Max
12-22-2002, 10:58 AM
I'll walk again:' Firefighter's therapy progresses after spinal cord injury
2002-12-22
by Erin Hudson
of The Daily Times Staff
Carly Pearson fingers her platinum and diamond engagement ring every few minutes.
Talking about how her fiance, Clint Cross, surprised her with it in a cigar box while he went down on one knee a few days after her 27th birthday still sparks a smile that lights up her entire face.
Pearson said she had been talking with Cross about her fondness for antique rings before she fell while working as a helicopter manager for a team fighting a 69,000-acre wildfire in Upqua National Forest in Oregon.
On Aug. 17, Pearson fell 20 feet onto a rocky river bank. The fall crushed three vertebrae in her lower back, and she spent a week in Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, Ore.
Pearson, a 1994 graduate of Maryville High School, was working for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a forest fire specialist when she was dispatched to Oregon, along with many other wildland firefighters across the country.
After undergoing surgery in Medford to stabilize the crushed vertebrae, Pearson was flown to Cherokee Aviation at McGhee Tyson Airport by private jet courtesy of the U.S. Forestry Service on Aug. 30.
While Pearson does not remember much about coming home, she said friends and family met the plane and stuck their heads into her ambulance before she was taken to Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center in Knoxville.
``It was very emotional,'' Pearson said. ``At the time, I couldn't even sit up, but it was a happy time for me because I was home.''
Pearson remained at Patricia Neal until early November, and she is now staying with her stepfather and mother, Mike and Dot Helton in Maryville.
Early on, doctors told Pearson the damage to her spinal chord could result in permanent paralysis.
While Pearson remains in a wheelchair, she has some movement back in the upper parts of her legs. Currently, she goes to therapy three times a week. In a few days, she will begin water therapy. Since she will be weightless in the water, her mobility will be increased as well.
``They'll also be able to determine movement they can't otherwise detect,'' Pearson said.
Two weeks ago, a back brace, which Pearson referred to as a turtle shell, was removed. Pearson's movement and range of motion was increased when the brace was taken off. Now, she can move her chest forward, her upper body from side to side, and bend over to pick things up beside her wheelchair.
Thus far, the physical therapy has helped her use what movement she has to the best of her ability.
`I'll walk again'
However, Pearson is determined to not only walk, but run, again.
``I'd like to run a marathon one day,'' Pearson said.
Prior to her fall, Pearson ran five times a week.
``That's one of the hardest parts of this -- getting up and not having that,'' Pearson said.
Pearson also wants to make more advancements in her therapy before she begins making wedding plans with Cross, though they have been engaged for over a month.
``We're just enjoying the engagement,'' she said with a smile.
Still, Pearson wants to be able to walk down the aisle for her wedding.
``I'm praying every day that I'll walk again,'' she said. ``I'm not going to give up.''
With an injury to her spinal chord, there is so much unknown about what could happen. Still, Pearson said she is hopeful medical advances will help her walk again.
``I would like the Christmas miracle, to wake up and everything be normal again,'' Pearson said. ``But only God can give me that. I think my miracle will be a long process.''
And if she can't run, then she'll race using a wheelchair, she said.
To keep her going whenever she gets discouraged, she looks back at how far she has come since she was injured.
Pearson can still remember being in intensive care in Oregon and not being able to completely put her arms around her fiancee.
``I'm so thankful now that I can give him a hug,'' she said.
Her mother, Dot Helton, said Pearson's determination and positive attitude have also made taking care of her an easier job.
``I saw her at a time when it took three of us helping her to turn her over in bed and other everyday things that people take for granted,'' Helton said. ``She's gone to almost completely taking care of herself.''
Pearson said her independence will be further stretched in the coming months when she starts to drive again.
And though her career in fighting wildland fires led her to be injured, she's not giving up on that, either.
``I'm not going to be out on the fire lines anytime soon, but there's other things I can do in wildland firefighting,'' Pearson said. ``There's logistics, finance and aviation. I can even be a dispatcher.''
Outpouring of support
Her dedication to firefighting and her injury inspired a personal letter from President Bush to Pearson. The letter states that he and first lady Laura Bush had Pearson in their thoughts and prayers.
A letter from the president is among many cards, letters, pictures and gifts that Pearson has received since her fall. She has kept all the cards and hopes to make a collage out of them to put on the wall at some point.
Her accident also brought outpouring of support from the community in Medford, Ore.
``Some of the firefighters sat with me in intensive care until Clint could get there,'' Pearson said.
Pearson and her family also got support from people in Blount County.
``People I went to high school with and had not heard from in years called or sent cards,'' she said.
As a result of the accident and ensuing support, many old friends have come back into Pearson's life. Helton said when Pearson came home, people brought food to help out the family.
Pearson said she still gets calls and cards from members of local churches and people she has never met who became interested in her welfare. The injuries have given her time for reflection to see life as it should be.
She said that before the accident, she probably took for granted simple activities, such as getting up in the morning and rambling around the house. She wants to communicate to others that they should be grateful for what they have.
``People need to stop and be grateful for their family and friends,'' she said.
Home for the holidays
Pearson plans to spend Christmas with her friends and family in Maryville. She said that's all she wants for Christmas.
Among the family members around her this holiday are her brother Clay Pearson, who is a senior at Mississippi State University. His sister's accident happened on his 23rd birthday, just a few hours after the two had spoken on the phone.
