Dear Friends of Cathy: As you may or may not know, our dear friend and biking buddy, Cathy Rothwell, was injured in a biking accident on Thursday, 8/30/18, and taken to Palomar Hospital. The accident involved another cyclist, unknown to any of us. She has given us permission to update her friends regarding her injury.
Cathy suffered a brief loss of consciousness, but has no significant consequences from the concussion. Unfortunately, she also suffered a significant spinal cord injury. She underwent a cervical spine procedure the night of her accident. This was performed to decompress the spinal cord to maximize the potential for neurologic recovery. The injury is in the cervical spine at approximately the C5-6 level and is what is called an incomplete spinal cord injury. The good news about the injury being "incomplete" is that patients frequently recover some neurological function. In fact, Cathy has already begun to recover some upper extremity strength, especially in her biceps. She definitely has sensation in her lower extremities, which makes the injury “incomplete.” She has been approved for transfer to Sharp Hospital Rehab as soon as she is medically stable.
It is difficult to know how quickly and how much function Cathy will recover, but all of your support will be much appreciated during the next few months. As you know, she is one tough cookie, and she said this morning that she is up for the fight!
Dr. Jean and Nancy
Please send messages and love through this website. We will make sure Cathy gets them. Please register and follow Cathy's website; you will be sent email notifications when updates are posted to the journal.
(Please contact judiwells20@gmail.com to add to the journal, but post messages down below for Cathy to receive!! )
