NR-S senior recovers from spinal injury

NR-S senior Chloe Guthmiller is recovering after a single-vehicle accident shattered a piece of her backbone.

On Tuesday, June 30 at around 6 a.m., Chloe was traveling to New Rockford for weight and SPEED training, heading east on Hwy. 15 from her rural Cathay home. Her vehicle went off the road and slid into the ditch, then came upon Louie and Jeannie Schaefer's driveway where it stopped. Chloe recalls seeing what she thought was smoke coming from her vehicle, so she opened the driver door to exit. She was numb from the waist down, so she arm-crawled about 20 feet.

Mike Schaefer was at the family farm that morning, and he came to her aid on a four-wheeler. He called both 911 and Sondra Duda, Chloe's mother. It turns out the "smoke" was actually gas from the airbags as they deployed.

When Community Ambulance Service volunteers arrived on the scene, they put Chloe on a stretcher and took her to CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington Medical Center. She was transferred to Fargo a short while later, where she was examined by several doctors at Sanford Health.

"Her T12 vertebrae was shattered into little pieces," Sondra recalls. Surgery was scheduled for Thursday, and Chloe was put on IV and medication to manage her pain in the interim.

The next day, however, doctors moved her surgery up. At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, Chloe underwent a 10-hour surgery to repair her spine. The shattered T12 vertebrae was removed and replaced with a fusion cage. Then two screws were placed in each of the two vertebrates above and below, and two bars now stabilize the new structure.

Chloe remained in the hospital for 9 more days as she regained movement in her lower extremities. Prior to surgery she was numb from the waist down and had no movement from knee to mid-calf. The morning after surgery, she had feeling in her legs and feet. However, she was unable to feel her pinky toes, which caused Chloe and her mother a bit of concern. She also had little strength in her feet.

As many of us celebrated Independence Day with outdoor activities, Chloe was examined by doctors. That day had both excitement and struggle for her. That morning, she was able to feel her pinky toes for the first time since the accident, which was a huge relief. However, she struggled with nerve pain in her back that afternoon.

Two days later Chloe was able to stand on her feet for a few minutes. On July 7, she was moved into a therapy room in the hospital.

"Chloe has stood up all on her own and took a few steps to a chair to sit for a while!" Sondra exclaimed to her friends and family in a Facebook post that day.

On July 10, Chloe started in-patient rehab at Sanford South University Rehabilitation Center. At the time her medical team expected she would spend a month in the center. She was scheduled for three hours of physical and occupational therapy each day, one-and-a-half hours in the morning and afternoon.

Each day she continued to improve a great deal, shortening her stay. On Friday, July 17 (which also happens to be her mom's birthday), Chloe was able to go home. Doctors also reduced the time she needed to wear her back brace from six months to three months, further underscoring the impressive improvement she had made in so little time.

At home, Chloe is walking on her own. She uses a walker and ankle braces to help her with balance, as she is still a bit shaky. She has also been following an exercise regimen at home per doctor's orders. Her first outpatient physical therapy session was Thursday, July 23 in Carrington, just after press time. Sondra said they will know more about the frequency and rigor of the therapy at the appointment.

A year-round athlete, Chloe has had to face an uncomfortable reality about competing during her senior year. She's taking it like a champ, though. "Football is a no-go," she said matter-of-factly in a phone interview Tuesday evening, "but I'm going to be out there and be part of the team." She said she plans to attend practices as much as possible and encourage her teammates from the bench. Track and baseball are also not an option for her senior year, Chloe says, but basketball may be her one shot at competing. Time will tell.