In 2021, Sean went to a 4th of July party and broke his neck after diving into a swimming pool. He was rushed to the ER followed by an emergency surgery. Sean was diagnosed with a C4-C5 incomplete spinal cord injury which paralyzed him below the shoulders.
Sean spent 3 weeks in the ICU suffering from respiratory distress and failure. Once stabilized, he was transferred via ambulance to a rehab facility for 5 weeks. Upon discharge in Sept. 2021, he could barely lift his arms, and his stronger side was too weak to control the joystick of a power wheelchair. He required a special head rest and straw to tap and blow into in order to maneuver the 450 lb powerchair.
Since that time, Sean has gotten much stronger through continued therapy in an outpatient setting 2-4x per week. By Jan. 2022, he was using the joystick. A couple months later, he began feeding himself using adaptive tools. His low blood pressure has been less of an issue. Unfortunately, insurance did not agree that he was improving enough so in April 2023, they denied his physical therapist’s appeal for additional therapy. Occupational therapy was then denied in June 2023. Thankfully, a prayer was answered shortly after. Sean was able to begin a 3 month clinical trial in late July 2023 in an attempt to restore upper extremity motor function through electrical stimulation.
Sean has always been fun-loving with a great sense of humor and a passion for cars, including working on them. His humor remains but it is no longer possible to work on cars with no feeling or hand function. However, he remains positive about the future possibilities of his recovery. He is now happily exploring new passions that he can participate in as a disabled person, such as adaptive sailing and handcycling. He looks forward to learning how to swim again, even though he knows his skill level will be nothing compared his years of playing water polo in high school.
As Sean continues to navigate life as a high-level quadriplegic, he and his mom need your support to ease the financial burden this tragic and devastating injury has caused for such a wonderful young man. Donations to Help Hope Live in Sean’s honor will give Sean the chance to live his life as fully as possible and keep his body as healthy as possible.
The Family of Sean Horst is raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live in his honor to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with Catastrophic Injury.
Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the GIVE button. And please share Sean’s page on your social media platforms.
For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.
