.” — Dakota Walls

“Never question whether I'm telling the truth or not, especially when it comes to my injury, because I know about my body and what I need to improve, so if I'm advocating for myself, don't assume that I'm lying to get out of something.” — Jordynn Woods

“After my injury, daily tasks became a challenge, requiring the development of new skills…It allowed a shift in focus from what my body couldn’t do, to new possibilities and routines!” — Libby Presnell

“I wish people knew how time-consuming care is. Often, family members and others just aren't aware of how long it takes to shower, bowel program, and get in bed. — Dakota Walls

“I think it’s very important for people with new injuries to surround themselves with like-minded people with similar injuries to show them the way. Today, I’m the old guy helping people transition from the awkward rehab-to-home period that we all go through, and that’s because of the people before me.” — Clint Cook

“I love answering questions about what happened, but please don't be abrasive.” — Jordynn Woods

“A way for people to be helpful is to ask before doing, because sometimes, a wheelchair user gives themselves a challenge to see if they can do it to gain independence. Also, people should ask because they could do something wrong or make the situation harder due to having to fix the mistake.” — A.K. Spangler

“If you are working with someone for a long time who is in a wheelchair, walks with assistance, etc., and you DON'T ask how it happened, it is weirder than asking.” — Chris Port

“For wheelchair etiquette, people need to be aware of all the attachments that are on a person’s chair to prevent accidental damage to the chair when driving or even sitting in the chair. People also need to keep a little distance, if possible, to avoid bumping the chair because it can risk damaging. If a person wants to stand close to the chair, be sure to have the wheelchair user turn the chair off or have the person standing be aware of the controller. This prevents any damage or harm to the chair and/or to the person if the chair accidentally gets bumped and hits a person.” — A.K. Spangler 

“I really dislike it when somebody I don’t know intentionally touches my chair over and over. For example, someone would put their feet on my chair because my wife was doing it for a few days. She can do it, but when someone else did, it was definitely weird.” — Dakota Walls 

“There are two different types of SCI - complete and incomplete.”  — Maria Stewart

“Despite the fact that people could be on the same level, everyone's body is different, and some people recover faster than others.” — Jordynn Woods

“Jump in the game with us. I meet too many people who give up skiing and other sports because of "bad knees". Take up an adaptive sport. You may find you have even more fun.” — Chris Port

“Life doesn’t stop after injury.” — Maria Stewart

“I want people to see wheelchair users as normal people who just need a little bit of help. I do not want people to be nervous to talk with us just because we are in a different state than they are. Wheelchair users have had to learn how to adapt to things, so we can be as normal as possible.” — A.K. Spangler 

“If we fall and laugh, laugh with us, help us up, and let's keep going!” — Chris Port

It began on a rainy night in 1988 when Maura McVann, a senior at St. Piux X Catholic High School in Atlanta, jumped into her car to meet her boyfriend, Kevin Coley, at a football game. She had gone only a short way before her car hydroplaned. Maura, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was hurled into the night. Her back was broken, and her scalp was sliced open. 

As soon as she was stabilized, she was admitted to Shepherd Center. Kevin visited her often, but she felt awkward and broke up with him. She assumed she would have a career-oriented, single life. 

Before being injured, Maura was a cheerleader, swam on a team, ran track, and played varsity basketball and soccer. As she recovered, Shepherd alumnus and supporter Bill Furbish returned to Atlanta from the Paralympics in Seoul with two medals in wheelchair track events. He came by her room and urged her to try wheelchair sports. 

Soon, she was rolling twice a week with the Peachtree Spinners, now the Shepherd Spinners, a wheelchair track team. “I found myself surrounded by people who were living their lives and not letting the wheelchair define who they were,” she recalls. 

Through the Spinners, she learned about the world-class wheelchair sports culture at the University of Illinois and enrolled there for her bachelor’s degree. After earning a master’s in speech pathology, she celebrated with a backpacking trip across nine European countries—alone and using a wheelchair. 

Back in Atlanta and working for the Fulton County School System, she bought a house and settled in. “I did not feel marriage and a family were going to be in store for me,” she says. “I didn’t even want to date.” 

A chance encounter in November 2003 changed everything. She was having dinner with her sister when Kevin Coley, her high school boyfriend, walked into the restaurant. After catching up, he asked for her number.

Three months later, they were engaged and, in May 2005, the girl who was never going to marry rolled down the aisle of the Cathedral of Christ the King surrounded by family and friends. 

If this were a movie, credits would roll with the kiss at the altar, but life goes on. Maura and Kevin honeymooned in Italy and moved there, where Maura gave birth to their first son. 

They returned to the United States to live near Mobile, Alabama, had another son, and relocated to nearby Daphne. They opened We Rock the Spectrum-Daphne, a gym and play space for children with differing abilities. Kevin runs the gym; while Maura practices speech pathology. 

Maura credits Shepherd Center with giving her the confidence to live a rich life. Dealing with her injury, she sometimes experienced “doubt, loneliness, sadness, and uncertainty.” Through it all, she relied on the advice she received at Shepherd Center. 

“I was told at Shepherd to ‘keep showing up.’ Even on my hardest days, I wheeled out the door and kept showing up. My gratitude for Shepherd is boundless.” 

Written by Gayle White

This story is an excerpt from “Mission Moments: 50 Years of Rebuilding Lives One Moment at a Time,” a book celebrating Shepherd’s 50th anniversary in 2025. You can explore the full eBook or purchase a hardcover copy here. 

Written by Dominique McPhearson

 

“Being a materialistic person at a young age, I always thought, ‘Well, I'm not giving my stuff away!’” Clint laughs. “What my dad really meant was you’ll always feel fulfilled if you give to others. If you're someone like me who has lived with a spinal cord injury for 36 years, you need to tell someone who’s new to spinal cord injury how you got to where you are today. When I do that, it comes back to me ten-fold.”

That spirit of giving back to the spinal cord injury (SCI) community has shaped Clint’s life, and it all began on the evening of April 8, 1988.

“It was a normal day. I went to work, came home, washed my car. I was 20 years old and unfortunately decided to do the wrong thing. I had been out drinking at the pool hall and decided to race a buddy of mine in my new Trans Am.”

Clint went around a curve too fast and lost control of the car. Because he was not wearing a seatbelt, he was ejected on impact. The car continued to flip and landed on top of him, wrapping him between the front tire and engine, resulting in severe burns on his back and an incomplete C-5 SCI.

After three months in the ICU, Clint transferred to Shepherd Center. He received a skin graft at Piedmont Hospital to replace the burnt skin on his back. Once he was cleared medically, he began his rehabilitation journey in Shepherd’s Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program.

“My first memory of Shepherd was how excited and happy everybody was,” Clint says. “You are dealing with a traumatic injury, and I was amazed at how positive and professional my care was.”

 After a day of physical and occupational therapy, Clint was surprised when a Shepherd staff member he hadn’t met came to his room.  

“An employee around my age with an SCI comes in after he already finished his day at work to talk about life after SCI,” Clint explains. “I looked up to him as a mentor. I felt so fortunate that this guy spent his own time just to tell me that it was going to be okay. There would be life after this.”

Clint had the opportunity to plan what life after SCI would look like with his vocational rehabilitation therapist.

“Vocational rehabilitation was life-changing,” Clint says. “The therapist helped me focus on what I was able to do today and what would make me happy.”

Clint shared that he loved music and wouldn’t mind working in the music industry but didn’t know how he would realistically be able to attend college.

“College was never a thing for me – I didn’t think I could pay for it, and I thought learning a trade was my destiny just like my father, his father, and down the line,” Clint says. “My vocational rehab therapist showed me how the state of Georgia could help me pay for school, and I said, ‘Where do I sign up?’”

Clint discharged from Shepherd in October 1988 and started college at the Atlanta Art Institute in March 1989. He obtained his associate degree in two years and began working at his dream job doing music production and research at local Atlanta radio station, 96 Rock. He now works in the medical sales industry but looks back fondly on the experience and confidence he gained in his first job after sustaining his injury.

Clint has lived a rich life since that fateful car crash. He started the first wheelchair rugby team on the East Coast at Shepherd Center, now known as the Shepherd Smash, and played on the team until 1996. He served as president of the United Spinal Association of Georgia for three years. In 2017, he even founded a nonprofit called Spinal Cord Injury USA that helps connect people with SCI to talk about all aspects of living with SCI online and during in-person events. The group started with Clint posing questions to a Facebook group to get discussions going. It has taken on a life of its own, growing to nearly 15,000 members.

Above all, Clint’s focus has been to “live happy,” and encouraging others to do the same remains his passion.

“I’ll never stop being involved in the SCI community. When you help someone, you gain so much personally, too,” Clint says. “For the newly injured or anyone who may be struggling with their situation, I just want to say, ‘Don’t wait until tomorrow to start living. Start today.’”

By Damjana Alverson

This story first appeared in the special 50th anniversary issue of Spinal Column magazine.

In short, they have seen and heard some things when it comes to life-changing situations. But even they had never witnessed the trifecta of traumas Amanda experienced on Nov. 4, 2020. 

First, a heart attack. Compounded by an anoxic brain injury suffered during her resuscitation. And then a T-10 spinal cord injury — likely caused by a blood clot moving to her spinal cord during CPR — that resulted in paraplegia. 

Thankfully, Amanda stabilized during a two-week stay at Johnson City Medical Center, near the Lyons’ home in Gray, Tennessee, and soon transferred to Shepherd Center. Shepherd’s family housing was an “absolute godsend,” she says, as both Earl and her mom were able to be near while she was inpatient. 

Later, Amanda was able to join them there once she graduated from inpatient to the SCI Day Program. 

Throughout her journey, Amanda appreciated that her complex case was one that still fit easily within Shepherd’s expertise and collaborative team approach to patient care. 

“That’s what’s great about Shepherd Center,” she says. “They’ve seen it before, and they’ll see it again. Everything they did was about anticipating what life would be like at home, preparing me to be as independent as possible, and to learn how to adapt in order to achieve that.” 

Amanda is right about that intentionality at Shepherd Center. In fact, each family receives a form when their loved one is planning to return home. The form has questions about the housing the patient will return to once they leave. Families can supply pictures, too. That information helps Shepherd staff tailor their therapies for specific challenges. 

It also enables staff members to give practical advice for home modifications and safety strategies. 

“We can provide information that’s as simple as where to buy a grab bar to something as detailed as the ratio needed to build a ramp or instructions on widening doors,” says Lauren Ross, OTR/L,MS, an occupational therapist in the brain injury program. “Or even share advice on where families can find more aesthetically appealing modified furniture if that’s a mental boost for a loved one.” 

Shepherd Center also offers home modification classes and home lab classes that recreate home-transition scenarios. Classes dive deep into assistive technologies — such as smart devices, home automation systems, and Bluetooth features — that can make life easier at home. 

“We try to get families to think about these things early on so that they’re ready by the time they leave,” Ross says. “It’s about supporting the caregivers and amplifying patients’ long-term independence. We want them safe and confident at home, not back in a hospital.” 

In Amanda’s case, early conversations at Shepherd Center helped her and Earl realize what home modifications they would need to have ready. 

Amanda also credits her recreational therapy team with helping her figure out new ways to achieve things that used to come easily. 

“As much as possible, they prepared me for what life would really be like at home,” Amanda says. “In OT, I learned skills to navigate our bathroom, brushing my teeth, getting dressed. At our Shepherd family residence, we got that first little feeling like we were really living at home. There were things we could figure out for ourselves, but know that help was still nearby if we needed it.” 

Of course, all of the housing and technology and know-how don’t matter if the human element is missing. And beyond all else, it’s the people at Shepherd Center who impressed the Lyons the most. 

“You know how every once in a while you meet someone and they’re just a phenomenal human being, and it really blows you away?” Earl asks.“Think about how often that happens. Every once in a blue moon? At Shepherd, it was a daily occurrence. Somebody every day impressed me there. And I’m not too easy to impress. Everybody was kind. Everybody treated you like a human — not a patient or an account number. And I know there’s a lot else that goes into it, but when you’re in that kind of situation, how you’re treated means an awful lot.” 

By Phillip Jordan

On Jan. 30, 2020, Tyler sustained multiple injuries, including a high-level spinal cord injury while at work as a forklift technician in Macon, Georgia.

