TURNER – A 19-year-old who was paralyzed in a skiing accident in January expects to come home in a few weeks.
Monica Quimby is at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where she’s been since Feb. 7. She plans to return to her parents’ home in Turner on April 14 and is eager to be with family and friends.
“I can’t wait to see their smiling faces,” she said in a telephone interview.
Quimby, a 2004 graduate of Leavitt Area High School, is a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire. According to her mother, Nadia Quimby, Monica was skiing at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry when a snowboarder came barreling toward her. Monica swerved to avoid him and found herself sideways on a jump. She flew into the air and fell 20 feet, landing on her side, leaving her paralyzed below her thighs.
She is doing well at the rehabilitation center in Georgia, Quimby said.
She’s learning how to get from a wheelchair to a bed, from a wheelchair to a chair and from a wheelchair into the pool. It isn’t easy, said her father, Scott Quimby. “You try getting from one chair to another without moving your legs. It’s very difficult.”
His daughter has had good days and bad days, but she’s “always smiling, trying to be positive,” he said.
Monica was upbeat as she talked about her activities.
“The best part of therapy is the recreation program,” she said. “I’ve gone kayaking, which is so cool. You use your upper body strength with the rec program.”
Swimming, kayaking and other activities help keep her motivated, she said. She’s also gone to the movies and out to eat several times.
But learning how to get along without her legs is challenging, Monica said. “I’ve had to learn patience.”
Doctors have cautioned her that, barring a medical breakthrough, she’ll never walk again, but Monica isn’t giving up hope. The full recovery of spinal cord injuries isn’t complete for a year or more, Monica said. “It’s a waiting game.”
The past two months have been challenging for the family, Scott Quimby said. During a recent storm that left Route 117 slippery, he got a call from his younger daughter, Sarah, frantically telling him she was upside down in her car. The rolled-over car was damaged, but Sarah was OK.
“The only luck we’ve had is bad luck,” he said with a laugh.
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