When New Yorker Jack Guthrie went skiing with his family in March 2016 in Vermont, the then 11-year-old got in a serious accident after slipping on a patch of ice and had to be airlifted to a local hospital.
Jack suffered a severe traumatic brain injury that affected his ability to breathe, speak, and move. He went into cardiac arrest on his helicopter ride to the hospital.
A month later, he was transferred to ºÙºÙÊÓƵ’s . There, his care team gave him intensive around the clock inpatient care. Eventually Jack transitioned to outpatient services, including physical and aquatic therapy.
Jack’s physician, , clinical professor of rehabilitation medicine, worked with a team of inpatient and outpatient physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech–language pathologists, nurses, and social workers to help Jack as he recovered. A major part of his care at Rusk Rehabilitation involved music therapy—during which he wrote a song, with his music therapist Elena Savvides, about his experience. Now, he’s set to perform in a talent show at Radio City Music Hall.
“Nobody can predict when there is a brain injury how far we are going to get,’’ physical therapist Lauren Chowansky, DPT, tells the New York Post. “Everyone was amazed.â€
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