Story
Name
Joel Carlson
Injury/Illness
Paralysis
On Sunday, July 14th, Joel was severely injured in a freak pool accident. He broke two vertebrae, and is suffering from a spinal cord injury. He underwent a six-hour surgery on Monday, July 15th, to stabilize the spine, which involved removing the C4 vertebrae and fusing C3 to C5. At this time, Joel can move and feel his arms, and is beginning to have feeling in his legs. The full ramifications of this event won't be known for a long time, but he will have a long road ahead no matter what the outcome, including an extensive hospital stay and intensive inpatient rehabilitation.