After three surgeries and a week in the ICU at Atrium Health Navicent in Macon, Tyler transferred to the ICU at Shepherd Center on Feb. 7, 2020.

It wasn’t the first time Tyler, who grew up in Monticello, Georgia, had heard of Shepherd Center. A year before, a police officer in a nearby town sustained a brain injury, and Tyler, an avid motorcyclist, participated in a benefit ride to show support. He also had a friend who was a Shepherd patient shortly before he arrived at the hospital.

“It was on the radar from the very beginning,” Star explains.

Tyler spent most of the year at Shepherd. He had several medical complications requiring surgeries, so until he could go to the gym for therapy, his therapists worked with him on stretching and range of motion exercises in his room.

Once he started at the gym, Tyler recalls fear was one of his biggest challenges.

“I was scared to try a lot of things — like I knew if I fell, I didn't know how to get back to sitting upright if I were to fall a certain way,” he explains. “A lot of it was just being scared of something happening while I was trying to figure out how to do things with what I had.”

Star, who was his fiancée at the time, says she saw the therapists build trust with Tyler while they pushed him during therapy sessions.

“They were a pain in his butt most days,” she laughs, “but he would call them for anything now.”

She says they still lean on what they learned at Shepherd Center even four years after Tyler's injury.

“We still say Maddie would say this, or Christina, my respiratory therapist, would have said this. I feel like they were awesome,” Star reflects. And she says the care extended to the whole family.

“Dr. Rahman was his mental health counselor. She's amazing. Not only did she check in with Tyler, but she would text me,” she recalls. “She still texted me after we left to make sure that I was okay too or that his mom was okay. They're really good about checking on the whole family because it is a big change.”

Because Tyler was at Shepherd during the COVID-19 pandemic, outings weren’t as feasible, but the staff set up some date nights, including a movie night and bowling date for the pair, who have been sweethearts since middle school.

When Tyler finished inpatient rehabilitation at Shepherd, he continued rehabilitation in the Day Program. Six months after discharge from inpatient, Tyler and Star married in his grandfather’s backyard.

Since then, they bought a house where you’ll often find some of his seven siblings, who live nearby, hanging out. Tyler likes to cook and play Xbox. He especially enjoys cooking meat on a smoker which he controls from his phone.

Star is a math teacher at the high school where they graduated, and she says she often drags Tyler along to school events. They’ve also made trips to the beach, where Tyler uses an all-terrain track chair. They document some of their adventures and experiences on TikTok @thewolfs0612.

This month, Tyler’s looking forward to a different kind of adventure — completing another tattoo — his sixth.

Other plans for the future? “That I don’t kick the bucket no time soon,” he laughs. “We do a lot of dark humor here.”
 

Written by Ruth Underwood

In this issue of Spinal Column, we explore the many ways our therapists, academic coordinators, and vocational rehabilitation counselors smooth the transition back to school, work, or “adulting” — teaching patients to advocate for themselves and let their schools and employers know what accommodations they may or may not need.

The magazine also features these stories, among other patient profiles, staff highlights, honorariums, and memorials:

Instilling Confidence through Education and Expertise

In her role as transition support case manager, Kathleen Levenson, RN, CRRN, guides, educates, and advocates for patients.

Ten Tips to Ease the Transition Home

Practical ways to help ease the transition to home so you can optimize recovery and help prevent rehospitalization.

Man on a Mission

Robby Barbieri’s spinal cord injury set him on a path to advocacy.

Subscribe here for Shepherd Center's Spinal Column magazine print and/or e-newsletter versions.

Indeed, many young adults arrive at Shepherd Center just as they’re poised to launch into the next phase of their lives — whether that’s college, the workforce, the military, a committed relationship, or something else.

“‘Adulting’ for anyone is daunting,” says Tayla Mangus, MS, OTR/L, an occupational therapist at Shepherd Center. “Throw in a life-changing spinal cord injury, and it seems even more overwhelming.”

That’s why Shepherd Center created the Adulting Program for those who are beyond high school (so they’ve aged out of Shepherd Center’s adolescent program), but still navigating life as young adults. The program offers mixers and outings designed to get patients talking about topics ranging from financial planning and health literacy to partner intimacy and travel advice.

“I love to see the organic conversations that happen between patients when we’re on an outing,” Mangus says. “They become a little more vulnerable with each other and they are able to discuss their injuries, their plans for after discharge, their dreams for careers or living independently, and the friends and significant others they miss back home.”

Alexi Dodson agrees. The 23-year-old resident of Norcross, Georgia, is currently in Shepherd Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program — and taking advantage of the Adulting Program, as well.

“Just having an open and honest environment for talking about things like dating, sex after injury, independence, that’s what I’ve enjoyed the most,” Alexi says. “Doing this with peers makes it easier to get more personal questions answered without it feeling uncomfortable or intrusive.”

As part of the program, she’s also gone on a group outing to an Atlanta United soccer match. While there, Alexi enjoyed a meal of salmon and fried rice, spinach artichoke dip, and tiramisu. And she ate it without assistance.

Maybe that doesn’t seem like much, but for Alexi, it was momentous. 

“You want to know that you can go out and do normal things again,” she says. “Feeding myself there at the game — that was a big moment. There was a long stretch where I couldn’t have imagined doing that in a million years.”

 
Feeling prepared and feeling confident about engaging with the world around you — that’s what anyone wants as they grow into adulthood. And the goal of Shepherd Center’s Adulting Program is no different.

“Before doing this, I kind of just wanted to keep to myself,” Alexi says. “But I’m feeling comfortable opening up more, making plans, getting out. I’m more excited to live, honestly, than just exist.”

Written by Phillip Jordan

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.’”

***

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

In the summer of 2023, however, Dominique assumed her sewing days — and much more — were behind her. That June, in a terrifying incident, she was shot 13 times in a case of mistaken identity. Two of the bullets lodged in her spinal column — a full shell in her L-2 vertebra and another fragment between her T-7 and T-8 vertebrae.

Her rehabilitation led her to Shepherd Center. Here, Dominique dedicated herself to her multiple modes of therapy, including physical, occupational, and recreational therapy, slowly regaining her independence and learning to accomplish tasks in new ways. One example: Shepherd Center found a sewing machine that Dominique could operate without having to use a foot pedal. In no time, she was making clothes again — including a red jumpsuit for Shepherd Center’s adolescent program rehabilitation counselor, Cheryl Linden, MA, LPC; MS, OT/L.

But in the back of Dominique’s mind, she still worried about how she would return to school and, most importantly, how she would get around the theater that was home to her beloved drama classes.

Enter Shepherd Center’s transitional program, No Obstacles, which was created to alleviate adolescents’ concerns about returning to school. One of the program's most impactful elements is the collaboration between Shepherd Center staff and each student’s school.

In Dominique’s case, that took the form of a meeting between Kelsey Shearman, MA, — an academic coordinator in Shepherd Center’s Adolescent Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program — and Dominique’s teachers, drama department, and principal. Shearman went over what Dominique would need to succeed: assistance with note-taking, a seat in the back of class to give Dominique the freedom to move around frequently, accessibility improvements in the theater, and renovated bathrooms.

 “It was a lot that went into it,” Dominique recalls. “Kelsey was so helpful. The whole staff was. I mean, my OT and PT therapists were measuring me for new tables at school. It was that level of support.”

And it’s made a world of difference. Dominique is thriving back at Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. She’s aiming to graduate cum laude in this, her senior year. But she’s even more excited about performing in her first school musical this fall. Oh, and she just started a new job at — get this — a local comic book shop. Life is, again, good.

“For the first time in my life, I’m thinking I might go to college,” Dominique says.

She envisions herself studying theatre and film. Maybe costume design. After all, somebody’s going to have to make the next generation of Spider-Man costumes for the big screen.

***

Anxiety about returning to school or work is a nearly universal concern for patients who have experienced life-altering events such as brain and spinal cord injuries. Thankfully, Dominique Ross is one among thousands of patients — adolescents and adults alike — who have benefitted from Shepherd Center’s innovative programs that help ease the transition back to work, school, or even into adulthood itself.

Each program utilizes a person-centered approach that meets the unique goals and needs of each individual. That may include assistive technology and adaptive programs they’ll eventually use in the classroom or office. And it always includes advocacy on behalf of each patient with their school, employer, or other affiliated organizations, as well as teaching patients and families to advocate for themselves.

Returning to work or the classroom might not be the first thing on someone’s mind after a catastrophic injury. But as recovery progresses, it often becomes the most important goal looking forward.

“It’s easy to forget how essential working is to our human experience,” says Laura McDowell, MS, CRC, CVE, a vocational rehabilitation counselor at Shepherd Center. “It’s about our ability to participate in our culture, provide for ourselves and our loved ones, and to feel productive and valuable in our society.”

Written by Phillip Jordan

Robby went first to Vanderbilt University Hospital, where he spent three weeks in the ICU before transferring briefly to a local rehabilitation facility and then to Shepherd Center. When Robby arrived at Shepherd, he still used a ventilator to assist with breathing.

“Prior to Shepherd, I was having a hard time coming off the vent. It was an agonizing process. I think I was completely off the vent two and a half weeks after I got to Shepherd. I remember drinking water and eating for the first time, and it was the greatest thing in the world for me at the time,” Robby recalls.

While in Shepherd’s Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, Robby tried to soak up all the education offered. He learned to care for his skin, shifting his weight to prevent pressure sores. He worked on a bowel and bladder program and explored assistive technology options.

“The adaptive tech that I learned about gave me a lot of hope because I realized I can work again,” Robby explains. “I can do things. I'm not just a body. Now, I use a lot of technology to make my life work.”

Robby participated in outings to the airport, a sporting event, and brunches at local restaurants.

“Right after my accident, I was so afraid of going out in public and what people would think of me. And I remember heading down Peachtree Road and my therapist, Alexis, guiding me into a restaurant. That stuff set the tone for me being comfortable in my new body going forward,” he recalls.

Once he returned home, Robby began to feel the pressure of his mortgage and medical and caregiver expenses. He felt ready to rejoin the workforce. That’s when he discovered another obstacle to building the life he hoped for. Tennessee was one of a handful of states without a Medicaid buy-in program. A buy-in program allows participants to earn income and have assets while paying a premium to Medicaid. Because no such buy-in program existed as part of TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program, Robby faced income limits of $2,829 per month and asset limits of $2000 to receive Medicaid — insurance coverage essential for his care.

Through a former coach and mentor, Robby met Josh Basile, a disability lawyer, and discovered a mission that would occupy the next several months of his life and change how he views himself.

Robby learned that Josh, who also has tetraplegia, has a job, bought a house with his partner, and has two kids.

“After the first conversation with Josh, so much hope came into my life,” Robby says. “I thought a lot of those life events were unattainable for me because of my injury. Our conversation lit the fire,” he explains.

Robby and Josh talked about the barriers Robby was facing with insurance coverage and his hope to return to work.

“Josh told me that the law could be changed,” Robby recalls. “I immediately started researching everything about those laws and how people have advocated for changes in the past.”

Robby spent the next several months making connections, building a task force, and trying to drum up support to change the law that made him feel he had to choose between work and health insurance. He started a nonprofit, Music City Wheels, to highlight the issue. He worked with the Tennessee Disability Coalition, which connected him with Tennessee State Rep. Darren Jernigan, who also has a spinal cord injury and supported Robby’s efforts. Robby reached out to experts to help him make the case for changing the law by gathering data and crunching numbers for the budget. He also worked, alongside others, to get sponsors for the bill in the Tennessee House and Senate.

“I want to save money to have a home and a family and support this new life,” Robby says. “I feel like it's every human’s right to be able to earn income and also get the health care that they need. This is about affirming the dignity and potential of every Tennessean, empowering us not just to survive, but to thrive.”

All the hard work paid off, and on April 24, 2024, with sponsors Senator Bo Watson and Representative Tim Hicks, the TennCare for Working Individuals with Disabilities Act became law, allowing qualified individuals with disabilities to pay a premium to access Medicaid's long-term support services, even if their income exceeds the current Medicaid eligibility requirements.

Robby is thrilled with the outcome in Tennessee.

