Mary Ellen – What were the important milestones in rehabilitation?

About six months after her accident, we went to a different rehab center, and they had an outpatient area that was strictly for people with spinal cord injuries, and it was set up more like a gym or health club than it was a hospital. And just walking in there you got a totally different feel. The director was a C5-C6 quad himself, he was in a wheelchair, and you just saw people who were physically strong in varying ways who very determined, and who were going about their lives. And they were healthy, and they were laughing and they were joking, and I think we saw that and we thought, "Okay," and Molly saw that. And they worked her hard; she was an athlete and she wanted to be worked hard. And they treated her like the normal teen she felt still was. And I think that after that we felt okay, we can do this.