Undaunted

Profile of Richard Wacholz

Intensive therapy helps an athlete chart a new course after he suffers a broken neck and spinal cord injury.

On a fine May day just about a year ago, Richard Wacholz of Scituate took his new road bike for a training ride. A dedicated athlete, the trim 59-year-old was preparing for a fund-raising ride.

“I must have hit something, because I went straight up and came down on my neck,” Rick says. “I thought I’d broken my arm, but I couldn’t touch it. I was totally paralyzed.”

Rick was airlifted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital where tests revealed the impact had fractured four vertebrae in his neck and pushed a disc into his spinal cord. Although he had started to move his legs in the helicopter, he had incapacitating weakness in his arms and legs, impaired balance and pain. Treatment would include therapy while the swelling in his spinal cord subsided, surgery to stabilize the neck, then more therapy. After considering the options, Rick choose RHCI for rehabilitation. 

“I was told RHCI was a working hospital, and that’s what I wanted. A place that would help me overcome this injury,” Rick says.

“A benefit of being treated at a rehab hospital like RHCI is that we offer the intensity of therapy that can help patients with acute neurological injuries,” says Scott Abramson, M.D., Rick’s rehabilitation physician. “We have the medical expertise to manage the issues common to these injuries, and we take a multi-disciplinary approach to pain.”

The son of a father who became a paraplegic at age 30, Rick was determined to do everything possible to recover. “I had a lot of fear,” he acknowledges. “But the staff gave me the message that I would get better. I found a wonderful facility to spur me on.”

Rick drew upon the discipline he learned as a young man in the Marines and experience with martial arts to focus on his recovery. His ability to imagine reaching his goals was especially important at first when progress was slow.

“Rick could move his arms but he had no control over simple things — buttoning a shirt, holding a pen. He literally couldn’t grasp anything,” says Jen Peacock, occupational therapist.

“It was months before I could tie my shoes,” Rick says.

Physical therapy had its own challenges.  The cervical collar Rick wore constantly to protect his neck limited his movements. Weakness in his arms made changing position or getting out of bed difficult. With Kara McKeown, physical therapist, Rick did exercises to improve balance and coordination. “Rick had to plan where to put his feet, to think through actions that had been automatic before,” says Kara.

After two weeks of steady progress, Rick was transferred to Jordan Hospital for surgery to fuse the fractured vertebrae and remove the herniated disc. “I have a three inch titanium plate and ten screws in my neck,” Rick says, “but I have no pain in my neck.” He returned to RHCI for post-operative rehabilitation that set the stage for resuming an active, engaged life.

A year after his accident, Rick is far along the path to recovery. Lingering effects of his injuries include fatigue, numbness and lack of sensation in his fingers.

“It’s as if my body has forgotten to do certain things,” says Rick. But the man who couldn’t tie his shoes for months is playing the guitar again. He exercises regularly, cycling 40 miles a week, improving balance and core strength. He eagerly expresses gratitude to his wife Barbara and fellow athletes for their constant support.

Now after 25 years as an executive search consultant, Rick is contemplating his next move. His coffee table is stacked with anatomy and neuroscience books. “This experience has changed my life,” he says. “At RHCI I made friends and connected with other patients. I want to go into healing services, to work with people who’ve had strokes or serious injuries. It’s a hard thing to go through, but I’ve been there. I want to help.”