“This bill marks a historic step forward,” he says. “It ensures that individuals with disabilities no longer have to choose between maintaining health coverage and pursuing their career aspirations or personal happiness, such as marriage. As someone who has lived through the limitations of the previous system, this change isn’t just policy to me, it’s personal. It represents a future where disabilities do not define our capacities to contribute, to succeed, and to build lives of fulfillment,” he explains.

And Robby is enjoying the benefits of his advocacy. He recently started a full-time job in corporate finance with NuMotion, a wheelchair and mobility equipment company. 

He’s continuing his advocacy work, connecting with organizations in Louisiana and Utah to improve laws surrounding working with a disability.

“I never really thought advocacy would be a big part of my life,” Robby says. “But I really like it — it kind of makes everything make sense. I always want to be in this disability arena, giving back.”

Written by Ruth Underwood 

Brandon grew up in Johns Creek, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. As a child, he dreamed of being a professional motocross rider. He traveled for motocross competitions and even switched to home-schooling to allow more flexibility and time to focus on the sport. But when he was 14, he sustained a T-7-T-8 spinal cord injury in a crash at a motocross event in Tennessee, which resulted in paralysis from his chest down.

After spending time in a hospital in Memphis, Brandon transferred to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation, but as soon as he arrived, he wanted to leave.

“I couldn't wait to get out of there at first. I had been hurt racing motocross plenty of times, which helped me wrap my head around the injury,” he recalls. “But my time at Shepherd was great. My therapists were amazing, and as soon as I got home, I missed Shepherd Center. Everything was so easy and accessible there.”  

As Brandon returned to life as an active teenager, including re-connecting with his motocross community, he realized that finding accessible parking spaces, bathrooms, restaurants, and venues could be challenging.

“I felt like a burden to the people I was traveling with. We’d go someplace, and I either couldn't get in, or I couldn't access the bathroom, and I’d have to go home, or we'd have to try someplace new. I felt like it was my fault,” he says. “For somebody who's adventurous and likes to do new things, I got tired of going places and not knowing if I'd be able to access those new things. So that was the catalyst for my idea,” he explains.

The idea that Brandon is referring to is his brainchild and now business — where he focuses much of his attention and energy — a mobile app called iAccess Life. The app uses crowdsourcing to collect information about accessibility at restaurants, stores, and other venues in cities across the United States and worldwide. Users can rate a venue’s parking, entrance, interior, and bathroom accessibility and have the option to leave a review as well.

“I wanted you to open the app and feel like everybody else looking for a place to have dinner, drinks, coffee, or go shopping. Whatever you wanted to do, I wanted to find a way for people to leave feedback on their experience and then hopefully travel confidently as we gather more ratings and feedback from people in the application,” he says.

“I hope the app will help people like the patients I met while I was at Shepherd. They are adjusting to life after injury. After I was injured, I knew I wanted to move on and just keep living, but that can be hard for some people to imagine. So, I wanted to build an app to encourage people who want to go somewhere new or try something new and offer that security and that belief that they can do it — and that there’s an easier way,” Brandon explains.

Of course, it wasn’t a straight line from idea to app. Along the way, Brandon got into competitive go-kart racing, which included traveling and filming for a TV show featuring his experience, “Dreams to Champions,” that aired on Fox Sports 1. He also worked in information technology (IT), including quality assurance testing for websites and mobile apps. He eventually met Sayeed Mehrjerdian, now iAccess Life co-founder and head of product, who helped him develop the app and raise funding.

In 2019, they launched the app and are working on building their user base so the app will have more reviews of more places. They also want to expand the breadth of the app to address accessibility for people with a broader range of disabilities. They recently launched a product to allow for feedback on accessibility issues by scanning a QR code on a sign. They hope to provide input to restaurants, retail spaces, and sports venues on ways they can improve accessibility. Their first big client? Zoo Atlanta.

“You’ll see signs with the iAccess Life logo, and you can share feedback on your experience in that area, your experience at concessions…feedback on how the venue can improve, essentially,” Brandon explains.

Brandon lives the life of an entrepreneur — always with his eye on what is next — and works to support other start-ups through his role at Atlanta Tech Village, managing the pre-accelerator program, a four-month program designed to help underrepresented tech entrepreneurs get their products to market.

Through every venture, Brandon recognizes his experience at Shepherd as one of the major influences in his life.

“After getting back into normal life and meeting other wheelchair users who didn't get to go to Shepherd, I got to see the quality of life that I have because of the therapy and education I got there,” he says. “I feel like I graduated from the Ivy League of rehabilitation. I'm forever grateful for Shepherd because it made me who I am today. It made me feel comfortable being in a wheelchair.”
 

Written by Ruth Underwood

Carson West and his mother couldn’t quite believe the question. At the time, Carson was a week into his stay at Shepherd Center — and just four months removed from surviving an accidental shooting and sustaining a C-4 level spinal cord injury.

But, yes, Carson was indeed receiving an invitation from Shepherd Center’s physical therapy staff to join fellow patients on an outing to a local Steak ‘n Shake.

“It felt nerve-wracking even to consider,” says Carson’s mom, Alexis Schulze. “It was only a few months since we’d been facing emergency surgeries, collapsed lungs, so much. He had just gotten off a ventilator and still had his trach in.

“But the staff had it handled. They took all the supplies he needed and prepped us for everything. I think they knew it was something he needed. We’d seen nothing but hospital walls, and he needed to get out. To see that he could do something like that.”

Other outings would follow — to a shopping center, the Atlanta Botanical Garden,  and more. It was all part of the plan, thanks to the experts in Shepherd Center’s High-Tetraplegia Program (HiTe), which is designed specifically for patients like Carson who have high-level (C-1 to C-4) spinal cord injuries. The program includes community outings, specialized support groups, and education to help family members become confident caregivers.

“The needs of patients with high tetraplegia require an extra level of care and education,” says Polly Hopkins, MS, OTR/L, CLT, therapy manager in the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program. “HiTe continually evolves to best meet the needs of patients living with high-level injuries and for those who are caring for them.”

These specialized services were seamlessly integrated with the Adolescent Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program for Carson, a 14-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio. In assistive technology sessions, Carson quickly learned how adaptive equipment could help him play his favorite video games. He learned to use an Alexa voice assistant to turn on lights and appliances, make phone calls, unlock doors, and more.

Carson also remembers Shepherd’s facility dogs, who gave him a lift during grueling rehab workouts in the gym. And he loved hanging out with new friends during Fun Fridays — an Adolescent SCI Rehab favorite — playing music in the gym, painting on massive canvases, and doing movie-and-dinner nights.

The HiTe program offered plenty for Alexis, too, preparing her to become Carson’s primary caregiver back home.

“They basically taught her everything they taught me,” Carson says of his mom’s involvement. “She had to get checked off on everything — suctioning my airways, helping me with showers, the bladder and bowel programs, everything. I’m thankful she did all that.”

“I wanted to be confident by the time we left,” Alexis says. “We were well prepared, and the transition home went so much smoother than I expected. It’s because I was part of everything directly alongside Carson.”

It’s a good thing Alexis felt ready because Carson’s progress enabled him to get discharged a week earlier than expected.

“We were home six days early, so I thought I’d surprise people,” Carson says, then laughs. “I didn’t surprise anybody.”

His first clue was the police escort that guided him and his mom into Cincinnati’s Colerain Township.

“I didn’t realize it was for me at first,” Carson laughs. “Then I started seeing signs.”

Signs, banners, balloons. Hundreds of friends and neighbors lining the streets. His high school’s marching band and cheerleading squad performing in his front yard. Even a former Cincinnati Bengals football player was there to welcome him.

Carson appreciated it all. But he also appreciated getting inside his house and closing the door.

“That felt so good,” he says. “My dogs came running up. My sisters were there, my grandparents, and other family. I was just happy to be in my own home again.”

Written by Phillip Jordan

The fall resulted in a paralyzing C-5 to C-6 fracture-dislocation which led to severe impingement and swelling on her cervical spinal cord. ER doctors in Huntsville didn’t know if AK — as Anna Katherine is known to her friends and family — would make it through emergency surgery.

“We were talking to keep her calm before surgery,” recalls Scott Spangler, AK’s father. “But she looked up at us and said, ‘God knew this was going to happen even before we did. He’s got a plan and a purpose for everything, even this.’ It floored us. She has a strong faith, but, in that moment, wow.”

AK eventually spent more than three months at Shepherd Center through both the inpatient rehabilitation program and the Spinal Cord Injury Day Program. Here, she and her family continued to lean on their faith to sustain their spirits and move forward – and they had support from one of Shepherd Center’s chaplains, Ben Rose, M.Div., BCC, whom they formed a strong bond with.

“Ben came in one of the first days I was there to introduce himself,” AK says. “He’s so encouraging and always rooting for you. Anytime something was bothering me, I knew I could pray with him or talk through it with him, and he would be there for me.”

As part of the Larry L. Prince Chaplaincy Program, Shepherd Center’s chaplains provide spiritual care while honoring the diverse religious backgrounds of all patients, families, and staff. Rose says his role is all about being available, being positive, and providing outlets for patients’ faith practices while away from home.

“It was a joy to acknowledge and explore God’s place in AK’s rehabilitation,” Rose says. “We, as chaplains, assisted AK and her parents in grieving loss while also celebrating the life that lies ahead. I consider that my most important mission as a chaplain here.” 

AK and her family regularly attended Sunday services at Shepherd Center and kept meeting with Chaplain Rose even through AK’s time in the Day Program.

“For us, as a family of faith, it was so appreciated to have someone like Ben as an integral part of the care team there,” Scott adds. “Even if you don’t come from a faith background, it’s such a benefit to have these chaplains, counselors, and psychologists as part of your care team who are all there to encourage you.” 

Back home in Huntsville, AK’s continuing her physical therapy, focused on getting strong enough to operate a manual wheelchair routinely — and not just in “turtle mode,” as AK jokes. She’s back in school, aiming to attend college and work in engineering. And she’s often in touch with a new friend she made at Shepherd Center, 21-year-old Eden Schroeder, a member of the Shepherd Sharks swim team.

During AK’s time in Atlanta, the two young women shared notes on their nearly identical spinal cord injuries — sustained three years apart — and bonded as athletes. AK watched Eden’s swim practices while there, gaining further motivation. Last December, Eden competed in the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championship. Now, she’s lobbying AK to take up adaptive swimming as her next athletic challenge.

“We’ll see,” AK says. “Each day is a new day. One of my teachers always says something that has proved awesomely true: There’s ‘not yet,’ but ‘later on’ always comes. What that means for me is maybe I can’t do something at this moment. But that won’t always be the case. I can keep working, and later on, maybe I can.”

Written by Phillip Jordan

While he was a patient in both the inpatient Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program and later the Spinal Cord Injury Day Program, Dakota’s family stayed nearby in family housing.

“That was a huge deal, especially because my family was coming from West Virginia,” Dakota recalls. “My mom was here for a long time when I was inpatient. When I was in the Day Program, my family members rotated – my wife, Kayla, would come for a week, then my sister, and then my mom. I’m happy to see the expansion of family housing; it’s a big benefit.”

Before his injury, Dakota spent a lot of time lifting weights at the gym. He says that being in such good shape allowed him to regain some function faster than he might have. And there were some other things he also took away from his rehabilitation at Shepherd.

One is an enduring friendship with another patient, Denise. Dakota and Denise were neighbors at Shepherd and often in the gym together. They would joke around during therapy, and after discharge, they kept in touch. When Dakota returned to Atlanta for the Day Program, Denise invited him to watch football with her family. From there, the two families grew closer. They have traveled together and often spend weekends at Denise’s family lake house.

Dakota also says that along with his mom, Shepherd staff encouraged him to go to college. And since he is the kind of person who likes to be busy, he decided to go for it. He enrolled in online courses, which he continued while in the Day Program at Shepherd.

The team in the Access Technology Lab helped him troubleshoot the best ways to complete his classwork, identifying apps and tools for his computer. “Some of the tools they recommended provide a lot of value,” Dakota says.

He got a degree in accounting and found a job at the Army and Airforce Exchange Service through a federal program called The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP), which connects government and some private employers with college students, graduate students, and recent graduates with disabilities. Dakota, his wife, and their 11-year-old  daughter recently moved to McDonough because he wanted to have health care options closer by than the small town where he grew up offered.

Dakota is planning for the future—including pursuing a master’s degree—and reflects positively on the foundation his Shepherd experience helped lay for his future.

