Bucks County Woman's Message To Neurosurgeons: Consider Every Patient Individually
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Bucks County woman who was paralyzed in a diving accident two years ago is addressing a symposium on spinal cord injuries this Friday.
Lauren Shevchek, of Churchville, Pa., will give the patient's perspective to neurosurgeons who are meeting at Jefferson University.
Shevchek, a quadriplegic who turns 21 this coming Wednesday, fractured two vertebrae and shattered a third while diving into a swimming pool. She has no use of her legs and limited use of her hands.
She says at first, doctors didn't provide much hope.
"They said, 'what's your goal?' and I said, 'Well, I want to walk again.' And they were, like, 'Okay, well, y'know, maybe let's start on a lower scale.' "
Her message to doctors is that each patient is unique and doctors need to think beyond cookie-cutter therapies.
"If you fit boxes 1,2,3 and they check those off, then this is the therapy you're going to get: you're going to get A, B, C."
She says doctors need to take each patient's individual goals and mental outlook seriously.
Shevchek is training at a Michigan clinic, where she is making progress learning how to crawl.