{Karlton Bontrager}

This past Friday- August 13th was a totally odd day for me. I had known for a couple weeks time that it was my discharge day from rehab. That’s right, I finally got released from the confines of rehab, because my team of therapists felt they had taught me all they could for therapeutic lessons, and it was high time for me to take charge and maintain my rehabilitation! From now on I will continue meeting with my Speech-Language-Therapist on an out-patient basis.

After rehab on Friday, I headed up to Providence in order to join the Providence Rugby Football Club (PRFC). We were headed to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts in order to raise funds for the club by working as volunteer ushers during the NFL preseason game between the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. We arrived at 4:00pm, although the game was not starting until 8:05pm. While I waited around for the evening to progress, I made small-talk with a few of my friends.

However, at about 4:30pm, my body started spasming like never before, and I went wild in panic. First, my eyes locked to the far left, and then I was unable to properly control my legs. I held onto the railing along the wall for dear life, and still felt out of control.

Half an hour later I awoke in an ambulance, on my way to the hospital. The emergency medical technicians classified my incident as a grand mal seizure.

For the remainder of the evening I stayed under the care of the emergency room at Norwood Hospital, in Norwood, Massachusetts. My parents kept me company for the five or so hours I was there, as the doctors attempted to figure out why my body had so suddenly seized.

The doctors treated me with three intravenous bags of Dilantin, an anti-seizure medicine. In addition, they have me taking Dilantin orally– hopefully to ward away further potential seizures. As luck would have it, my neurologist is away on vacation this week, so I cannot be seen by him until he returns next Tuesday, August 24th.

The good news is that I was not hurt. Fortunately, I feel “normal” again, except for being groggy and tired from the Dilantin.

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On Thursday, July 8th, mom and I attended a family meeting at The Sargent Center to receive a status report on my rehabilitation.

In attendance at the meeting were my speech and language therapist (SLT), occupational therapist (OT), the assistant director of the program, mom, and me. The meeting began with a report from the physical therapist (PT) who was not able to attend. That report commended my completion of each of the established therapeutic goals. It established the tone of the meeting, which laid responsibility on me for continued rehabilitation. After a year and a half of therapy, the PT urged me to be more responsible for my improvements. Instead of relying on the therapists to always guide me, she urged me to apply their lessons independently on a lifelong basis.

The SLT praised my performance in academics as well as my successes in consistently scheduling transportation to and from home, school, and rehab. That success has prompted her to shift the focus of her guidance more towards independence at home in tasks such as laundry, cooking, and general cleanup. Since she has long charged me with establishing my own therapeutic goals, the above plan towards independence places her in the role as coach.

The OT reiterated and emphasized the consensus that my progress now rests in my own investment in it. She also highlighted the progress she has witnessed in fine motor control. I can improve even more in that area if I choose to apply myself.

Finally, the assistant director made comment that my continuation in the day program at the rehabilitation center may be drawing to a close. In a month’s time I may start attending Sargent on an outpatient basis in lieu of the more lengthy day program. Indeed, I may merely meet with my SLT for one or two 45-minute sessions per week as opposed to the four-hour sessions I attend twice weekly at present.

All in all, I was very pleased with the reports. With much guidance and assistance I have come a long way in my therapies. More and more my therapists are turning over the controls to me. The challenge is for me to keep on making progress.

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Since the time I regained consciousness in the Dunedin Hospital system, I have waged an uphill battle towards my recovery and rehabilitation. I have made remarkable strides, but I feel there are gains I can yet make.

