Samantha Kealey

To my amazing web of family, friends and colleagues, an update for you. (From Sam, via Tara.)

I know that many of you might not have known about my accident or were following my Caring Bridge page – there haven’t been many updates as this has been a very challenging few months. I’d like to share some background and my most recent news.

I’ve been an avid skier, equestrian and outdoor adventurer most of my life. It’s been a part of how we’ve raised our kids and we’ve all enjoyed being outdoors. I grew up in Montana before moving to Minnesota when I was 13. In the last few years I’ve been spending more time back in Montana when my schedule allowed.

I had a ski accident on March 7, 2023 in Big Sky, Montana. It was a fluke – which is what an accident is – but it is hard to come to grips with the idea that everything changes in one moment. We were on a blue run heading down for lunch and I caught an edge that sent me into the air. I flipped over and landed in a way that the helmet didn’t protect. As an emergency room physician, I unfortunately knew on impact that I had broken my neck.

I was taken by Ski Patrol down the mountain and was immediately air-lifted to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital. They were able to get me into a Halo to relieve the pressure on my spinal cord and I went into surgery overnight to deal with an exploded C5. They fused the back of my neck from C3-C7. My spinal cord was not severed, which was the hopeful news at that point.

I was in the Bozeman hospital for almost a week, and thanks to what seemed like many miracles I was accepted to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado. They are one of the best in the nation for spinal cord rehabilitation and it’s an incredible facility that I had never heard of prior to this accident. I was transferred on a stretcher by a medical jet to Colorado on March 15th. At that time I had almost no movement in any of my extremities.

I spent 12 weeks at Craig Hospital. I was fortunate to have a team of family and friends who came to stay and participate in therapy with me at Craig for the entire 12 weeks. I worked hard to regain as much neurological connection to my extremities through Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy as possible – capitalizing on the opportunity to work with the therapists and equipment in that environment.

There’s a scale for spinal cord injury called the ASIA scale. When I was admitted to Craig I was an “A” which means no movement below the level of injury. At the end of the 12 weeks I was able to get to a category “C” which felt like a major accomplishment based on my original intake status. I now have movement in both of my arms, a little more control over my upper body and a long way to go.

From there I spent two weeks in Craig's outpatient facility, starting to apply what I learned in OT and PT in a more independent environment. I left Craig Hospital on June 15th in an electric wheelchair, flew on a commercial flight, and returned to Minnesota to a new apartment since there was no way to make my home accessible.

I’ve been in a profession where I unfortunately have seen a lot of catastrophes and the impact that they have on patients and their families. No one ever expects that something like this will happen to them or someone they know. That’s how it should be. I am grieving the life that I had before while remaining hopeful.

With spinal cord injuries, they say you have two years to recover as much movement as you can through work and determination. I intend to think of this journey as the most important work of my life so far. In the spirit of outdoor adventure, let’s consider me at the base camp of Mount Everest. That’s what it feels like. I intend to approach this like an athlete in training and throw every ounce of what I have toward this goal. Every minute I can, every dollar I can, every bit of energy I have, all the positivity I can muster.

Obviously all of these milestones have people behind them who I am exceptionally grateful for – at this stage I’m entirely dependent on others to help provide care as well as manage the administration of an event like this. I am working hard to develop more independence every day.

I cannot thank everyone enough for their support.

I will update you with good news, soon. I’ve got to get to work.