“At Shepherd, it feels like you're safe. I don't know how to explain it. Everybody treats you normally, everything's accessible, therapy is great, and there's a lot of enthusiasm and support,” Dakota explains.

Written by Ruth Underwood

The dinners were born in 2016 from the hope of Anna Elmers, M.D., to help patients connect and build community.

“When people are going through this catastrophic event, they need to know they're not alone, and not just the patients, but the families need to know they're not alone,” Dr. Elmers explains. “It's all about community and giving people more support.”

Dr. Elmers pitched her idea to Renee Houle, who participated in outpatient physical therapy at Shepherd and was eager to give back after discharge. Renee accepted the challenge — and in August 2016, she and a friend, Joan Marie Hyland, worked with Dr. Elmers to hold the first family dinner and followed the first with many more.

“It was pretty simple. We didn’t think twice about it. We would cook the meals, lay them out, and put out tables and chairs. Then we’d let everybody know dinner was ready. It was great to see how much it helped the patients and families to have each other, to talk about what they were going through and how to solve problems they were facing. And it gave us a chance to sit down with them and learn their stories — all the heartbreak and all the good stuff that happened through them being there,” Renee recalls.

COVID safety precautions stopped family dinners for a time, but recently, Jennifer Heffron, engagement coordinator for Shepherd Center Foundation, revived the tradition, with groups volunteering to make or order meals, set up, and serve. After everyone’s plate is full, volunteers or staff lead the dinner guests in introductions and an icebreaker question — asking guests to share things like a favorite movie, hidden talent, or someone who inspires them. Introductions are sometimes followed by friendly — or heated — competition in a game of Bingo — with a bag of much sought-after prizes.

“The dinners are super fun,” Jennifer says. “I’m so charged up after each one of them. People are so kind to each other. It really makes a difference in people’s day.”

Courtney Alderman, a Shepherd patient, says the dinners and games give patients something to look forward to. And even though he technically hasn’t won at Bingo yet, “I smiled very hard one night, and the person who won gave me her gift card,” he laughs.

The dinners make for a fulfilling experience for volunteers as well.

Ben Bunyard, a project executive for Choate Construction, has hosted several family dinners with teams from Choate and groups affiliated with designing and constructing the new Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation on Shepherd’s main campus.

“One of the best parts is getting to experience the interaction of the patients and the families.

Everybody there is so genuine, and they open their hearts. It seems like everything is left at the door, and everybody comes together as one family, and I've never experienced that before. It’s heartwarming,” Ben says.

Alana Shepherd, Shepherd Center co-founder and chairman, often joins the group for conversation and fellowship.

“It's an important way for our volunteers to have direct contact with our patients.

And I think it's very rewarding for them. Sometimes, their children come, or a scout troop or sports team will volunteer. The kids love scrambling around, serving drinks, or helping carry patients' plates to the table. They run Bingo and give out the prizes — even the very young kids help out.

“For the patients themselves, it's exciting to see them go from their first dinner, where they're a little bit shy, to the other dinners, when they’ve gotten to know people, they open up and realize it's a social occasion for them. They get to know people and have a real bond that is beyond their therapy expectations,” she says. “Their children attend and see that they are not alone in the family journey,” Alana adds.

Family brunches for caregivers of patients with an acquired brain injury (ABI) are a recent off-shoot of family dinners. Shepherd staff chose a Saturday brunch to give patients and families something to look forward to on what is often a quiet day.

After the first brunch, a former brain injury patient and his wife, eager to provide much-needed support to caregivers, volunteered to host more.

The quarterly brunches are open to caregivers and dietarily approved patients. And the response, especially from caregivers, has been one of gratitude.

“Caregivers come with their loved ones or on their own, but across the board, the reaction we're getting is, ‘Thank you for thinking of us,’” says Lauren Tucker, grateful patient and grants senior manager.

For more information about hosting a family dinner, contact Jennifer Heffron, at jennifer.heffron@shepherd.org. 

Written by Ruth Underwood

Five years ago, on New Year’s Eve, Alesha was on a road trip with friends when the car she was riding in flipped, and she was thrown out the back window. When she landed, she sustained a T-10 to T-11 spinal cord injury (SCI). And while her life changed that night, she says her view of life ultimately changed as well.

“I thought my life was going to be over,” Alesha says. “I wasn't going to be able to do anything. I thought it was going to be a period. God put a comma there instead, and I have lived more now than I did before.”

Alesha went to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Georgia, before transferring to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation. She says the first night at Shepherd, her mom couldn’t stay with her, and she was terrified to be alone, but one of the nurses stayed by her side. “To this day, I still talk to Allie, the night nurse. She held my hand until I fell asleep.” 

Alesha participated in the inpatient Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program and the outpatient SCI Day Program and says the staff felt like family.

“From the first day, everybody was there to support me. Everybody was realistic. They allowed me to be angry, to be sad, to be whatever I wanted to be.”

At first, Alesha was hesitant to try new things. “I said, ‘Absolutely not. Why would I want to do that? That's going to be too much on my arms. Or physically, I'm incapable.’ I guess I didn't want to get used to being in a wheelchair. But now I've realized there's so much more life to live while in a wheelchair — even if it’s different, there is a way to do it. I have done so many things.”

Alesha says it was while she participated in the Day Program that she really started gaining a sense of independence.

“I was doing all the things. My therapist was really good at being firm but supportive.

That was one of my favorite things about Shepherd Center. They're always able to get me together, but in a supportive way, because sometimes I would overthink things and get anxious, especially if it was something new. I was always thinking of what could go wrong, versus now, I think about all the good things that could happen.”

Since graduating from the Day Program, Alesha has tried many activities through Shepherd’s Recreation Therapy Program. She’s participated in Adventure Skills Workshop, where she learned to waterski — now one of her favorite things to do. And she and her partner, K, recently took a trip to Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS) Ranch in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to participate in an outdoor adventure program with Shepherd’s Recreation Therapy Program and STARS.

“I’m always so grateful that my partner gets to attend with me because it's easier for her to experience new activities with people who will tell us how to make it work, and we can ask for help if we need it. That's important.”

In 2022, Alesha was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Georgia, and she spent the year traveling around the state advocating for people with disabilities.

“That really started a fire for me to get involved in advocacy, because it's not about me.

It's about the generations coming behind me. I plan to go back to school for disability studies so I can learn more as well as apply my experiences. I’m excited to grow and see what I can do for the next generation.”

She’ll keep on trying new things — and growing.

“The things that I thought were going to be impossible, I’m doing them. And I'm blessed to have an amazing partner who will charge into the unknown right there with me. So, life is full of blessings, and it's amazing.”

Written by Ruth Underwood

“We're positioned as an innovation hub because we are leaders in the field. The Innovation Institute is a natural extension of that – giving us more capabilities, space, and resources to foster ingenuity,” says Deborah Backus, PT, Ph.D., FACRM, Shepherd Center’s vice president of research and innovation. “We collaborate with like-minded partners to advance rehabilitation medicine and find better, more efficient ways of delivering care to improve the lives of the people we serve.”

The new 30,000-square-foot Innovation Institute, which will occupy the top floor of the Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation on Shepherd Center’s main campus and is slated to open in 2025, will be a hub for collaboration, allowing Shepherd researchers to form more of these robust partnerships to advance patient care. The following are just a few of Shepherd’s partnerships that are improving patients’ and their families’ lives.

Virtual Visits

In 2020, Shepherd Center’s Recreation Therapy Program partnered with Aetos Imaging, a technology company that takes scans of real-world locations such as restaurants, stores, and stadiums. Then, they create a 3D digital replica of the location. Shepherd’s recreation therapists label the scans, flagging potential barriers that people using wheelchairs, for instance, may need to consider when visiting the venue — including locations of accessible entrances, table or counter height, or type of flooring. The scans are invaluable for patients and care partners who are anxious about navigating life outside Shepherd. Therapists also use the images as a follow-up after an outing to cover anything a patient or caregiver might have missed during training sessions.

Kelly Edens, CTRS, recreation therapy manager at Shepherd, compares the experience to playing a video game.

“It's a tool to provide education for patients and families to get from A to B on outings to places like a doctor's office, a library, a church, or a stadium. Reviewing the scans lets patients sharpen problem-solving skills, prepare for outings, and even advocate for themselves. We never want a former patient to avoid going somewhere just because they use a wheelchair. We want them to have access to their community,” she explains.

Connor Offutt, CEO of Aetos Imaging, says that working with Shepherd Center to help patients rebuild their lives resonates with the company’s core values and allows Aetos to explore a different application of the technology.

“People are increasingly using the Aetos Operate platform to reintegrate within their communities and gain confidence in the real world. Like Shepherd Center, it’s our hope — and responsibility — to utilize technology in ways that benefit our neighbors,” he says.

Accessible Wellness Content

Another innovative partnership that builds community and allows Shepherd clinicians to reach patients after they return home is Shepherd’s partnership with burnalong®, an online platform that offers on-demand health and wellness tools. The hospital and online wellness platform are collaborating to create and distribute specialty programming that makes wellness accessible to all.

Shepherd’s highly trained specialists are developing live and on-demand content geared toward people with spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, spine and chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological conditions. Currently, Shepherd patients, staff, and Burnalong users can access the classes.

“The great thing is that these classes span across all our specialties and are appropriate for many neurological diagnoses and patients who we serve at Shepherd,” says Marina Moldavskiy, ACRP-CP, Shepherd Center’s tele-wellness program manager and exercise physiologist.

Among the more than 50,000 classes are yoga, exercise, and financial wellness courses, among others, for people of all abilities.

“Alongside the unparalleled range of classes and programs, one of the biggest things that sets Burnalong apart is the social experience. You can see and hear each other live. You can join communities. It ensures people get the support they need,” says Daniel Freedman, president of commercial health and fitness, Tivity Health, and co-founder of Burnalong. 

“We are always thinking of ways to empower our patients before they return home,” Moldavskiy says. “When our patients are at Shepherd, there’s always a rehabilitation professional there to guide them or give them information. We hope this platform can help them feel empowered to continue when they leave our walls.” 

While Burnalong™ is creating an inclusive community, it also opens opportunities for further research. Shepherd Center’s Virginia C. Crawford Research Institute is piloting two studies to better understand the program’s benefits. One focuses on people with multiple sclerosis (MS). If you are interested in participating in MS research, scan the QR code for more information.  

A second study focuses on people who have sustained an acquired brain injury (ABI) and have been discharged from a hospital-based ABI program. The purpose of the study, conducted in collaboration with Moody Neurorehabilitation Institute in Texas, is to evaluate the potential efficacy of tele-wellness delivered through Burnalong™. For more information on ABI research or to volunteer, contact Erica Sutton at 404-367-1305 or erica.sutton@shepherd.org.

Written by Lindsey Rieben and Ruth Underwood

“Andee’s Army’s support of the adolescent program has been transformative. Their partnership has allowed more opportunities for our adolescent patients, who have gone through the unimaginable, to see their future after injury,” says Paula Ackerman, MS, OTR/L Shepherd’s SCI post-acute program manager.

Andee’s Army began after Andee Poulos, then 14 years old, had an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) — a tangle of blood vessels — rupture in her brain. Andee came to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation and made an incredible recovery. A committed group of supporters who helped her founded Andee’s Army to ensure that other adolescents who sustain brain or spinal cord injuries and their families have the support they need. Andee’s Army partners with Shepherd Center, offering personalized grants to patients, funding research, and backing programs to improve mental health and quality of life to help adolescents with brain and spinal cord injuries achieve the highest level of independence possible.

“We step in when insurance steps out,” explains Nina Cheney, executive director of Andee’s Army. “We support everything from durable goods or home modifications to driving education and Beyond Therapy®. As we’ve grown, we’ve realized that there are other ways we can support patients in getting back to living as fully as possible — that is what Shepherd is so great at, and that's why we sponsor things like prom and the Halloween Haunted House.”

Andee’s Army has also supported several research projects, including, most recently, Keeping Adolescents and Young Adults Connected (KAYAC). KAYAC aims to connect newly injured inpatient young adults and adolescents with spinal cord or brain injury to a peer mentor who is a year or more beyond their injury.

