Author Archives: Brooke Bamford

Working as an outpatient physical therapist at Kennedy Krieger’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (ICSCI), I’ve had the privilege of getting to know many individuals who motivate and inspire me on a daily basis. I often try to put myself in their shoes, wondering how I would cope with a catastrophic injury such as paralysis. Although I have a hard time answering that question myself, I have encountered an individual whose strength of character sets an example of how I can only hope I would endure such a situation. That individual is 22-year-old Peter Exner.

A motor vehicle accident in December of 2009 caused spinal fractures in the thoracic and lumbar portions of Peter’s spinal column, resulting in damage to his spinal cord. This injury left him paralyzed from the waist down. In additional to the spinal cord injury, he also had other life-threatening and painful injuries such as internal bleeding, rib fractures, collapsed lungs, and both arms broken. After surgeries to stabilize his spine and arm fractures, he began the grueling process of rehabilitation.

Peter would be considered a complex case by any therapist. But he never let his numerous injuries slow him down in his recovery. Even at the beginning—before his admission to Kennedy Krieger—when he was placed in a nursing home at the age of 20, his determination never faltered. Meanwhile, even when he experienced significant and debilitating pain as a result of the nerve damage, he continued to participate in intensive physical and occupational therapy as an inpatient at the ICSCI. Continue reading →