When Sylvie Fadrhonc graduated from Colorado College in 2007, she became part of an exclusive group of students to earn undergraduate degrees from one of the most challenging liberal arts colleges in the country.
Not only was Sylvie exceptional in the classroom, she also was a student trainer and member of the women's tennis team. That's a rare combination of responsibilities, given the rigors of CC's Block Plan.
But less than four months after receiving her diploma, on a winding mountain road just outside Gunnison, Colo., Sylvie joined an even more exclusive group – one that she never could have expected or desired to be in.
Sylvie became one of only an estimated 39,000 women in the Unites States with a paralyzing spinal cord injury when she was involved in a one-vehicle accident on Highway 50.
Her vehicle left the road and rolled down the embankment before coming to rest upside down nearly 50 yards from the road. She suffered multiple injuries, the most serious of which were a fractured L-1 vertebra and a partially torn spinal cord, traumas which her doctors said would likely prevent Sylvie from ever walking again.
After she was stabilized at the Gunnison Valley Hospital, Sylvie was airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction where she underwent eight hours of surgery on the fractured vertebra. Finally, she was transferred to Craig Hospital in Denver for her recovery and rehabilitation.
Craig provided the perfect combination of physical and emotional support, and anyone who knew Sylvie knew she would not deal with her situation "sitting down."
She endured eight hours of physical therapy every day to help strengthen muscles and keep them flexible. Then there were programs to help educate the patients about what their bodies were doing and what they could expect in the future. Unfortunately, since most spinal cord injuries are suffered by men, there is very little information geared specifically toward women.
"Craig runs a series of education seminars that you have to go to 'graduate' or take off, and one of them is a sexual education course," Sylvie said. "There are very few women patients at Craig, so they are talking to all the guys. Then it was like 'Hi ladies, good luck. We don't really know anything.'"
That lack of information motivated Sylvie to team with Sabra Davison, a friend from Middlebury College, to start the Overcome Foundation.
The two kindred spirits met while studying abroad in New Zealand during their junior year in 2006, and their friendship grew strong while traveling throughout the country to experience adventures such as backpacking, kayaking, climbing and skiing.
When the pair parted company, they planned to stay in touch. Little did they know to what extent their paths would cross in the future.
Davison, a professional mountain biker turned pro tri-athlete, knew three women who were or would become patients at Craig.
"In two years, she had three of her good friends end up at Craig Hospital through various accidents – one through skiing, one through mountain biking and then me," Sylvie said.
By creating the foundation, Sylvie and Sabra hoped to encourage research and provide information for a growing number of women who suffer spinal-cord injuries.
"More than 60 percent of the 39,000 women with spinal cord injuries are under the age of 30, of child-bearing age,” Sylvie said, "and there's really not a whole lot of information out there about how all that stuff changes.
"We are trying to get what little information that is out there and spread the word by getting it into education seminars for people who need to hear it. We're also trying to encourage more research to be done about those issues."
Sylvie didn't always listen to her doctors.
An avid outdoorswoman, her passions included skiing and climbing, and it didn't take long for her to crave a return to the slopes. Less than four months after her accident and against her doctor's advice, Sylvie went to Winter Park and learned how to sit-ski.
"I spent the first time or two face-planting a lot in the snow," she said laughing. "But by the end of the season, I was skiing all of the same stuff I was before I got hurt. Since my injury was really low, I am lucky because I have my abs and some of my lower body muscles, which makes my balance better than others."
Spinal cord injuries are more common in athletes and other adventurous people, so Sylvie had an opportunity to meet several Paralympic athletes who were at Craig, including three who will be representing the United States in Beijing.
"I sort of got envious of the whole thing and said 'I want to go to the Olympics,' so now I'm actually going to be training for the 2010 Games in Vancouver," she said. "We'll see if I can pull it off."
Another goal is to be accepted for PA (Physician Assistant) School, something Sylvie was working on before her accident. Her first choice would be the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.
In order to improve her chances for admission, she took a job at Partners In Pediatrics in Denver. At the same time, she accepted an invitation to serve as a volunteer coach with the CC women's tennis team.
As for the immediate future, Sylvie is moving back to the Western Slope to begin working for the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program. She will also do some grant writing during the off-season, as well as some instructing during the winter, and serve as a part-time summer and winter program director.
"In return,” she said, "they'll help with this whole training thing if I'm serious about Vancouver. "I've also been in touch with the head of the Winter Park competition program. They have this incredible disabled Alpine ski team, which is the best in the country. I've been in touch with them to see if I can train with them this winter in some capacity."
The move to Telluride means that Sylvie won't return for a second season at CC. Even so, she will continue to inspire the team through her positive attitude and one incredible moment from April 12.
Before the match against Montana State University-Billings at the Garden of the Gods Club, Sylvie got out of her wheelchair for the first time, aided only by the use of braces and crutches, and took several steps across the court.
"That was the first time that I had actually got up from my chair on the crutches, rather than having a spotter and having some help," Sylvie said. "Now I'm walking places and not even bringing my wheelchair, when it's a short enough distance. Recently I was able to take a couple of steps with just one crutch. If I can do that permanently, it would be amazing."
Amazing is the perfect word to describe Sylvie.
In just eight months, she has gone from a frightening prognosis to walking on her own. And during that time, she became determined to use her own experiences to benefit others. If there ever was a person qualified to balance the demands of running a foundation, PA School, competitive skiing and continuing physical therapy, it would probably be Sylvie.
After all, she's already proved she could handle a variety of simultaneous challenges at Colorado College.
"At CC, I was kind of this weird kid who was a geology major, but on a pre-med track," she said. "As a geology major, I was constantly doing research and applying for grants. Being pre-med, I was working in the training room and taking all these biology classes. Now, I'm going to be able to combine everything I learned.
"It is strange how life secretly prepares you for things. Everything does happen for a reason."
For more information about Sylvie's recovery, visit her blog at:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/fadrhonc
For more information about Overcome Foundation, go to:
http://www.overcomefoundation.org
Send Sylvie an e-mail at:
overcomefoundation@gmail.com
