Jenny
Alexander
Age: 23
Post Injury: 20 months
Hello, my name is Jenny Alexander. My fiance
(George) and I have moved from Reno, Nevada to Orem, Utah
to attend the Sit Tall Stand Tall program.
On November 4, 2005, I was involved in a car collision,
which injured my spinal cord at level C-5. The
result was a "complete" (or ASIA-A) spinal cord
injury. This landed us at the infamous Craig
Hospital. We arrived, expecting weight rooms,
parallel bars, and other physical rehabilitation
equipment, which we figured was necessary to re-learn
walking skills. My goal was clear: WALK. Not
live in a wheel-chair. The aim of the hospital was
to teach me how to live in a wheelchair, which was not
good enough. For the $400,000 bill I received, I
expected MUCH more rehabilitation.
We were told of the Sit Tall Stand Tall program, by a
fellow patient at Craig. The intial reaction
by Craig's staff was negative, so we trusted our doctors
and therapists, and kind of forgot about it.
After a year of jumping through Medicaid's hoops, paying
for physical therapy out of pocket, and even attending
non-traditional methods of recovery, I was highly
dissatisfied. I expected more progress.
I remembered the name of the Sit Tall Stand Tall program,
and went to greath lengths to contact Mr. Weber. He
suggested an evaluation.
Within a month we were conveniently located in Orem, Utah
(we arrived June 9, 2007). We have relocated, and
re-configured so much of our lives for this opportunity.
Since we've arrived, I've noticed significant strength
gains. I've increased the strength in my triceps,
which, I was told, I would have no control of. My
hands, which also are "theoretically" unable to work,
have also strenthened, allowing me to grip, significantly
better. Post-injury I could not sit upright, now I
have the stamina to stand upright. It's commonly
commented to me that I don't appear quadraplegic, at
all. My posture has improved and we're learning the
importance of a postive mentality. Mr. Weber was
quick to teach us that we are as handicapped as we allow
ourselves to be. We quickly got rid of as much
adaptive equipment as we could, including a modified
van. We have learned new functional skills, which
were suggested we'd never enjoy again.
We learned right away of the strength of positive energy,
as we noticed how many smiles we saw at Sit Tall Stand
Tall, when compared with Craig Hospital, and the dismal
expressions and outlooks common therein. We're very
excited for this opportunity. We notice improvement
on a daily basis.