Sunday, July 4th, 2004, marked the two-year anniversary of my traumatic snowboarding accident in New Zealand. Two years on, and I am still moving onward and upward! To provide a status report, here is my current situation:

The two biggest foci of my life now are rehab and school. In rehab, I decreased the frequency of my sessions to two days per week starting at the beginning of June. Now I am expected to create my own goals because I achieve many goals as my therapists can create them. In Physical Therapy, I have focused recently on jogging. Although my running may never appear the same way it did before my accident, I have worked to increase both my speed and fluidity of movement. This process began with hopping to strengthen my leg muscles in the movements used in jogging. As hopping improved, I started jogging short distances indoors and outside.
This outdoor exercise led to a goal of jogging continuously for three to five minutes. The first time I attempted to jog around the rehab center, I reached less than half-way before I fatigued. Since then, I have succeeded in jogging the perimeter of the building, only to learn that this consumes fewer than two minutes. To surpass this goal, I remained indoors with my therapist and jogged repeatedly in a big circle for a total of three minutes. Maybe by next year I can try to run the Boston Marathon!

As for school, I have been attending The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) since fall 2003. I hope to enter the Occupational Therapy (OT) program and eventually work as a therapist. I completed a General Psychology class earlier this summer with a grade of a B, and am currently taking a Developmental Psychology class. In another 3 weeks, I shall have completed 6 of the 9 prerequisites needed to enter the OT program.
Anatomy, Physiology, and an English class are the only courses that stand between me and application to the program.

I am pleased with the progress I have made in the last two years. I appreciate the support I have received from family and so many friends. You will never know how much your encouragement has meant to me.

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Today, January 4 2004, is the exact one and a half year anniversary of my serious snowboarding accident in New Zealand. Since I was on the other side of the international dateline at the time, my accident date is July 5th, 2002, but that is equivalent to USA July 4th.

I think it is remarkable how far I have come in the last 1-½ years! I remember when I was bedridden and weighed a paltry 138 pounds. Since then I have climbed to a healthy weight of 190 pounds, and I’ve accomplished various other milestones. I don’t wish to pat myself on the back, but I do want to keep the readership of my website informed of my current progress.

At the end of the summer of 2003, I decided I wanted to return to school. I chose to study at the Community College of Rhode Island to become an Occupational Therapist (OT). My reason is that I’d like to be able to help other victims of similar accidents in their respective recoveries. Further, in the future I want to be able to look back on my accident and see that it played a positive role in the direction of my life. Before my traumatic brain injury, I had no intention of becoming a rehabilitation therapist. But considering all the work I’ve done and the progress I’ve made, I feel that becoming an OT is a reasonable and positive direction to head.

The course I took this fall, Introduction to Occupational Therapy, was the first prerequisite for entering the OT program. It was also my first academic experience in three years. It required daily memorization of medical terminology to prepare for weekly quizes. I enlisted the help of therapists, parents, and friends to work out a study schedule, develop learning strategies, and drill the terms into memory. I was pleased to earn a solid “B” for the course.

The spring semester begins in two more weeks on January 19. I am enrolled to take Human Anatomy, the second prerequisite course in the OT program of study. I aim to do as well this semester.

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Since the completion of the Shake-A-Leg program on July 19th, I have spent a week visiting friends and family in Southern California, and have joined a gym in East Providence. I have focused on building upon the strength that I established in the summer, as well as swimming regularly for the aerobic benefits.

I must transport myself independently to the gym, so I have relied upon the public bus system here in Rhode Island. This may be a small step, but it is precisely that (a step), because I must consult various schedules to get around, and it is one of many milestones on the road to recovery.

Well, I’ve now been back in the United States for nearly nine months from New Zealand! So much has happened that it’s difficult to keep track. I guess that’s one benefit of this website–it’s a working biography.

This morning (8/12) I met with my neurologist. He was optimistic as per usual, and took note of the improvements I’ve made since the beginning of the summer because of my involvement with Shake-A-Leg. Among these are an improved gait and improved overall strength, as well as a slightly sharper cognition. These improvements certainly impress and please me, because this process of ameliorating has been a long, precarious road since my accident!

The accomplishment that has surprised and impressed me the most today was an improvement on attending in my visual field. I mean that my perception of stimuli in peripheral areas has shown noticeable recovery. I am surprised because the neuro-opthamologist delivered the sobering news to me that she believed my visual condition to be permanently impaired. Indeed, if her evaluation is flawed, perhaps I can drive again in the future!

