Bartlett Regional | HouseCalls | Winter 2018

Hunter’s journey to recovery April 20, 2017, is a day etched in the memory of 17-year-old Hunter Rathbone. That day, the athletic Thunder Mountain High School student was playing in an away soccer game in Ketchikan. He got his feet knocked out from under him and slammed flat on his neck and back. “My coaches helped me off the field,” Hunter recalls. “I couldn’t really see any colors, and the light was really bright. I was in a lot of pain; I felt like I was on fire.” “It went downhill fast after that,” says his grandmother, Debbie Rathbone. Five days later, Hunter couldn’t feel anything. Though an MRI showed no damage to his spinal cord, Hunter was temporarily paralyzed. He was diagnosed with a severe head and spinal concussion. The impact of his fall shut down the communication between his spinal cord and his limbs. “Then,” Hunter says, “about a week after my injury, I felt my belly button. In two weeks, it was a little touchy on my hips and then it just stayed kind of fuzzy.” Hunter also fatigued easily. “I could only stay awake for about four hours.” After his injury, Hunter spent three weeks at Seattle Children’s Hospital. His doctors there said his injury was recoverable, but just how much he would recover was uncertain. Hunter’s nerves needed to rewire and regenerate. “So it was just a matter of making the muscles not forget what they are supposed to be doing,” Debbie says. will stop him Specialized therapy for healing Hunter returned to Juneau for intensive therapy with the occupational and physical therapists (OTs and PTs) at Bartlett Regional Hospital. Research shows that patients have the greatest opportunity for recovery within the first two years after an injury like Hunter’s. PTs help build patient mobility and strength, and OTs help patients regain function in daily activities, like getting dressed, cooking and walking. “We’ve had excellent support here,” says Debbie. “From the scheduling to the therapists, it’s been just amazing. When I was feeling frustrated, they’d talk me through it too.” Hunter’s OT, Rachelle Cummins, remembers the first day of his therapy. “When he came through the door, he was walking with a walker. Our physical therapists determined that he didn’t have enough leg strength and was in a lot of pain.” Hunter used a wheelchair to help him get around school and outside his home. “We started working on exercises for his upper body, trunk and core because initially he needed to rely on his upper body more to be independent with tasks, such as getting around in his wheelchair,” says Cummins. “I like to incorporate a lot of motivating, client-centered tasks as part of treatment. I showed him adaptive techniques for things like getting dressed and making simple meals in the kitchen. Each activity was graded to challenge his —Continued on page 10 www.bartletthospital.org 9 LEARNING TO WALK AGAIN: Hunter uses the FES300 Cycle as part of his therapy program while his physical therapist, Clarissa Prewitt, PT, oversees his progress. PREVIOUS PAGE: Hunter’s first day of walking without assistance, with Clarissa Prewitt, PT.