Two Extraordinary Gifts

“I am so thankful for Craig Hospital,” Kristin Zaccheo says. “Craig literally put my life back together again.”

While Kristin has no memory of what happened on December 4, 2017, she’s been told that she was jogging with her golden retriever when a truck struck the duo in the crosswalk of a busy street.

In addition to numerous broken bones, Kristin was diagnosed with a diffuse axonal brain injury—one of the most severe types of brain injury—that occurs when the brain is shaken or twisted inside the skull. As the brain moves, the cerebral tissue slides back and forth until the long connecting fibers in the brain tear.

She spent two weeks in a coma before waking and learning she would be going to Craig Hospital for her neurorehabilitation. One week later, Kristin transferred to Craig—the day after her 44th birthday. “I considered that to be a wonderful birthday present,” she recalls.

Working toward Recovery

At Craig, Kristin spent long days working with her physical, occupational and speech therapists: “My care team helped me relearn everything, including teaching me how to walk again. And Dr. Jim Berry, [Craig rehabilitation neuropsychologist] guided and supported me during some very dark times.”

Thanks to Craig’s donor-supported family housing, Kristin’s parents traveled from Atlanta and stayed in Denver to help Kristin during her three months at Craig.

“Without the hospital’s family housing, I would not have had my parent’s constant support, which was so important during those long, hard days,” she recalls. “Looking back, my parents—and especially my husband, Andrew Orr—were my inspiration to survive this ordeal.”

A True Protector

“Due to my injury, I have numerous blockages in my frontal lobe, which creates anxiety, emotional difficulties, exhaustion and limited short-term memory,” Kristin explains. “I was a steady person before the accident, so this change has been extremely hard to manage and accept.”

While Kristin has successfully relearned how to walk, she finds it difficult—and dangerous—to walk long distances due to issues with proprioception and a lack of balance: “I often struggle with knowing where I am in time and space, specifically when I am tired late in the day.” And that’s exactly why Andrew encouraged Kristin to consider a service dog.

“Being at Craig and spending so much time with the hospital’s therapy dogs [part of the hospital’s donor-funded Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) program], Andrew saw firsthand how helpful a dog could be. And he decided without question that I needed one.”

At first, Kristin did not think she was “disabled enough” for a service dog—until she met Boogie—a young, yellow lab from Freedom Service Dogs.

“The organization spends a lot of time matching humans with dogs. It’s like Match.com for dogs and disabilities,” Kristin says. “In my case, I led a lunch-and-learn for all of the dog trainers to better understand brain injuries. After that session, one of the trainers thought she had the perfect dog for me—and she was right. I spent three hours meeting and working with Boogie, and we clicked immediately.”

Kristin adds, “I have had Boogie for about two months now, and she has changed my life. She’s a true gift. All of my doubts about having a service dog disappeared as soon as I brought her home. Not only does she understand my depression and anxiety, but I feel like she’s my constant back up, always eager to help me. Life is so much easier with her next to me.”

Boogie not only pushes the handicapped button attached to public doors, but she closes cabinets, finds Kristin’s husband when she needs his help, accompanies Kristin on Uber rides, and picks up everything that falls.

“Most people only think of service dogs as Seeing Eye dogs, but there’s so much they can do,” Kristin explains. “For example, before I started working with Boogie, I had no idea that dogs can help with PTSD and anxiety attacks.”

Kristin describes one recent occasion when she was experiencing an anxiety attack at home. Her husband helped Kristin into a chair, and Boogie placed both of her paws on Kristin’s lap and her head on Kristin’s chest, helping to calm her down.

“Boogie is my true protector,” Kristin says. “She understands my needs, my changing moods, and my ups and downs. She helps me get through each day. Just like being a patient at Craig Hospital was truly life changing for me, Boogie also has changed my life for the better. I feel very grateful.”