Massachusetts teenager paralyzed from waist down by hockey injury making progress in recovery – WCVB Boston

A Massachusetts teenager who was seriously injured during a hockey game is working hard in his rehabilitation in order toward his goal of walking again. Jake Thibeault, of Fitchburg, broke two vertebrae in his back and suffered a small brain bleed in an on-ice collision that happened during a junior hockey tournament held over Labor Day weekend this past year.Thibeault had screws and rods inserted at Worcester's UMass Memorial Medical Center to stabilize his spinal cord, but the injury left the 18-year-old Milton Academy student was paralyzed from the waist down. He next went to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood and is now in outpatient rehabilitation at Journey Forward in Canton five months after his injury."The hope is what they call neuroplasticity," Thibeault said. "I'm trying to rewire it and teach my brain that I can move my legs through (a certain) way."Thibeault travels an hour each way four days a week to Journey Forward, which specializes in helping people with paralysis regain movement, in addition to his two days of standard rehab every week.His therapy at Journey Forward focuses on building strong core muscles, including one exercise where Thibeault is brought to a standing position and catches a weighted ball with one hand."The theory here is we're not going to focus on the legs first. We're going to focus on the core first," said Mike Thibeault, Jake's father. "We're going to work our way down rather than up.""My core is just so much stronger in a way that I can stabilize my body," Jake Thibeault said. In another exercise, Jake Thibeault crawls on all fours across floor mats, pushing his hardest for every inch. But he said the current struggle to get across those mats is big progress from where he was a month ago, when he was incapable of doing so."They were just like, 'Oh, just try by yourself,' and I made it two mats," he said. "And I was like, 'Oh, OK. Holy cow!'"Dan Cummings, president and founder of Journey Forward, said his facility is the only one in Massachusetts where this type of specialized therapy is offered.Cummings himself was once paralyzed from the waist down, suffering an accident when he dove into a lake at the age of 19. Doctors told him that he would never walk again, but he was able to take his first step on his own seven years later.Thibeault endures those grueling, hours-long rehabilitation sessions at Cummings' facility in an effort to reach an ambitious goal. Thibeault said he is determined to walk on his own during his graduation from Milton Academy in June."I'm trying it. I am, so that's the goal," Thibeault said with a smile. "I go to battle with something I hope no one else ever has to, but here I am, and I have to work hard just like I did in hockey."Multiple fundraisers have been held to help the Thibeault family in the months since Thibeault's on-ice injury, including one by Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque.A GoFundMe page has been set up for Thibeault and his family to help pay for rehabilitation needs, housing construction and various medical costs and expenses. Unfortunately, insurance does not cover any of the cost of Thibeault's rehab sessions at Journey Forward.Thibeault said he has been taking his high school classes from home since his injury. Milton Academy has been making accommodations to Thibeault's dormitory at the school, and he hopes to move back on campus sometime in the spring.

A Massachusetts teenager who was seriously injured during a hockey game is working hard in his rehabilitation in order toward his goal of walking again.

Jake Thibeault, of Fitchburg, broke two vertebrae in his back and suffered a small brain bleed in an on-ice collision that happened during a junior hockey tournament held over Labor Day weekend this past year.

Thibeault had screws and rods inserted at Worcester's UMass Memorial Medical Center to stabilize his spinal cord, but the injury left the 18-year-old Milton Academy student was paralyzed from the waist down.

He next went to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood and is now in outpatient rehabilitation at Journey Forward in Canton five months after his injury.

"The hope is what they call neuroplasticity," Thibeault said. "I'm trying to rewire it and teach my brain that I can move my legs through (a certain) way."

Thibeault travels an hour each way four days a week to Journey Forward, which specializes in helping people with paralysis regain movement, in addition to his two days of standard rehab every week.

His therapy at Journey Forward focuses on building strong core muscles, including one exercise where Thibeault is brought to a standing position and catches a weighted ball with one hand.

"The theory here is we're not going to focus on the legs first. We're going to focus on the core first," said Mike Thibeault, Jake's father. "We're going to work our way down rather than up."

"My core is just so much stronger in a way that I can stabilize my body," Jake Thibeault said.

In another exercise, Jake Thibeault crawls on all fours across floor mats, pushing his hardest for every inch. But he said the current struggle to get across those mats is big progress from where he was a month ago, when he was incapable of doing so.

"They were just like, 'Oh, just try by yourself,' and I made it two mats," he said. "And I was like, 'Oh, OK. Holy cow!'"

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Dan Cummings, president and founder of Journey Forward, said his facility is the only one in Massachusetts where this type of specialized therapy is offered.

Cummings himself was once paralyzed from the waist down, suffering an accident when he dove into a lake at the age of 19. Doctors told him that he would never walk again, but he was able to take his first step on his own seven years later.

Thibeault endures those grueling, hours-long rehabilitation sessions at Cummings' facility in an effort to reach an ambitious goal. Thibeault said he is determined to walk on his own during his graduation from Milton Academy in June.

"I'm trying it. I am, so that's the goal," Thibeault said with a smile. "I go to battle with something I hope no one else ever has to, but here I am, and I have to work hard just like I did in hockey."

Multiple fundraisers have been held to help the Thibeault family in the months since Thibeault's on-ice injury, including one by Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Thibeault and his family to help pay for rehabilitation needs, housing construction and various medical costs and expenses. Unfortunately, insurance does not cover any of the cost of Thibeault's rehab sessions at Journey Forward.

Thibeault said he has been taking his high school classes from home since his injury. Milton Academy has been making accommodations to Thibeault's dormitory at the school, and he hopes to move back on campus sometime in the spring.

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Massachusetts teenager paralyzed from waist down by hockey injury making progress in recovery - WCVB Boston