Life can change in the blink of an eye and the journey to recovery is not always easy. That's true for one South Dakota woman who for over two years has been working to strengthen and restore her body - one step at a time.
“Some of the steps are joyful and some of the steps are painful on the journey. We keep seeing progress so we're just going to keep going,” said Kim St. John as she rises from her wheelchair and begins to walk the halls of the Avera Therapy gym.
The steps are small, but after a life-changing motorcycle crash, St. John celebrates each and every one.
“My husband and I both got spinal cord injuries. Mine was a T12, his was a L2. So that's what put me in the wheelchair and my husband, to be walking is a miracle too, on it's own! That's what started our journey. A snap of a finger and to this day I'm thankful when my husband said, 'Dear God, protect us.' Because we're both still alive to tell the story,” said St. John.
Kim’s paralysis ultimately led her to the team of therapists at Avera, who have mapped out the journey to get her walking again.
“It depends a little bit on the nature of the injury, the level of the injury and what she has available to her. When she first came to see me, she had very little movements below the level of the injury. And when we did our evaluation, we found out that maybe there was more there than she thought that she had the potential to gain. So we started setting some small goals and some big goals,” said Matt Leedom, DPT with Avera Therapy.
Cutting Edge Tech for Spinal Cord Injuries
“We've met Matt every Monday for the last two years coming up this December. And then joining the team with the pool. And then we started the exoskeleton from there a year ago in February,” said St. John.
“For people with a spinal cord injury, it's really important that they not only get the right kinds of things, but they get the right level of intensity and repetition. The exoskeleton has been a tool that's allowed to Kim to get a lot more repetition in a way that she couldn't get in her everyday life doing this on her own, or even with a therapist,” said Leedom.
“It's something that somebody never thinks they have to do to relearn how to walk. And it's such a hard thing to relearn. It's just been so automatic all of our lives and very frustrating when you're trying to relearn it and difficult. So for them to get up into it and be able to do the walking and go for a longer duration of time, it really boosts their spirits,” said Maleeka Rozeboom, a physical therapist with Avera Therapy.
While the Exoskeleton robot assists patients as they safely walk the halls, it’s providing therapists feedback and data to document their progress in addition to a patient’s physical strength being tested and restored.
“You're standing in this for upwards of 20, 30, 40, 45 minutes sometimes. So you're actually getting weight through your legs so much better, better for your bone density. You're activating those muscles in the legs if you have the leg function. So you're activating those muscles, getting them stronger, and you're re-teaching your body on how to stand and walk again,” said Rozeboom.
Maintaining a Positive Outlook
Like many things in life, Kim’s rehab journey is a marathon, not a sprint. She still has a ways to go, but she’s not alone.
“Everyone at Avera PT, at Inpatient Rehab... last summer I did five weeks stint at inpatient and I called it boot camp with them. That was a big game changer in my progress and it kind of gave it a boost going forward and they've all been awesome. They just… they care. It's that they really want to see you do well. So I've enjoyed my journey with them,” said St. John.
“One of the greatest privileges in my career is being able to enter into the lives of these people who have experienced life-altering conditions, life-changing diagnoses, and set goals with them and walk alongside them. Sometimes neither of us really know where we're going to end up but we know that if we can commit to each other and doing the work that in the end regardless of where we land we're going to be in a better place,” said Leedom.
“You've just got to have faith and patience. Something we as humans don't have but you know God is good and where this journey ends that we don't know. He does, but my husband and I have learned that through this whole thing we have to glorify him. That's why God put us on earth so that's what we're doing,” said St. John.
Learn more about therapy resources at Avera
