Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - North Mississippi - (Page 7)

er s Powsibilitie os and Terry Jennings P Rehab helps people overcome seemingly impossible odds A Step At A time Therapists like Jim Garrett are helping Terry Jennings of West Point rebound from injuries he suffered in a car accident last August. Terry Jennings of West Point first learned to walk more than 50 years ago; now he’s learning again. In August 2010, Jennings picked up his cousin and drove to Jacksonville, Fla., to meet his son who was being discharged from the Navy. After dropping off his son and cousin at home, Jennings fell asleep behind the wheel about eight miles west of West Point. He was airlifted by CareFlight from the scene to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. One month later he woke up in NMMC’s Intensive Care Unit with severe injuries to his shoulder, knee, ribs, eye and foot. He had undergone four surgeries while he was unconscious, and each time doctors would warn his wife that he might not survive. “When I woke up, I couldn’t even sit up,” Jennings says. “I thought it was the end of the world.” His first feat was pushing himself up in bed using only his good arm. Once he was well enough to transfer out of ICU, he worked with physical and occupational therapists on much harder tasks, like standing and dressing himself. “The therapists would say, ‘We know you can do it. We’ll do it together,’ ” he says. When he left the hospital more than two months after his accident, he was in a wheelchair but determined to improve. Back home Vim & Vigor • SUMM ER 2011 7

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - North Mississippi

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - North Mississippi
Contents
Opening Thoughts
Through Thick and Thin
Power and Possibilities
Girl Talk
Say What?
Action Plan
Like This? Try That
George Clooney
A Day in the Life of Your Heart
Unexpected Heroes
Unexpected Heroes
Get in Gear
Get in Gear
A Real Lifesaver
A Real Lifesaver
In Case of Emergency
In Case of Emergency
Heal Better
Heal Better
Back to Bed
Back to Bed
The Clinic at Walmart
The Clinic at Walmart
Top Notch
Top Notch
Catch the Spirit
Catch the Spirit

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - North Mississippi