“It has been game-changing to have Andee’s Army’s support — it makes a world of difference,” says Katie Harris Rains, Psy.D., rehabilitation neuropsychologist and co-principal investigator for KAYAC.

Cheney says supporting adolescents’ mental health is central to Andee’s Army’s mission. 

“It is so dramatic when you are around these kids, to see the change in their outlook after they begin therapy. It goes back to that ‘I can't to I can.’ Yes, your life will be different, but you have a lot to contribute, and at Shepherd, they’ll find the best way for you to move forward. We have such a long, lovely relationship with Shepherd, and it’s very mission-driven for us. Shepherd is the manifestation of what we do,” Cheney says.

As for Andee, she just graduated from college with honors and has started working.

“It is incredible that all of this started with one little girl who is just an amazing person,” Cheney reflects.

Written by Ruth Underwood

During my childhood, wearing a helmet to ski was decidedly uncool. Perhaps more telling of that era was the idea that skiing in jeans was very cool.

Out of the 10 million or so people who ski and snowboard in the United States, 600,000 injuries occur annually. Of those, head trauma accounts for 20 percent and is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in these winter sports. (Haider 2012)

Thankfully, in the past few years, helmet use in winter sports has become the norm with an almost 70 percent compliance rate – almost triple the number in 2003. (McMillan 2013) The rate of helmet compliance is encouraging, but it has brought to light some troubling statistics. Despite the number of people wearing helmets, the number of skiers and snowboarders sustaining brain injuries or fatalities has seen no reduction. Worse, studies have claimed that head injuries have actually increased.

According to a Western Michigan University School of Medicine’s 2012 study, head injuries have increased by 60 percent in seven years. The University of Washington furthered those results in its 2013 study, showing a 250 percent increase in snow-sports-related head injuries among youths and adolescents.

Experts have debated several theories that may explain the simultaneous rise in helmet use and head injuries. Perhaps the most convincing argument relates to risk-taking behavior. It is telling to examine who is getting hurt: 70 percent of snow-sport fatalities involve males in their late teens to early 30s. (McMillan 2013) As snow sport technology has yielded better, faster skis and snowboards, a push for more extreme sporting has followed. Resorts have opened more dangerous trails and are accused of propagating the risk-taking skier/boarder mentality with sponsorships and promotions of ever-more dangerous flips and tricks.

Often, people are surprised to learn that brain injuries can occur even when wearing a helmet. That leads researchers to believe there is a false sense of security that is leading to an increase in risk-taking behaviors.

Snow sports are a fun and great way to spend a winter afternoon, but like any sport, these activities come with some risk involved. Arm yourself with these tips (and helmets) to prevent a brain or spinal cord injury. Knowledge that leads to better decision-making is the key to prevention.

There are several, other smaller safety precautions that everyone should consider before hitting the slopes.

1. Stay at your level. Trails are always marked with a green circle, blue square, or black diamond. Staying in control of your skis or snowboard is key to preventing injury.
2. Constantly scan. Watch out for those who are going too fast, and/or have lost control and get out of their way fast.
3. When going down a mountain, if you have to stop for any reason, move to the side of the trail. This prevents collisions with other skiers or boarders.
4. Take a break when tired, and skip the last run of the day. Injuries happen when you are tired and not paying full attention to your surroundings.
5. Skiing off-piste exposes you to hidden rocks, ledges, and avalanches, and is not worth the risk. Trees are not your friend when skiing, sledding, or boarding.
6. When sledding or tubing, always go down feet first. Breaking a leg is far better than hitting your head.
7. Wear your helmet. Even when sledding. Keep your head warm and avoid concussions and more serious brain injuries.

For more information on Shepherd Center's Injury Prevention Program, click here.

Sources
Haider, Adil H. "Helmets Save Lives of Skiiers and Snowboarders." Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2012.
Mayo Clinic. 2015. www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/basics/causes/con-20023837
McMillan, Kelley. "Ski Helmet Use Isn't Reducing Brain Injuries." The New York Times, Dec. 31, 2013.

EMMA HARRINGTON is the director of injury prevention and education services at Shepherd Center. Previously, Emma started the injury prevention program at Grady Memorial Hospital in the Trauma Department. She holds a master of education degree in international education policy from Harvard University. Originally from Boston, Emma is a licensed social studies teacher.

1. A Better Frame of Mind

From a terrifying fall on an Icelandic mountain to rising above his doubts — Daniel Hund credits Shepherd Center with putting him on a more positive path to the future.

2. Still Dancing and Dreaming

In her desire to help others, Mo Maxwell has always wanted to be a nurse. Her experience at Shepherd Center may help that dream come true. 

3. From Uncertainty to Clarity

Iliana Bermudez says the care of the Andrew C. Carlos Multiple Sclerosis Institute staff at Shepherd Center helped her understand and manage her autoimmune disease, neuromyelitis optica (NMO).

4. Persevering Through PTSD: A Veteran’s Journey

At Shepherd Center’s SHARE Military Initiative, Marine Corps veteran, Michael Cataldi, learned to cope with the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

5. From Idea to App

With hard work and a willingness to take a risk, Brandon Winfield turned his experience after sustaining a spinal cord injury into an app that helps people with accessibility needs find new places to explore.

6. Finding Balance

Care from Shepherd Center’s Complex Concussion Clinic helps Jana Smith get back to what she loves.

7. Making Progress – and a Proposal: Kaytlin Marquess’ Story

During rehabilitation for a spinal cord injury at Shepherd Center, Kaytlin Marquess’ therapy team helped her pop the question.

8. Construction Connections: Taylor Nester’s Story

As project manager for Shepherd Center’s Arthur M. Blank Family Residences building, Taylor Nester is helping build hope for others like Shepherd helped build hope for her dad.

9. Dr. Woody Morgan Returns to Shepherd Center – This Time as a Doctor. 

Former spinal cord injury patient Woody Morgan returned to Shepherd this year, where he now leads the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Unit.

10. Finding Community

After Amy Ewing sustained a spinal cord injury, she found a community she has returned to again and again for a physical and emotional boost. 

One morning in late July, he dozed off while driving and hit a telephone pole, sustaining a C-2 to C-4 level spinal cord injury (SCI). Chris was taken to DeKalb Medical Center (now Emory Decatur Hospital) in Decatur, Georgia, and after a brief stay, he transferred to Shepherd Center. He had spinal fusion surgery at Piedmont Hospital and began rehabilitation at Shepherd.

He says when he arrived at Shepherd, he felt invincible and, therefore, somewhat resistant to therapy.

“As a 17-year-old high school athlete, I thought, ‘I'll be fine. All these things you want to teach me, we'll push that off because I'm going to be okay,’” Chris explains. “And the therapists had an incredible way of accepting that attitude, but then pushing at the right time and getting 110% out of me and whatever was possible to get out of my body.”

So, Chris and his care team got to work.

“Shepherd gets you into doing things so fast from a therapeutic perspective, from a mental perspective, and ultimately trying to normalize whatever normal is going to be,” he remembers.

When he left Shepherd, Chris finished his senior year in high school and then studied at Georgia Tech. After graduating, he worked in management consulting, living in Japan for a year. He went on to get his MBA from Duke University. Chris eventually regained full movement on the right side of his body and limited movement on the left side. He walks with a cane and sometimes uses a wheelchair to play basketball or rugby. He’s continued to push himself and credits Shepherd with his willingness to face challenges. 

Now 51, Chris is married with two children and a successful career. He just started a new company and is looking forward to new adventures in life. As he reflects upon the past, he says that the lessons he learned at Shepherd Center helped him live the life he always imagined.

“Shepherd provided me with an even stronger foundation for pushing through challenging things and challenging myself. So much of how I approach every day was born back in that summer of 1989.”

Written by Ruth Underwood

Brandon grew up in Johns Creek, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. As a child, he dreamed of being a professional motocross rider. He traveled for motocross competitions and even switched to home-schooling to allow more flexibility and time to focus on the sport. But when he was 14, he sustained a T-7-T-8 spinal cord injury in a crash at a motocross event in Tennessee, which resulted in paralysis from his chest down.

After spending time in a hospital in Memphis, Brandon transferred to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation, but as soon as he arrived, he wanted to leave.

“I couldn't wait to get out of there at first. I had been hurt racing motocross plenty of times, which helped me wrap my head around the injury,” he recalls. “But my time at Shepherd was great. My therapists were amazing, and as soon as I got home, I missed Shepherd Center. Everything was so easy and accessible there.”  

As Brandon returned to life as an active teenager, including re-connecting with his motocross community, he realized that finding accessible parking spaces, bathrooms, restaurants, and venues could be challenging.

“I felt like a burden to the people I was traveling with. We’d go someplace, and I either couldn't get in, or I couldn't access the bathroom, and I’d have to go home, or we'd have to try someplace new. I felt like it was my fault,” he says. “For somebody who's adventurous and likes to do new things, I got tired of going places and not knowing if I'd be able to access those new things. So that was the catalyst for my idea,” he explains.

The idea that Brandon is referring to is his brainchild and now business — where he focuses much of his attention and energy — a mobile app called iAccess Life. The app uses crowdsourcing to collect information about accessibility at restaurants, stores, and other venues in cities across the United States and worldwide. Users can rate a venue’s parking, entrance, interior, and bathroom accessibility and have the option to leave a review as well.

“I wanted you to open the app and feel like everybody else looking for a place to have dinner, drinks, coffee, or go shopping. Whatever you wanted to do, I wanted to find a way for people to leave feedback on their experience and then hopefully travel confidently as we gather more ratings and feedback from people in the application,” he says.

Of course, it wasn’t a straight line from idea to app. Along the way, Brandon got into competitive go-kart racing, which included traveling and filming for a TV show featuring his experience, “Dreams to Champions,” that aired on Fox Sports 1. He also worked in information technology (IT), including quality assurance testing for websites and mobile apps. He eventually met Sayeed Mehrjerdian, now iAccess Life co-founder and head of product, who helped him develop the app and raise funding.

In 2019, they launched the app and are working on building their user base so the app will have more reviews of more places. They also want to expand the breadth of the app to address accessibility for people with a broader range of disabilities. They recently launched a product in partnership with a parking company to allow for feedback on accessibility issues by scanning a QR code on a street sign. They hope to provide restaurants, retail spaces, and sports venues input on ways they can improve accessibility.

Brandon lives the life of an entrepreneur — always with his eye on what is next — and works to support other start-ups through his role at Atlanta Tech Village, managing the pre-accelerator program, a four-month program designed to help underrepresented tech entrepreneurs get their products to market.

Through every venture, Brandon recognizes the experience he had at Shepherd as one of the major influences in his life.

“After getting back into normal life and meeting other wheelchair users who didn't get to go to Shepherd, I got to see the quality of life that I have because of the therapy and education I got there,” he says. “I'm forever grateful for Shepherd because it made me who I am today. It made me feel comfortable being in a wheelchair.”
 

Written by Ruth Underwood

Congratulations to Shari McDowell, PT, DPT, program director of Shepherd Center's Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, for being selected as a Fellow of the American Spinal Injury Association.

Fellowship in the American Spinal Injury Association (FASIA) is bestowed to individuals who exemplify distinguished accomplishments in spinal cord injury research, clinical practice, education, and advocacy and for a longstanding membership of service to the society. The designation of FASIA recognizes prominent contributions to and in support of ASIA’s policies, practices, operations, and goals, which advance its organizational mission. The designation also carries an unofficial obligation of maintaining an example of accomplishment for others in ASIA and providing continued leadership in the field.

Being selected as a FASIA adds to Shari’s extraordinary list of achievements. She has worked in various roles of increasing responsibility at Shepherd Center since 1992. Shari has supported and developed new programming for rehabilitation services and has integrated evidence-based research into practice. With the help of Shari’s leadership, Shepherd Center has produced industry-leading outcomes. She has also authored 13 publications, as well as participated and contributed to more than 30 professional presentations, conferences, and grant/research studies.

2024 Fellowship Award recipients will be honored during ASIA's Annual Scientific Meeting, May 20-23 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Written by Kerry Ludlam

“Yeah, that was dope. It was the size of a bus,” Austin recalls about swimming in the Ocean Voyager exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium, one of his more memorable outings coordinated through Shepherd Center’s Recreation Therapy Program, the country's largest program of its kind. Funded by generous donors, recreation therapy is incorporated into rehabilitation programs to improve self-esteem, relieve stress, and increase mobility.