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I pen this as the Shake-A-Leg program draws to a close its fourth of five weeks. I have been motivated in many different activities, most of which challenge me. My Occupational Therapist has used various tactics to encourage the use of my oft-neglected left hand. To that end, she restrained my right hand and then asked me to teach her to play chess. Setting up the pieces was more difficult than pushing them into place.

In Strength and Conditioning (S&C), I have worked out extensively on elliptical trainers. These are like the newest wave of Nordic Trak aerobic-cardio machines. They are very challenging, but create negligible impact. (Impact is the factor that prevents me from engaging in things such as jogging, because the resultant jarring of the brain can be detrimental to my health.) In S&C I have strengthened up enough that now I feel comfortable doing pushups and assisted pull-ups again!

The many massages I receive provide a great balance for the stresses on my body! Thankfully the program directors here know very well that bodywork maintains and restores harmony during intense therapy.

The single best event occurred yesterday (7/9/2003) while in aquatic therapy. After several disappointing sessions in the pool where flotation was extremely difficult, my therapist suggested I try “the crawl” or freestyle swimming. Since much of my muscle memory has faded away, I expected another disappointment. Instead, I surprised myself. I am still an able-bodied swimmer! Although my abilities in the pool are not the best–nor as good as they used to be–I’m happy that I can swim once again. I am no longer afraid of large bodies of water.

I have tried to express my immense gratitude to each donor/contributor that helped me to attend this summer therapy, but I’d like to state again the fact that the support I have received from friends, relatives , and even former teachers was unbelievable. Many people openly doubted that I could raise the $6000 I needed for this rehabilitation program. But with the individual support of each of you, I have accomplished more than even I thought possible.

With only one more week to go, I have a chance to reflect on how far I have come, as well as how much further I need to continue. With the incredible support and assistance I have received and still receive, I believe that very little can stand in my way for a full recovery from a life-changing injury I suffered just one year ago.

Be well.

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A thought occurred to me today that was rather profound while also innately understandable. You likely know/remember that my life-changing accident took place on July 5th in New Zealand in 2002. So, considering that NZ is over the international dateline, it serves to say that the accident fell (literally) on July Fourth (Independence Day) in USA calendar terms. The realization that hit me was the fact that exactly one year ago, July Fourth sobered me up (for a very long time if not forever), the precise day that most people here get the most intoxicated. Ah, such is the irony of life. That having been said, thank goodness I still can experience life!

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I apologize to all the readership that have awaited a fresh update. It seems time passes at a rate so fast that I often cannot keep up. Compared to before, my life has become much busier.

In January I learned of a local rugby club, and since then I have been volunteering as assistant rugby coach. Because I don’t yet have any formal training as a coach, I don’t hold specific duties. But I attend practices regularly and help familiarize new players with the sport. We have had many games, some as far away as Long Island, New York and Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts as well as ones closer to home. I am fortunate to be linked to a good team, as we are a fairly successful and experienced club. Our record is respectable albeit not perfect, so there are aspects of the sport that I can often teach to new players.

Meanwhile, I attend therapy three days a week at the Sargent Rehabilitation Center in Warwick. My special focus is on cognitive therapy, but I am also getting support from occupational and physical therapists. In response to my interest in foreign language instruction, the director created a teaching opportunity for me. I am teaching beginning Spanish to a handful of clients and staff. Our lessons are informal with only a workbook as a guide. Lessons include conversation, grammar, reading, and writing. It’s a challenge for both my students and me.

On a special note, I wish to send out a thank you to all those involved in assisting me to reach my goal to attend the Shake-A-Leg Body Awareness Therapy Program this summer. Your support has overwhelmed me. I received donations of all sizes, and together they covered the fee that the therapy program charges. I am so very appreciative. Your continued encouragement has made this herculean task possible. Thank you to each supporter and contributor. The program begins tomorrow.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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38 Radcliffe Ave.
Providence, RI 02908
(401)351-9375

Thank you very much for your continued support since I sustained my traumatic brain injury on July 5, 2002. Although I am still recovering and participate in regular rehab at the Sargent Rehabilitation Center in Warwick, RI, I am very proud of the progress I have made. My most recent achievements include entering and exiting a vehicle smoothly (that is, without having to sit down first and then swivel into position) and having independent control of each of the fingers on my left hand again. Since the loss of motor functions saddened me greatly, I am very pleased with these improvements; yet, I am not aware of when I might be able to return to my beloved pottery as an avocation or production pottery as a career endeavor.

