It Takes a Village: Restoring Hope and Independence

“Craig Hospital offered me a lifeline,” Lori Messenger says. “I feel so grateful for the time I spent there. I would not be as independent as I am today without all of the people who helped me recover.”

“The care at Craig is so human. I have never seen a medical facility where so many people care in such deep and creative ways. There is no question that Craig should be a model for all other health facilities.”

From Missoula to Seattle to Denver

An English teacher at Sentinel High School in Missoula, Montana, Lori was crossing a busy street on the evening of January 15, 2023. She was heading to visit her mother when she was hit by an SUV and thrown about 90 feet.

Lori sustained a spinal cord injury, as well as numerous broken bones and extensive internal injuries.

A few days later, she was transferred from Missoula to a trauma hospital in Seattle. There, she spent one month before flying to Craig for inpatient and outpatient SCI neurorehabilitation.  

“I arrived in Denver on a Life Flight and got to work immediately,” Lori says. “There was physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, counseling, nutrition consulting, upper extremity lab, adaptive driving lessons, wheelchair handling class, and community reintegration meetings to focus on. I was truly supported physically, as well as emotionally and financially.”

Equipment to Foster Independence

Shortly after arriving at Craig, Lori met with Sarah Purdy, her clinical care manager, to figure out what she would need to be independent back at home.

Because most insurance companies don’t cover the majority of durable medical equipment and home remodeling costs, Sarah turned to Craig’s donor-funded Patient Assistance program for help.

With this financial support, Lori and her husband, Scott, were able to begin home modifications. “Our two-story house needs a lot of work to make it fully accessible, including a bathroom and kitchen remodel,” Lori explains. “The construction is overwhelming, so we considered moving. But unfortunately, there is no accessible housing in Missoula, so we need to modify our existing house. Thankfully, our community is chipping in to help with the construction. We feel very lucky.”

She adds, “The money from the Patient Assistance program also helped me purchase bathroom equipment, including a toilet seat and a shower/bath chair.”

In addition, Lori was able to buy a FreeWheel wheelchair attachment, which transforms her manual wheelchair into a three-wheel, all-terrain vehicle.

“We live on 2/3 of an acre, with very uneven and bumpy terrain,” Lori says. “Because the FreeWheel makes my wheelchair more like a tricycle, I can enjoy our backyard, resume my gardening and spend time with my family outside. The backyard is our main summer living space and without the FreeWheel, I wouldn’t be able to get around back there.”

Home Again

After Lori was discharged from Craig in mid-May, she returned home to focus on outpatient occupational therapy and physical therapy and to organize her home remodel. “I am happy to be home. It’s wonderful and also quite challenging. Every task seems to take so much time. But Craig set me up for success, helped keep me safe and gave me the tools to be independent.”

She adds, “While we knew nothing about Craig before my accident, I feel very fortunate to have landed there. I would be so ill prepared without Craig. I am forever grateful.”