“The rec therapists at Shepherd were awesome about showing me I could still do the things I’d done before my injury,” he says. “And the stuff I’d never done!”

Austin, now 26, came to Shepherd Center in 2021 with far more modest dreams than swimming with sharks and manta rays. In September of that year, he had sustained a T-10 incomplete spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident. It happened when a car pulled out in front of him as Austin, a FedEx delivery driver, was going to cash his latest paycheck.

When Austin transferred to Shepherd a month later, he had yet to sit up on his own. But he remembers the hope he felt as soon as he was wheeled through the doors.

“Everyone was all smiles and positive, helpful with anything,” Austin recalls. “I mean, the lady at the front desk was probably the nicest person I’d seen in a long, long time. It was really refreshing. I didn’t want for anything there.”

A few days in, he was sitting up with no assistance. By the end of that first week, he was pushing his wheelchair. Week two, he was putting on his clothes.

“It was crazy the progress, how quickly it happened,” Austin says.

He credits much of his improvement and positive attitude to all the recreational therapy opportunities. Pre-injury, Austin was almost always spending time outside in his hometown of Lookout Valley, Tennessee. He played basketball, football, tennis, and ultimate frisbee. He fished. He worked on cars and motorcycles, too.

“Anything with a competitive, outdoor nature to it, I’m in,” Austin says.

He quickly tried several rec therapy options during his inpatient rehabilitation, including tennis, swimming, and basketball. It’s also no surprise that Austin was thrilled to meet Shepherd Center’s outdoor recreation specialist, Gavin McClintock, CTRS. McClintock introduced Austin to hiking in a three-wheeled all-terrain wheelchair. And as Austin has continued to improve his upper-body strength and mobility over the past two years, he’s done so with the help of Shepherd’s outdoor experiences.

Working with adaptive tools and Shepherd Center’s recreation therapists, Austin learned to water ski and tube during Shepherd’s hugely popular Adventure Skills Workshop, held annually at Camp ASCCA, an accessible facility on Lake Martin. He’s gone rock climbing. He’s even learned to hunt, one of the rare outdoor activities he hadn’t done pre-injury. He's also fishing again, one of his longtime loves. Austin remembers his first fishing outing with McClintock and his Shepherd Center friends in creeks off the Soque River near Clarksville, Georgia. He caught several big rainbow trout during the outing, but they weren’t the only things in that stream getting hooked.

“I’m all about fly fishing now,” Austin says. “That was my first time, and, man, regular fishing feels boring now! With fly fishing, you’re always casting and reeling, so you’re constantly on task, always moving.”

Always in motion. That’s a pretty good description of Austin Yarbrough now, too.

Written by Phillip Jordan

“I was at Shepherd Center as an inpatient, and I was in the gym during Shepherd’s adaptive fencing practice when the captain asked me if I was interested in trying it out,” Ellen explains. “I tried basketball but was afraid of the ball. I also tried skeet shooting, but it wasn’t stimulating to me. Fencing was the one that stuck.”

Athletic endeavors weren’t new to Ellen. Before her injury, she competed in the equestrian sports eventing and dressage.

After Ellen graduated from the inpatient program and transitioned to Shepherd Center’s outpatient Day Program, she began traveling from her home in Aiken, South Carolina, to Shepherd Center every Saturday for fencing practice. Her hard work paid off, and she was able to attend her first World Cup for adaptive fencing just two years after her injury.

“It was a little like being thrown to the wolves,” Ellen laughs. “But the fact that Shepherd provides support for sports, outside of success and medals, is a great benefit to people learning how to exist post-injury, and that support was why I was able to stick with it and make it to my first World Cup in Montreal.”

From then on, Ellen continued to train hard and compete, winning four bronze and two silver World Cup medals.

“I’m really proud of those medals,” she explains. “The Americas Paralympic team had not won a World Cup medal in fencing since 2014, so six World Cup medals are a big deal. We also won a Zonal Championship, which includes the Americas and Africa.”

In addition to her accomplishments in World Cup competitions, Ellen ranked third in the world on the Paralympic ranking list for foil, a lightweight, flexible weapon in which points are earned by touching an opponent’s torso, after competing in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

“Shepherd Center essentially helped get me to the Paralympics,” she says. “Their support leading up to the Paralympics and chasing all the points we needed in all the World Cups before then was invaluable.”

While Ellen has been successful in her athletic career, she is still working to overcome the anxiety that comes with competition.

“Focus on the process instead of the outcome,” she advises. “And if you want to try a sport and be good at it, be prepared to fail and lose first. Keep grinding it out because you’re not going to be good when you start. That was always a big thought process for me. Don’t give up because you’re not good in the beginning.”

As Ellen continues in her pursuit to qualify for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, she reflects on her career as an athlete and the effect the para-athletic community has had on her.

“The ability to continue to compete in athletics, have access to adaptive sports, and have people I could communicate with was really helpful to transition to life with a spinal cord injury,” she explains. “It was useful community building with people who have similar goals and experiences in a way that I think being in a nonathletic community would not have been for me. With so many teams at Shepherd, you can try all the options and find a community and what you’re good at. We’re fortunate to have that access.”

Written by Lindsey Rieben

 “I love talking with people who come down from inpatient to watch us practice,” Travis says, “because I did the exact same thing.”

Travis, who came to Shepherd with a C-7 spinal cord injury from a snowboarding accident, remembers his first time in the Livingston Gym and seeing banners with different sports teams’ names on them.

“The Shepherd Sluggers? The Shepherd Swords? What is all this?” Travis, 38, recalls asking his recreational therapists.

They are just two of the 10 sports teams comprising the Fred, Shaler, and Andrew Alias Sports Teams program at Shepherd Center. The sports program allows individuals with physical disabilities to play sports on a recreational or competitive level.

Once Travis learned about the teams, he’d find out their schedules and watch as many practices and games as possible, especially the Shepherd Smash, Shepherd Center’s quad rugby squad. The physicality and athleticism of the athletes blew him away. But while watching from mere feet away, he sometimes felt like the play in front of him might as well have been happening on a planet a million miles away.

“I’d find myself dreaming about playing on that team,” Travis recalls. “But then I’d think, ‘Right now, I can’t get out of my bed without a Hoyer Lift. How am I supposed to push a rugby chair?’”

Today, Travis has indeed worked his way onto the Shepherd Smash, a testament to his hard work and the therapy he received at Shepherd Center. He’s also a catcher on the Shepherd Sluggers softball team.

But he has not forgotten being the spectator on the sidelines.

“It humbles me to be on the other side now, so I want to be a mentor and an encouragement for those watching me,” he says.

What does he tell current patients who come to watch the Smash?

“‘You can do anything you want. There’s always a way,” Travis says. “Don’t let anyone say you can’t do something. Consider that a challenge. Shepherd, man, they opened my eyes to everything. I’ve learned that if you’ve got people willing to help and teach, you can do anything.”

Of course, it’s not just sports that make for an adventurous life. Travis is a father of three kids — 10, 11, and 14 — and a husband to Brianna. Their shared life in Cumming, Georgia, is all about adventure. There’s “barn life” with the family’s horse, "farm life” with the family’s cattle on a farm in south Forsyth, and plenty of “dog life” with Travis’ new companion Gus, a 100-pound Doberman service dog. There’s also lots of shuttling time, as Travis has started driving the kids to school, church, doctor’s appointments, and their own sports.

All of the adventures are well-documented on Travis’ @c7quadsquad TikTok account, which has more than 8,000 followers who love the family’s candid, heart-warming interactions. His oldest daughter is a frequent and funny interviewer who quizzes her dad on how he gets dressed, gets in his car, and deals with people taking his accessible parking space. One video, of Travis “jumping” in the pool with his kids has more than nine million views.

“We’re living life, that’s for sure!” Travis says. “It’s just a fun way to show folks what’s possible. I’m still here. The Lord ain’t done with me yet. We’re rollin’.”

There’s more to come, too, including lots of travel. 

Already, the family has taken several post-injury road trips, and soon they’ll head to Chicago for the Wheelchair Softball World Series. They’ll get there by plane, something they didn’t do much of pre-injury. Thankfully, Travis and Brianna participated in a Shepherd Center airport outing to learn how to navigate security, boarding, and much more. 

“I’m so glad they did that because I didn’t have a clue how we’d manage it,” Travis says. “We’re ready to go now!”

Written by Phillip Jordan

“After that, they couldn't get me to shut up,” she laughs. “They couldn’t get me to stop talking, and they couldn't get me to stop going behind the desks, talking to the nurses, calling everybody code names.”

Egypt made the rounds of the hospital, occasionally stopping into CEO Sarah Morrison’s office for a chat. She especially loved Fridays at Shepherd because the adolescents went on outings or had group activities.

“Either way, everybody’s going to be together, so every Friday was fun,” she recalls.

Egypt was discharged last summer, and this June, she returned to Shepherd from her home in Montezuma, Georgia, to practice for what’s considered a major milestone by many teens —her driver’s license test.

“It means a lot. It means I don’t have to wait on anybody; I can be free to do things,” Egypt explains.

Egypt, who uses a wheelchair, took advantage of Shepherd’s adaptive driving services to learn how to drive a car using hand controls. Occupational therapist and certified driving educator Lakisha Gray, MSOT, OTR/L, CDRS, works with clients to inform them of transportation options, evaluate their needs, and provide instruction and training on using adaptive equipment.

Adaptive driving services aren’t limited to Shepherd patients. They are available to anyone in the community who needs to be evaluated for safe driving, including people with spinal cord or brain injuries, as well as those who have cognitive, visual, or physical disabilities, or concerns related to aging.

After driving evaluations and training, the adaptive driving services team completes fittings.

“If people need equipment in their vehicles, we'll meet them at an equipment installer, make sure all the equipment is in the right place, and make any adjustments. Then we'll complete another training in their vehicle at that time,” Gray explains.

Many clients are re-learning how to drive, but it was Egypt’s first time getting a license. Gray says Egypt learned quickly.

“She was anticipating that it would be a lot harder than it was,” Gray explains. “But once we practiced, she got more confident. She went from, ‘I’m just going to be in the house even though I can drive,’ to, ‘Now I'm going to go everywhere!’”

Egypt practiced with Gray every day for a week, beginning in the Shepherd parking deck and then expanding into nearby neighborhoods and around Atlanta.

“She took me to different places during the week, learning how to yield, how to merge into traffic, when to brake, and when not to. I was nervous all week until the day of my driving test. But Lakisha walked me through the steps of what to do and what not to do, and that Friday morning, I took my driving test.”

For Egypt, it turned out to be another fun Friday. She passed the test and got her driver’s license. And that’s not the only significant milestone Egypt has to celebrate this summer – she also graduated from high school in May and is off to college this month.

For more information on Shepherd’s adaptive driving services, visit shepherd.org/driving.

Written by Ruth Underwood

Pursuing Possible with Shepherd Center

To support patient stories like this, please consider contributing to Shepherd Center's Pursuing Possible campaign. Click here to learn more.

“That’s how I started getting back into art,” she recalls, “which gave me the courage to pursue an art degree.”

Amy’s care team also connected her with an organization that trained service dogs.

“They had a dog ready who preferred females, and they wanted someone who would be active, so they contacted Shepherd Center, and the head of the Day Program at the time said, ‘I have the perfect person for you.’”

Amy’s service dog, Rebel, made a big difference in her life.

“He helped me through a tough period and transition. Having Rebel changed my outlook and helped me to be more outgoing, especially going to school. He got to know everyone in art school and became part of the class.”

Since graduating college, Amy has worked many years as a painter and freelance web designer. Recently, she began her master’s degree in creative business leadership through an online program at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

“I want to get into interior design or service design for the medical field and design for patients with disabilities in medical facilities. I want to figure out where I can do the most good and have the most impact,” Amy explains.

Now 37, Amy returns to Shepherd for several weeks most years for Beyond Therapy®, an activity-based program designed to promote lifelong wellness. Amy was one of the early participants when Beyond Therapy began.

“I’m still very close with some of the original members, and I love it and appreciate it every time I go. Probably one of the best parts about Shepherd is the positivity of the people. It’s a support group for my caregiver too. It's incredible the support system we have at Shepherd. Aside from a physical refresher, returning for Beyond Therapy is an emotional serotonin booster. It really is good for the heart and soul too.”

