By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

TURNER – Monica Quimby, the 19-year-old who was paralyzed Jan. 28 in a skiing accident at Sunday River, is settling in at a treatment facility in Atlanta, her father said Tuesday.

Monica and her mother, Nadia, were flown Monday from Portland to Georgia in a Learjet, Scott Quimby said.

“This is ironic, but when they landed there was snow on the ground” in Atlanta, Scott said. At the Shepherd Center, Monica is undergoing four to six hours of physical therapy each day. Meanwhile her mother is taking classes to help the family deal with the changes, Scott said.

A Web site has been created where people can post messages to Monica, and soon read daily reports about her progress. The site is: caringbridges.net. In the “visit” box, interested people will soon be able to type in: monicaquimby.

Scott chuckled Tuesday, saying because of the Southern accents at the center, Monica has had to ask people to repeat themselves, and she’s had to slow down a bit when she speaks.

The family, which lives in Turner, has received several offers to raise funds, and soon a fund for Monica will be established. Meanwhile, events are being planned by the Masons, the Elks and local rock bands, including Specter, are planning benefit performances.

“These are kids she went to school with,” Scott said.

Monica’s suffered a broken back leaving her paralyzed from the upper thighs down. She was skiing with her University of New Hampshire ski club when she swerved to avoid a snowboarder headed for her, then fell 20 feet.

On its Web site, www.shepherd.org, the Shepherd Center is described as a catastrophic care hospital. In a “Dear Visitor” letter on the Web site, Alana Shepherd describes how her family helped found it in 1975 after her son James suffered a spinal cord injury while surfing two years earlier.

Copy the Story Link