Her sisters, Amy, 29, and Paige, 19, live in Blount County. Her father, Jim Pearson, works as a court officer at the Blount County Justice Center.
http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/115943
2002-12-22
by Erin Hudson
of The Daily Times Staff
Carly Pearson fingers her platinum and diamond engagement ring every few minutes.
Talking about how her fiance, Clint Cross, surprised her with it in a cigar box while he went down on one knee a few days after her 27th birthday still sparks a smile that lights up her entire face.
Pearson said she had been talking with Cross about her fondness for antique rings before she fell while working as a helicopter manager for a team fighting a 69,000-acre wildfire in Upqua National Forest in Oregon.
On Aug. 17, Pearson fell 20 feet onto a rocky river bank. The fall crushed three vertebrae in her lower back, and she spent a week in Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, Ore.
Pearson, a 1994 graduate of Maryville High School, was working for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a forest fire specialist when she was dispatched to Oregon, along with many other wildland firefighters across the country.
After undergoing surgery in Medford to stabilize the crushed vertebrae, Pearson was flown to Cherokee Aviation at McGhee Tyson Airport by private jet courtesy of the U.S. Forestry Service on Aug. 30.
While Pearson does not remember much about coming home, she said friends and family met the plane and stuck their heads into her ambulance before she was taken to Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center in Knoxville.
``It was very emotional,'' Pearson said. ``At the time, I couldn't even sit up, but it was a happy time for me because I was home.''
Pearson remained at Patricia Neal until early November, and she is now staying with her stepfather and mother, Mike and Dot Helton in Maryville.
Early on, doctors told Pearson the damage to her spinal chord could result in permanent paralysis.
While Pearson remains in a wheelchair, she has some movement back in the upper parts of her legs. Currently, she goes to therapy three times a week. In a few days, she will begin water therapy. Since she will be weightless in the water, her mobility will be increased as well.
``They'll also be able to determine movement they can't otherwise detect,'' Pearson said.
Two weeks ago, a back brace, which Pearson referred to as a turtle shell, was removed. Pearson's movement and range of motion was increased when the brace was taken off. Now, she can move her chest forward, her upper body from side to side, and bend over to pick things up beside her wheelchair.
Thus far, the physical therapy has helped her use what movement she has to the best of her ability.
`I'll walk again'
However, Pearson is determined to not only walk, but run, again.
``I'd like to run a marathon one day,'' Pearson said.
Prior to her fall, Pearson ran five times a week.
``That's one of the hardest parts of this -- getting up and not having that,'' Pearson said.
Pearson also wants to make more advancements in her therapy before she begins making wedding plans with Cross, though they have been engaged for over a month.
``We're just enjoying the engagement,'' she said with a smile.
Still, Pearson wants to be able to walk down the aisle for her wedding.
``I'm praying every day that I'll walk again,'' she said. ``I'm not going to give up.''
With an injury to her spinal chord, there is so much unknown about what could happen. Still, Pearson said she is hopeful medical advances will help her walk again.
``I would like the Christmas miracle, to wake up and everything be normal again,'' Pearson said. ``But only God can give me that. I think my miracle will be a long process.''
And if she can't run, then she'll race using a wheelchair, she said.
To keep her going whenever she gets discouraged, she looks back at how far she has come since she was injured.
Pearson can still remember being in intensive care in Oregon and not being able to completely put her arms around her fiancee.
``I'm so thankful now that I can give him a hug,'' she said.
Her mother, Dot Helton, said Pearson's determination and positive attitude have also made taking care of her an easier job.
``I saw her at a time when it took three of us helping her to turn her over in bed and other everyday things that people take for granted,'' Helton said. ``She's gone to almost completely taking care of herself.''
Pearson said her independence will be further stretched in the coming months when she starts to drive again.
And though her career in fighting wildland fires led her to be injured, she's not giving up on that, either.
``I'm not going to be out on the fire lines anytime soon, but there's other things I can do in wildland firefighting,'' Pearson said. ``There's logistics, finance and aviation. I can even be a dispatcher.''
Outpouring of support
Her dedication to firefighting and her injury inspired a personal letter from President Bush to Pearson. The letter states that he and first lady Laura Bush had Pearson in their thoughts and prayers.
A letter from the president is among many cards, letters, pictures and gifts that Pearson has received since her fall. She has kept all the cards and hopes to make a collage out of them to put on the wall at some point.
Her accident also brought outpouring of support from the community in Medford, Ore.
``Some of the firefighters sat with me in intensive care until Clint could get there,'' Pearson said.
Pearson and her family also got support from people in Blount County.
``People I went to high school with and had not heard from in years called or sent cards,'' she said.
As a result of the accident and ensuing support, many old friends have come back into Pearson's life. Helton said when Pearson came home, people brought food to help out the family.
Pearson said she still gets calls and cards from members of local churches and people she has never met who became interested in her welfare. The injuries have given her time for reflection to see life as it should be.
She said that before the accident, she probably took for granted simple activities, such as getting up in the morning and rambling around the house. She wants to communicate to others that they should be grateful for what they have.
``People need to stop and be grateful for their family and friends,'' she said.
Home for the holidays
Pearson plans to spend Christmas with her friends and family in Maryville. She said that's all she wants for Christmas.
Among the family members around her this holiday are her brother Clay Pearson, who is a senior at Mississippi State University. His sister's accident happened on his 23rd birthday, just a few hours after the two had spoken on the phone.
Her sisters, Amy, 29, and Paige, 19, live in Blount County. Her father, Jim Pearson, works as a court officer at the Blount County Justice Center.
http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/115943