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Teen with Quadriplegia Walks out of Hospital

The captain of the high school lacrosse team suddenly found himself on the field unable to move his arms or legs. 

Doctors would later determine a blunt blow to the back of his spine left Chase Lalonde essentially paralyzed from the chest down.

On March 2nd, rescue workers flew the 16-year-old across the state of Florida to Memorial Regional Hospital where the Westminster Academy student withstood hours of trauma surgery.

Following the surgery, Chase underwent weeks of physical therapy at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, working hard on trying to achieve everyday physical feats many take for granted.

This week, Chase will be doing something even his medical team remains inspired and surprised about: walk out of the hospital on his own.  

Chase and his family will be reunited with his medical team, surgeons and physical therapists during a press conference in the lobby of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

In case you were not aware, physical therapy (PT) refers to care that aims to ease pain and help people to function, move, and live better. It can be used to relieve pain, to improve movement or ability, and to recover from a sports injury. To learn more about PT, take a look at some of the resources over on the Advance Physical Therapy website.

His miraculous recovery has inspired many throughout his high school in Fort Lauderdale and on social media where even strangers have rallied behind him since the fateful March 2nd lacrosse game in Immokalee, Florida. 

Doctors say Chase suffered an unfortunate blow to the back of his neck between his shoulder pads and his helmet. The injury created a herniated disc and rendered him an incomplete quadriplegic.

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Tags: Last modified: March 29, 2019