Living Life As You Are

When Emily Traveller was injured in an ATV rollover accident in 2022, she was the only one to get hurt.

“I kept thinking, ‘Why me?'” recalls 19-year-old Emily. “I didn’t understand why all of my friends walked away from the accident, and I didn’t. I was a 16-year-old gymnast and cheerleader, and this was not what I’d pictured for my life.”

She adds, “I became angry and bitter and kept questioning why God did this to me. But my mom told me that God did not do this to me, but rather, God was with me. And this is how I have chosen to live my life. Today, I feel grateful to be alive. I believe that it’s important to help others and teach them what I was lucky to learn at Craig Hospital – that you must adapt to your new normal and live life as you are.”

Accepting Reality

April 22, 2022, will forever be imprinted in Emily’s memory. On that particular Friday afternoon, Emily, who was a high school sophomore at the time, traveled with some friends from her home outside of Salt Lake City to the Little Sahara sand dunes in western Utah.

After a few hours of riding ATVs, the group headed back to their car when their ATV rolled over. Emily hit her head on the roll cage bar, immediately breaking her C4 vertebrae, which paralyzed her from the shoulders down.

After being airlifted to a trauma hospital, Emily underwent surgery to stabilize her neck. “While in the ICU, my doctors told my parents that I needed to go to Craig,” she says. Shortly after, Emily flew to Colorado to begin four months of spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

“When I first arrived at Craig, I had no function below my neck. I couldn’t do anything for myself, and I lived each day in my little, isolated bubble,” she explains. “But then I started to slowly feel like myself again and began interacting with others around me.”

She adds, “I began to accept my injury and started to learn everything that Craig had to teach me. My mindset turned from negative to positive, and I realized that life was not over for me. My care team at Craig had a lot to teach me about living life. As a very active and athletic person before my injury, I thought that part of my life was over, but it wasn’t. Nobody wants to be in this situation, but if you have to be, Craig is definitely the place to recover.”

No Holds Barred

When Emily returned home to Utah, her father, John, who runs his own contractor business, had fully modified the family home to accommodate Emily’s needs.

“At first, being back home was very difficult,” she recalls. “All of my friends were still cheering—something that I would normally be doing. But over time, I accepted that my life was different. I had to remind myself that nobody else’s world stopped…only mine did.”

Emily decided to do her junior year online and returned to school for her senior year: “Thanks to Laura Magnuson in Craig’s [donor-supported] School Program, I did not fall behind in school and graduated on time with my class.”

She also spent time relearning the activities she had always loved, such as biking, skiing and waterskiing. “I have pushed myself really hard to get where I’m at today,” she says. “Obviously, I am not fully functioning, but I feel like I’m doing well for my injury level.”

And Emily clearly proved that back in September when she climbed Mount Timpanogos, the second-highest mountain in Utah’s Wasatch Range, with an elevation of just under 11,800 feet.

“I hiked about 14 miles and 4,400 feet of elevation gain using a Cascade Tandem Hiking Cart from Huckleberry Hiking,” Emily explains. “I completed the 12-hour hike, with many breaks, thanks to my amazing support system of family and friends. They took turns helping to pull the cart all the way up the mountain.”

She adds, “Not only was I excited to climb Mount Timpanogos, but I also wanted to show others what’s possible. So many people stop living after a life-changing injury, but you don’t have to. You can still get out and do things. Life is not over, and I want to inspire people to never give up, despite the difficult obstacles they must face.”

And it’s this mindset that has inspired Emily to build a career in public speaking. “My story is unique. I was forced to grow up quickly and realize what’s truly important. You learn a lot from an injury like mine, so I want to teach others about awareness, positivity and perspective. I believe I have some valuable lessons to teach.”

To learn more about supporting programs at Craig Hospital, please visit the Craig Foundation.

Emily’s Instagram @emilytrav

Emily’s TikTok @emily.traveller