Kailyn's Recovery, Part III

My husband's second cousin was a national Freeskiing champion in April, when she suffered a serious injury in a warm-up exercise. The Denver Post has been following her story, and I could not be more impressed with their writing, the way they have captured Kailyn's spirit and her resilience.  “I’ll make being in a wheelchair the cool thing” is the title of Part III of Kailyn's story, published today in the Denver Post. Here's the beginning of it:

Tears are streaming down the tiny lady’s face. She keeps saying “gracias, gracias” as she embraces Kailyn Forsberg. Kailyn returns the hug and pushes her wheelchair away without looking back. Everyone around is tearing up. But Kailyn just rolls, stone-faced, out the door.

“Why was that lady crying?” someone asks.

“I don’t know,” Kailyn says. “I guess I hugged her once.”

A few weeks ago Kailyn was deep into her three-month stay at Craig Hospital, learning how to adapt to life in a wheelchair. She passed that lady in the hallway. The lady was sobbing. Kailyn, a stoic 15-year-old with a broken neck, wheeled her chair around and asked the lady if she needed a hug.

“She just looked like she needed it,” Kailyn says.

Thursday, Kailyn was doling out more high-fives and hugs. She was done with Craig, heading home to Eagle and a new life. The last time she slept in her own bed, she was a tenacious freeskier, harvesting medals and planning a career on skis. She is returning the same aloof teenager, only seated.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single person in Eagle in a wheelchair,” she says. “I’ll make being in a wheelchair the cool thing. I’ll make it the next big thing.”

To read the rest, click here. By the way, the Lokomat machine referred to in the article looks like this (this is not Kailyn):

Kailyn is home now. I think she's going to need more support than ever, now that she's away from the hospital hubbub. Emotional and spiritual support has been impactful. The YouCaring fundraiser dollars have grown to more than $84,000 (a littler more than half-way to the goal) but has been hovering there for a long time; if you can help at all, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.