Pottery was one of the two passions in my “healthy” life; the other was rugby. Because rugby is a contact sport, I will probably never be able to play again. However, I have begun volunteering as an assistant coach with a local team. Ideally I would like to find work coaching the sport while simultaneously creating pottery on the side, as these two activities hold such incredible interest for me.

On March 12, 2003, I saw my neurologist for the third time. He had praise for the improvements he observed and holds high expectations for my continued progress. He now believes that a sip of an alcoholic beverage such as wine is unlikely to be detrimental. Nevertheless, after nine months of total sobriety, I am not eager to push my luck. Indeed, I still intend to avoid all alcohol, except perhaps for desserts that were baked with liquors, such as whiskey cake or tiramisu.

Shake-A-Leg is a Newport, RI-based organization that focuses on helping persons with disabilities improve quality of life. It achieves this by raising the self-esteem and the self-confidence of each participant at the same time that it focuses on therapy and physical activity. I have recently applied to and been accepted for their five-week residential Adult Body Awareness program scheduled for this summer. This program assists participants in second phase therapy with specific activities such as Reiki, Feldenkrais, Rolfing, kayaking, hand-cycling, strength and conditioning, counseling, and much more. The complete program is described at its website, http://www.shakealeg.org.

Shake-A-Leg boasts two impressive statistics. The first is that 90% of participants increase their independent living ability. The second is that 53% are employed post program. This really matters to me because I am eager to return to the working world. The program is intensive, and the care they provide is extensive–including meals and lodging. As you might expect the cost is overwhelming. It costs $8000 to attend. (The actual program cost is $16,000 per participant, but Shake-A-Leg is able to reduce the fee to $8000 per individual because of their own fund-raising efforts. In addition they have offered me a $2000 scholarship. So now I must come up with “only” $6000.) Since I am currently unable to work, the fee is unfortunately more than I can afford.

Would you please be able to help make Shake-A-Leg a reality for me. I hold zero expectation and will be overjoyed for any contribution, regardless of size. Unfortunately, contributions are not tax deductible. Checks should be made out to Shake-A-Leg with my name in the memo line. Please send checks to the address above.

If you are able to assist me in any way, know that you are helping me ascend the most treacherous and steep mountain I shall ever face. Thank you very much in advance.

Very Truly Yours.

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Hey Everyone,

This is my last message for a while, as I’m headed out on a flight back to the USA tomorrow, November 19th, finally after four extremely long months! Although I’ll be in Los Angeles, my stay there will be extremely brief, as I shall head to Dad’s house for Thanksgiving in Rhode Island, then back again to LA for Christmas for just a bit longer. I feel great these days. I’m quite fortunate that my body has recuperated so quickly. Perhaps years of staying fit and a decade of vegetarian eating, hence a particularly healthy diet really did pay off!

Although I never did enjoy being here at Isis the rehabilitation ward, I must take my hat off to the place, and the staff for getting my mind and body back to a comfort level I can be happy with! I really am fortunate to have had my accident in this area of the world (if there’s any way to be lucky to have an accident?!?)

Oh, the latest installment of happiness arrived on Wednesday the 13th of November for me. Since my brain was injured on the right side, the left side of my body has been particularly badly affected. To that point, my left foot and had have been paralyzed for over four long months. However, thankfully on Wednesday I was able to access my hand again, somehow being able to clench my palm and wiggle my fingers! Though it may seem like a small thing, this has pleased me to no end, and I can only look forward to more progress coming up (hopefully my toes will follow suit soon).

Thank you all so very much for taking the time to read this and for checking out the website!

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