Meet Lewis: Intrepid Patient Takes SCI Rehabilitation by Storm
Today, he lives independently, continues to participate in research and has plans to compete in wheelchair basketball, mountain biking and archery. Lewis wants to help others who are on similar journeys. “I would love to show people who have spinal cord injuries that there are always possibilities,” he said.
Lewis and his mom, Cynthia, were excited about Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s integration of research and cutting-edge technology with physical rehabilitation. “I wanted Lewis to be part of a community with that kind of excitement and atmosphere of possibility,” said Cynthia. Within six months, Lewis made remarkable progress through Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s entire continuum of care — including inpatient and DayRehab. He participated in hospital research and also fed his love of sports through enthusiastic participation in the therapeutic recreation and adaptive sports programs.
As a teenager in Kenya, Lewis enjoyed a life of sports and adventure. He was swept up in the national craze for motocross. Then, one day he missed a turn on his motorcycle, catapulted 20 feet into the air and landed on his back. He couldn’t feel his legs. “It was the scariest thing that has ever happened in my life,” he said. Lewis was rushed to a hospital in Nairobi, having sustained a complete spinal cord injury. He underwent a six-hour surgery and then began to plan his next level of care — a journey that would bring him 8,000 miles from home to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago.
Watch Lewis’ patient story video! Visit sralab.org/Lewis
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