Helping those Injured to Find Their Strength

With your support, people like 19-year-old Dylan Rizzo can fight against all odds to overcome a near-fatal traumatic brain injury and return to living life to the fullest. 

Dylan has always been an easy-going guy, close with his family and friends, and passionate about sports. He played hockey and ran track for his high school in Lynnfield and is an avid Boston Bruins fan. 

On December 28, 2010, life as Dylan and his family knew it would change forever. It was on this evening that Dylan was driving to a friend’s house when his car hit a patch of black ice, propelling him directly into a telephone pole. Dylan endured a tremendous amount of damage to his brain, causing him to slip into a vegetative state – a condition of wakeful unconsciousness. After a month of showing little improvement, Dylan’s doctors relayed the crushing news to his parents, Tracy and Steve, that he was likely to stay in this state for the rest of his life.

Then, a beacon of hope emerged – Dr. Joseph Giacino, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network’s Director of Disorders of Consciousness Program, was called in to consult on Dylan’s case. After observing Dylan over time, he began to think his brain may just need more time to heal. Dylan began to show incremental signs of improvement, and after spending three months in the acute care hospital, he was transferred to the Pediatric Unit at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for rehabilitation.  

“Now there’s evidence that if you do rehearsal of a particular behavior with a damaged brain, it may very well get better,” said Dr. Giacino.

When Dylan first arrived at Spaulding, he was still in a state of minimal consciousness. In the comfort and safety of this new environment, Dylan’s care team worked closely with him to practice basic activities, including how to stand, walk and swallow.

Dylan’s family was there with him every step of the way. “Dylan never said no to any challenge,” said Steve. Dylan would eventually need to relearn things like his colors, how to write his name, and to brush his teeth. Over the next few years he was able to regain many of his cognitive and physical abilities.

“Prior to Dylan’s case, the belief was that with someone who has a disorder of consciousness for longer than a year would be unlikely to recover,” said Dr. Giacino. “And now, Dylan is among a growing number of patients who defy the prognostic odds beyond that year mark. It’s not that it’s an exceptional case, we just don’t know how many exceptions to the rule there are. So I don’t believe in the rule anymore.”

Today, Dylan is doing exceptionally well. He works as a volunteer track and cross-country coach at his former high school. He has been invited to speak about his experience in several forums and plans to start online classes to further his education.  

With the support of donors like you, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital was there to help Dylan though his miraculous recovery, and with your help, we will continue to be there for all of our patients in the future. We cannot do this alone – Spaulding relies on your donations to continue to provide the high quality care for which we are known. Your generosity will allow us to help patients like Dylan restore their spirit and their strength. 

It was a warm, early morning in June of 2015. David Fischer, 55, was out for one of his usual rides with two other cyclists not five miles from his Medfield home. The trio regularly biked together before work during the week as they trained for the Pan-Mass Challenge. It was to be David’s 30^th time participating in the annual charity bike-a-thon. 

“I was riding along and the last thing I remember was being thrown into the air off of my bike,” said David. 

David was hit by a passing car, sending him airborne and landing directly on his head. He spent the next two weeks in a coma, during which time his wife Carol and their three children learned that he had experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI). When David awoke from the coma, he could no longer talk, walk or do anything on his own. He spent another two weeks at the acute care hospital before being transferred to Spaulding Hospital Cambridge for rehabilitation.   

“When David first arrived at Spaulding Cambridge, his eyes were still closed and he was on a ventilator,” recalls Carol. “I was amazed that they still started rehabilitation with him. It really speaks to the quality of people on his care team that he was not even awake, and they still had the patience and knowledge to know that the rehab could help him at this early stage.” 

David’s interdisciplinary care team worked closely with him to address the cognitive and physical challenges he was experiencing. His physical therapist worked with him to address the issues he had with weakness, motor skills and impaired balance. He worked with an occupational therapist to address his short term memory loss and inability to name or use functional objects. Through his speech-language therapy, David worked on his ability to communicate and use language. 

David’s complex medical issues also required intensive collaboration with physicians, nursing and respiratory therapists to achieve a successful recovery. Spaulding Hospital Cambridge is unique in its ability to provide both complex medical management and interdisciplinary rehabilitation services.

Your support allows Spaulding Hospital Cambridge to train specialized therapists, nurses and medical professionals  who bring both the compassion and expertise necessary to help patients like David reach their goals on the path to recovery.

“I will never forget the first time David opened his eyes,” said Carol. “He opened them, looked at me and smiled. That was a big moment.” It would be the first of many milestones. Carol spent each day by David’s side and actively participated in his rehabilitation. And although slow, with each day, came progress.

“David came to us barely able to open his eyes, unable to speak or follow commands and dependent for self-care,” said Lauren Richler, Speech-Language Pathologist. “By the time he left, he was talking, walking with supervision, and able to assist with his own personal hygiene.”

Donors like you make recoveries like David’s possible.

“I was quite confused due to my injury during my initial time at Spaulding Cambridge, but looking back I am just so grateful for the patience and compassion of the people there, said David. “What Spaulding does for its patients is so critical to their well-being, it’s inspiring. Every small step I took in my rehabilitation journey was a huge step for me, and my care team celebrated each one.”

David would spend nearly a month at Spaulding Cambridge restoring his strength. Now, just a year and a half following the accident, David is doing exceptionally well and continues to make strides in his recovery. He is now able to drive independently and volunteering for two local nonprofit organizations for which he is extremely passionate about – Love Your Brain and Bikes Not Bombs. David is also currently training for the first-ever Spin Pan-Mass Challenge.