Carrie Reusswig

You Can Help Make a Difference

On March 3, 2017 I was on my way to SCADs (Savannah College of Art and Design) in Atlanta where I had been attending college. I’d made the trip countless times but on this day, a one-ton tractor trailer hit the side of my SUV sending it backwards across three lanes of traffic. It wasn’t until the moment when one of the fire fighters touched my leg and I couldn’t feel anything, that I knew that something happened that made me paralyzed.

I underwent emergency surgery at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, GA to try to repair my damaged C6 C7 vertebrae. After surgery and many days in the ICU, I started getting sensations back in my lower body but was still paralyzed from the waist down, unable to move my legs, feet, toes, and hips. After 3 weeks at Hamilton Medical Center, I was transferred to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta GA, a specialized hospital for spinal cord injuries. Over the next 4 months, I gained some strength and relearned how to do daily activities. By the time I left, I could move my big toes.

I am still healing and trying to gain as much strength, function, and independence as possible. The first couple years are important in healing, and therapy and exercise are key! I have been attending an exercised based therapy program, but participation is expensive and not covered by insurance. With your help, I can continue the progress that I have been making and to hopefully one day be able to do the things I once was, especially running outside with my six-year-old son!

To help with the of uninsured expenses, a fundraising campaign has been established in my honor with Help Hope Live, a trusted nonprofit organization that has been providing community-based fundraising guidance to help patients and families in need for more than 30 years. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law and are held by Help Hope Live in the Southeast Spinal Cord Injury Fund. Donations are allocated by Help Hope Live based on financial need for medical expenses. Please consider donating today.

I am grateful for anything you can do in helping me be able to continue my injury recovery.