Written by Ruth Underwood 

Pursuing Possible with Shepherd Center

To support patient stories like this, please consider contributing to Shepherd Center's Pursuing Possible campaign. Click here to learn more.

After Les made it through a high-risk surgery, his doctors said he should transfer to a spinal cord injury rehabilitation hospital. So, his daughter, Codi, began researching and asking professionals what their next move should be.

“I began asking every case worker, surgeon, nurse, and each person with the slightest bit of medical background I came across — if they were in this situation, where would they want to be taken?” Codi explains. “The answer was nearly unanimous. ‘Take him to Shepherd Center in Georgia.’”

That’s exactly what they did. At Shepherd, medical professionals determined that Les’ spinal cord injury was incomplete and that he had also sustained a traumatic brain injury. Les and his medical team got to work, and he began progressing in his rehabilitation. As the months passed, and Les graduated from the inpatient program to the Spinal Cord Injury Day Program, his sense of humor never faltered, and he and Codi relied on their knack for connecting with others to create meaningful relationships with staff and patients.

“We spent every Tuesday evening sitting and having family dinners with everyone, including [Shepherd Center co-founder] Mrs. Alana Shepherd, who always came with a fun conversation, but our closest bond was with her granddaughter, Julie,” Codi says. “My dad is a serious animal lover. So, when he needed cheering up, Julie would come by with Lanza [one of Shepherd’s facility dogs]. Of course, Dad and Lanza became best buddies, and in the process, Julie did too.”

For Les’ family, those who had been strangers mere months ago were now even closer than friends. They became family.

“We got to know staff from housekeeping to the coffee kiosk and patients from all over,” Codi says. “When you're there as long as we were and surrounded by people whose lives are also getting flipped upside down, everyone quickly becomes an extension of your family. We've created a lifelong family at Shepherd.”

Today, Les has made spectacular progress and has returned home to his farm with his wife and daughter. But Codi felt she could not leave without a formal goodbye. She wrote a letter recapping some of the firsts she shared with her dad during his recovery at Shepherd Center.

 Excerpts from her letter to Shepherd are below:

Though Dad won't say goodbye until the end of the week, today, I say goodbye (for now) to Atlanta.

I wasn't expecting to be as emotional about this as I am. I wasn't expecting to leave without an hour-long thank-you, hug, and tears galore for each and every person who's touched our lives. But alas, here we are, so that must mean this isn't "goodbye" forever.

A third of my year has been spent here, and though sometimes it feels like only a blip, most of the time, it feels like years. I'll miss these people.

The people who have taught me more about myself than I could ever imagine, who have guided this journey, who have held my hand. 

The people who selflessly devote their lives to the families inside these walls.

I've laughed, cried, and shared so much "life" with this new family we've acquired.

I've learned about their children, met their families, hung out with them, and had countless talks over coffee.

They've even learned how Grammy is DEFINITELY making a scrapbook of her visits, gotten to know about her "silver sneakers" group, and seen firsthand where Dad's personality comes from. We've shared meals, swapped stories, cried together, and made each other laugh like crazy.

These are the people that saved my dad.

VCU did the footwork in the beginning and kept him with us, but Shepherd has given him life.

Dignity. Love. Independence (and even a doctorate degree, if you ask him 😜).

You know how parents track babies with milestones?

Caretakers do, too... DAUGHTERS do, too.

-First time in a wheelchair

-First lunch at a table in the cafeteria

-First Easter 

-First time moving legs again with the NuStep

-First time playing cards to gain back some memory

-First time sitting up by himself

-First time learning to balance on the edge of a surface

-First time navigating life outside of a hospital

-First day transferring without a Hoyer

-First day playing games outside again

-First Memorial Day 

-First day navigating society via a farmer's market outing

-First time walking Annie

-First time doing yoga

-First time driving a track chair

-First time out to dinner as a family

-First time putting on pants without help

-First Project Rollway

-First time driving a manual chair

-First time picking up his own legs

-First time laying on his stomach

-First time on the tilt table

-First time cooking

-First Father's Day

-First custom wheelchair (x2)

-First standing frame 

-First Peachtree Road Race

-First July 4th

-First time on the news

-First time being appointed Mayor

-First time getting in and out of a car

-First (and soon second) Graduation

-First time navigating an apartment

-First time getting in and out of bed

-First time "scooting" around at the zoo

-First time in the pool

-First time walking in the pool

-First time walking on the Lokomat

...the list goes on and on! 

When we got here, our lives looked a lot different. They still do, but my, how he's grown! I'm so proud of how far my dad's come since March, and I'm eager to see how far he'll go as he continues his recovery and rehabilitation in North Carolina. I'm grateful for our time at Shepherd, all the connections we've made, and the family we've gained, but I'm more excited to see how much progress we can make before we come back for a visit.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you who have supported us near and far. Especially our friends and family at Shepherd Center. Don't think I'm letting you go without your own personal sappy letter - I'm just a bit behind.

On to our next adventure!

See you soon, Carolina ✨

- Codi Southerland

Written by Lindsey Rieben

As JJ transferred from Memorial Health to Shepherd Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, he was overwhelmed by the amount of support he received from family, friends, and his church community.

“People came out of the woodwork,” he says. “My now late stepdad started a GoFundMe, and people in the community I hadn’t talked to in a while came to see me. It was wild. All these people cared and pulled together to help me.”

One visitor was Chris Heitzman, a lifelong friend of JJ’s. Chris had insight into recovery at Shepherd Center because he had been a patient himself. Six years before JJ’s injury, Chris sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a car crash and spent months in Shepherd Center’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program.

“He gave me hope, especially at the time,” says JJ. “It was really mentally hard for me, and he gave me inspiration to not give up.”

Under the care of Wes Chay, M.D., JJ began making progress and developing habits that would help him lead a healthier lifestyle. He started attending outings with Shepherd Center’s recreation therapy program, which is funded by generous support from donors, to hone his outdoor skills, including hunting.

“After I left Shepherd Center, I started going hunting with the KT Team,” says JJ. “KT is a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities get back to the outdoors. That’s how I got hooked on turkey hunting. That’s basically all I hunt now.”

Through recreational therapy activities like hunting, JJ also found his calling to give back.

“I went back to my old fraternity house, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, at Georgia Southern, and there was an active brother there who uses a wheelchair,” JJ explains. “I was able to take him on a KT Team hunting trip as his guide, and that’s when it clicked in my heart that this is what I needed to do. I needed to pay it forward.”

From that point on, paying it forward was precisely what JJ did. He started searching for volunteer opportunities to reintegrate into the community including local chapters of Shriners and Masons. He also found joy in giving back to his church community by running sound and lighting and counseling middle and high school youth. Eventually, he joined Shepherd Center’s Junior Committee, a volunteer group of young professionals committed to advancing Shepherd Center’s mission through fundraising and volunteer opportunities. During that time, he was contacted by Chris’ family.

“Chris’ dad saw that I was volunteering and knew I was also looking for some way to support myself,” JJ says. “He asked how I would feel about becoming a caregiver for Chris. It was a godsend.”

With all the progress he had made, JJ felt confident in his ability to care for Chris and took classes to become his legal caregiver. Today, the two lean on each other for support and brotherhood, while JJ provides essential support to Chris. They go on outings like Atlanta Braves games, working out at the gym, and mini golf. JJ also assists Chris in getting to and from his job at Publix.

“Chris is just such a huge blessing,” JJ says. “He keeps me humble and reminds me every day of the blessings I have.”

One of those blessings, JJ says, is recreation therapy.

“Life is never the same after a traumatic injury,” JJ says. “Prayer, help from family and friends, and recreation therapy saved my life.”

Written by Lindsey Rieben.

After graduating from high school, he attended and graduated from the University of Alabama. Aric continued his journey at Shepherd Center, where he discovered a new passion – adaptive water skiing. The sport allowed him to maintain an active lifestyle while connecting with others who shared his determination to overcome challenges. When he retired from waterskiing, Aric missed the physical activity and camaraderie of participating in a competitive sport. That's when he learned about Shepherd Center's Project Workout on Wheels Internet Intervention (WOWii).

“Since retiring from skiing, I felt myself getting lazy for lack of a better word,” Aric laughs. “I learned about the WOWii program at Shepherd Center and knew I had to join.”

Upon joining the program, Aric discovered he could modify workouts to suit his needs.

“I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to adapt some exercises from the fitness subscription I already had,” Aric says. “That was one of the biggest factors for me. I wanted to be open, be held accountable, and learn something new. It has really helped and energized me.”

But WOWii offered more than just a workout. Aric found a supportive network of peers and mentors, all facing similar challenges but determined to push forward together. The program became a platform for personal growth and creating a fulfilling and balanced lifestyle.

“It’s education to get stronger, reduce swelling, get cardio, negotiate priorities, and face obstacles. We work through common problems together,” Aric explains. “We’re all different ages, and we all have spinal cord injuries. We are all in the same boat.”

As Aric's WOWii journey nears its end, he reflects on the valuable lessons he has learned during this transformative experience.

“It’s not just physical, it’s mental,” he says. “It’s okay if you can’t work out one day. Just don’t let it get you down. I think the WOWii program is something everyone can learn and benefit from.”

Written by Lindsey Rieben.

The next Project WOWii group begins this October. If you are interested in signing up and learning more like Aric did, contact our clinical research coordinator, Amber Lopez, at Amber.Lopez@Shepherd.org or 404-350-7656 for more information. The deadline to sign up is September 1.

“You have people who understand where you’re coming from and your obstacles,” Katie explains. “As much as you love your family and friends, they can’t fully understand what you’re going through like someone with a spinal cord injury can.”

When Katie recently moved to Flowery Branch, Georgia, she had a difficult time finding the same feeling of connection. Then, she enrolled in Shepherd Center’s Project WOWii, a research study that examines how valuable and effective an online format is for helping individuals with spinal cord injuries stay active.

“One of the biggest reasons I wanted to start is because the older you get, the more bad habits can get in your way,” Katie says. “I found myself not having energy. Transfers are hard. This program made sense to be able to help me make a good lifestyle change.”

As Katie logged on to her first WOWii meeting, she was not sure what to expect, but she knew it would be beneficial. Equipped with her provided TheraBand and hand bike, she was prepared for her instructors to prescribe a list of mandatory exercises but was pleasantly surprised to find a personalized experience.  

“The cool thing is there is no set of exercises you’re given,” Katie recalls. They give you the tools, you find what works for you, and then we come together and talk about it. Some of the things people have shown me have been incredible. I thought, ‘How have I not thought about this for the past 30 years?’”

In the nine weeks since her program began, Katie has worked hard to meet her exercise goals, sneaking in 30 minutes of cardio on her hand bike before her morning coffee. Along with renewed energy and feeling physically healthier, Katie has finally found the community of spinal cord injury support she had been looking for.

“It’s gone beyond the exercise,” Katie says. “It’s really in the camaraderie. Being about to bounce ideas off people who understand and get their suggestions is priceless.  I’ve been lacking that for the past 10 years in Georgia.”

As Katie’s program ends, she is looking for new ways to raise awareness for Project WOWii.

“The important thing for me is getting people to know this program is out there,” Katie says. Even if you have a busy schedule, you can still do this program. It sounds overwhelming to fit in 150 minutes of exercise a week. It’s actually been super easy. Thirty minutes Monday through Friday, and you’ll feel 1000 times better doing it.”

Written by Lindsey Rieben.

If you’re interested in participating in our next Project WOWii group, please review the eligibility requirements on our website and contact Amber Lopez at amber.lopez@shepherd.org or by phone at 404-350-7656.

In 2008, Woody Morgan – then a sophomore at UGA – waded into the Gulf of Mexico. He handed his sunglasses to a friend, dove into a cresting wave, and didn’t return to consciousness until the next day in the ICU at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. His dive into what turned out to be very shallow water resulted in a paralyzing incomplete C5-C6 spinal cord injury. A week after his injury, Woody came to Shepherd Center.

Now, 15 years later, he’s back – but this time as the attending physician in Shepherd Center’s Comprehensive Rehabilitation Unit (CRU), where he will provide care for patients experiencing the most complex conditions, including spinal cord and brain injuries, multi-trauma, traumatic amputations, stroke, MS, and other neurological conditions.

“Dr. Morgan has a wealth of experience and is board certified in both brain injury and spinal cord injury medicine, which makes him the ideal physician to care for patients in our CRU,” said Michael Yochelson, M.D., MBA, chief medical officer at Shepherd Center. “As a former Shepherd Center patient, Dr. Morgan also can connect with patients and families in a unique way because he understands what they’re going through at this point in their lives. We’re excited to have him join us as we help patients and families begin again after injury and illness.” 

Dr. Morgan attended medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine, after which he completed his residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) at Harvard Medical School, followed by a fellowship in spinal cord injury medicine at Craig Hospital/University of Colorado. Most recently, Dr. Morgan served as assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and medical director of the spinal cord injury program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

Before his injury, Dr. Morgan planned to study orthopedics and sports medicine. His career changed course after working with the physiatrists while he was a patient at Shepherd Center. John Lin, M.D., medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, in particular, inspired Dr. Morgan. Dr. Lin has paralysis and uses a wheelchair due to an aneurysm-like condition known as epidural arteriovenous malformation. He also was a patient at Shepherd Center nearly two decades ago.

“Just seeing Dr. Lin doing his job was big,” Woody says. “He has a different injury level than I do, but watching how he made things work, I realized I'm not the first; I'm not reinventing the wheel. I saw what was possible.”

Watching Dr. Lin use creative solutions to accommodate his abilities also prepared Woody for the juggling he’d have to learn in medical school. As Woody puts it: “First, I had to learn the textbook way of doing something. Then, I had to figure out how to adapt that approach so that it could work for me.”

Of course, using a wheelchair also has its advantages when working with patients who have spinal cord injuries.

“We go into a room, and we have some credibility right away,” Dr. Morgan says. “It can help you connect quicker, can mean a little something extra with patients sometimes, knowing that you’ve been where they are.”

Woody remembers public outings as a patient, such as attending an Atlanta Braves game, that helped him learn to navigate the outside world again. He also remembers the bonds he formed with patients and staff – a game-changer he hopes to replicate as a physician.

"It’s a sense of community we build,” he says. “I understand that patients still have the same dreams and wants out of life. As a physician, I don’t want to discourage. I want to help patients adapt and facilitate ways for patients to make their goals possible. I want to facilitate hope.”

Written by Phillip Jordan and Kerry Ludlam

Below are resources and information to help make sure your family is prepared in case of an emergency. 

Important Things to Consider When Creating an Emergency Preparedness Plan and Supply Kit:

• Have enough food and water to last at least three days (per person). Non-perishable and can foods are best in case of a loss of electricity. An average person needs about one gallon of water per day. And don’t forget to have three days’ worth of food and water for your pets.
• Have enough prescription medication on hand to last a minimum of three days.
• Make sure you have necessities like a manual can opener, battery-operated light sources, portable weather radio, a first aid kit, and hygiene products.
• Keep cell phones and electronic devices charged (and have portable battery devices charged) in case there is a loss of electricity.
• Make a family plan that includes how to evacuate and/or reach/assist family members who may need additional assistance such as older family members or family members with disabilities/access and functional needs.
• Discuss and practice your family communication and evacuation plan with all of your family members (including children).
• If you have to evacuate, make sure to take your emergency supply kit with you, and don’t forget to include flares, physical maps, jumper cables, extra cans of gas, and blankets.
• Keep all trees and shrubs well-trimmed to make them more wind-resistant.
• Plan to bring in all outdoor furniture, decorations, garbage cans, and anything else that is not tied down.
• Know your area’s flood risk.
• Make sure your homeowners' insurance is up to date and includes the necessary protections, like flood insurance.
• Remember if there is a loss of electricity, ATM machines and debit/credit cards will not work. If possible, have an emergency cash fund that you can access during an emergency or prior to evacuating.
• Secure your windows/doors and know how to shut off the gas or power to your home if it becomes necessary.
• Stay on top of the latest news.

For more emergency preparedness and planning tips and how to stay safe during a hurricane, please visit Ready Georgia.

For emergency preparedness and planning tips for individuals with disabilities/access and functional needs, please visit: http://ready.ga.gov/make-a-plan/georgians-with-access-functional-needs/ 

For tips on driving smart, please visit the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Resource links to help you plan and prepare in the case of a weather emergency: 

For Georgia weather-related mobile alerts, please download the Ready Georgia app, which can be found here: http://ready.ga.gov/

For customized Emergency Preparedness supply checklists for families, pet owners, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and businesses, please visit Federal Emergency Management Agency’s webpage.

One evening, as Aiden was studying for a midterm, he noticed his roommate stumbling to the door after drinking, preparing to return to his fraternity house. Aiden immediately offered to drive his roommate.

“Get in, and if you think I’m too bad to drive, then you can drive,” said his roommate.

Aiden reluctantly agreed. His roommate drove erratically through town, reaching speeds over 100 miles an hour before he hit a curb, sending the car flying until it landed against a pole. Aiden immediately knew that he could not feel or move anything below his neck, and when the car caught fire, he could only feel the heat on his face.

A bystander rushed over to the vehicle.

“You have to pull me out,” Aiden instructed.

Just as the bystander pulled Aiden from the vehicle and got him safely across the street, the car was engulfed in flames.

Aiden was life-flighted to TriStar Skyline Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, where he had an MRI and emergency surgery.

“The life flight nurse found my mom,” Aiden says. “And she told her, ‘This isn’t going to make sense right now, but you have to get to Shepherd Center.’ Then everyone started telling us the same thing.”

Aiden was admitted to Shepherd Center’s Adolescent Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program and spent the next three months working toward his therapy goals among his peers.

“Everyone was so welcoming,” Aiden explains. “It’s just amazing how at Shepherd Center, people are at their absolute worst, but the atmosphere and the staff there make it the happiest place on earth. That’s what always stuck with me. I was in a bad position, but it never felt like that. The atmosphere at the gym just feels like you’re hanging out with your friends, and everyone is just getting work done. It never felt like therapy.”

Aiden’s positive mindset helped him progress, graduating from the inpatient program to Shepherd Center’s Outpatient Day Program. He moved from a power wheelchair to a manual wheelchair, and finally, during the last week in the outpatient program, he came to therapy using hand crutches.

Today, Aiden is using his experiences to help others in similar situations.

“I was a music major, and playing instruments was my life. Now, I feel like my calling is to help people and create awareness about spinal cord injuries. I’m in a unique situation since I started in a power wheelchair and can now walk, so I feel like I can give insights into each stage of recovery. I try to help people in as many ways as I can.”

Written by Lindsey Rieben

In the spring of 2022, Eli and his friends attended Porchfest, a grassroots music festival in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland neighborhood where musicians perform on the front porches of homes. The group found a trampoline in a backyard and started to jump. Eli attempted a front flip, landing on his head and right shoulder. He immediately knew something was wrong when he could not move his legs. Eli had dislocated his shoulder and sustained a C-5 incomplete spinal cord injury. Eli’s friends called for help, but the crowds and roadblocks caused the ambulance to take nearly two hours to reach the 25-year-old. Once the ambulance arrived, he was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was placed on a ventilator.

“I was out of it at Grady,” Eli explains. “But my mom’s friend is a physical therapist in Florida, and they recommended Shepherd Center. After that, connections started popping up left and right.”

On Memorial Day weekend, Eli transferred to Shepherd Center’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where he remained on a ventilator.

“I remember being able to communicate with my family through an alphabet board,” Eli explains. “I would blink or nod to communicate whatever it was. I also remember being on a feeding tube and having this weird craving for blue Gatorade. So, that was the first thing I had when I got the tube out, followed by a Chick-Fil-A cookies and cream milkshake.”

From the ICU, Eli transferred to Shepherd Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, where he met the therapists who would soon become like family.  

“I got really close with my physical and occupational therapists,” he says. “Rehab is obviously hard work, but they made it easy to show up every day and made the environment hospitable to be in day in and day out.”

In July, Eli started to see a bit of improvement when he was able to wiggle his left big toe. From there, he says, the floodgates opened, and his progress increased slowly but surely. While he was encouraged by the changes he saw, he stayed focused, taking it one day at a time.

“I had no idea what to expect coming in,” explains Eli. “I turned off any thoughts of expectations and focused on what I could work on in therapy that day. I think that really helped me. Worrying about what will or won’t happen won’t get you anywhere.”

While Eli worked hard in therapy, his family helped him progress outside Shepherd Center – particularly two furry family members.

 “That was the highlight of my days when they could bring the dogs over to hang out,” Eli laughs.

After four months in the inpatient program, Eli graduated and began Shepherd Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Day Program, where he spent the next 12 weeks progressing and moving forward.

“My goal was to leave in a manual wheelchair,” he says. “But my right shoulder just wouldn’t come back. I couldn’t lift a one-pound dumbbell with it, so I left in a powerchair. But, as soon as I left, somehow my shoulder just started kicking in, and I was able to use a manual chair.”

Recently, Eli returned to Shepherd Center for another round of therapy in the Day Program, working on improving his strength and continuing to progress.

“It was just fate that I was at the right place at the right time,” he says. “I drove past this place all the time and didn’t even know it existed. It’s truly the best place I could have gone, and I can’t imagine what recovery would have looked like if I had not come here.”

Today, Eli lives in Tennessee with his family. When he’s not focusing on rehabilitation, he loves spending time with his family, friends, and dogs and attending as many soccer games as possible. He is looking forward to returning to the workforce at the end of the year.

When asked if he has any advice for people living with a disability, he had this to say:

“Everyone is going through something; ours is just a bit more visible,” he says. “You do have to get more comfortable with having your struggles more out in the open, but once you do that, it’s liberating. Once you get that mindset, you don’t care about what anyone else thinks, and you can go live your life.”

Written by Lindsey Rieben

Pursuing Possible with Shepherd Center

To support patient stories like this one, please consider contributing to Shepherd Center's Pursuing Possible campaign. 

One month before Noah’s 18th birthday, he was out with his friends at a trampoline park, enjoying a day of fun and recreation. In an attempt to do a double front flip, Noah landed on his head, sustaining a high-level spinal cord injury. He was rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where he received treatment and was referred to Shepherd Center.  

Noah spent two months as an inpatient at Shepherd Center’s Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program, grinding hard to regain his strength. Once he went home, he didn't stop there. Noah returned for the Day Program, pushing himself to new limits. That’s when he heard about the Shepherd Smash rugby team, one of the 11 adaptive sports teams of Shepherd Center’s Fred, Shaler, and Andrew Alias Sports Teams Program. Being part of the Smash pushed his rehabilitation to a new level.

“About a year after my injury, I was asked to come try out adaptive rugby,” says Noah. “For someone newly in a chair, it was good to have people in chairs around you who have been doing this for a while. Not just to learn from them, but to have people who know exactly what you’re dealing with. There, they do.”

Being part of that team gave him a sense of camaraderie and a chance to unleash his competitive side again, but that was just the beginning. Noah found other adrenaline-pumping activities like waterskiing after participating in Shepherd Center’s Adventure Skills Workshop (ASW), a weekend camp designed for people with life-changing injuries or illnesses to practice hands-on adventure skills. There, he met Bill Furbish, an 11-time national champion in adaptive waterskiing and the adaptive waterski coach.

 “He saw that I had an interest and took me under his wing, and he hasn’t let go since.”

On top of picking up two new sports, Noah could not stay away from his true love: mountain biking.

“Now that I was in this new life, I felt like the only way to truly get back to being myself was through mountain biking,” explains Noah. “It was the longest sport to get back to because I didn’t have the means to get a mountain bike. So, the community came together to help me raise funds and get back to mountain biking. I feel like I’m myself again.”

Noah’s mission is to raise awareness for adaptive mountain biking in the Southeast so he can help others regain their independence as well.

Adaptive sports have been a game-changer for Noah – both physically and mentally. Being surrounded by people who understand what he's been through and having the chance to compete again have been essential in building his confidence.

“Of all the paths you can take to rehabilitation, I think sports is the number one,” he says. “If you can, I definitely recommend giving it a try.” 

Written by Lindsey Rieben

Pursuing Possible with Shepherd Center

To support patient stories like this, please consider contributing to Shepherd Center's Pursuing Possible campaign. Click here to learn more.