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| David Van Bebber worked hard to recover after falling from a 50-foot building while helping his father with his window-washing business. |
Louisburg Rehab celebrates a remarkable patient: David Van Bebber’s fall from atop a 50 foot building put him in a wheelchair with a fractured back and damaged spinal cord. His determined recovery let him walk unaided down the aisle just over a year later to marry his bride and gain the title of 2014 Great Recovery Patient from Miami County Medical Center Louisburg Rehabilitation.
Van Bebber’s therapists gave him this recognition to highlight National Rehabilitation Awareness Week and to laud his positive attitude one calls “electric” and all admire. “That’s the majority of the battle,” said physical therapist JJ Vogelsberg. “We point them in the direction and guide them along, but ultimately what the patient does is the difference.”
Van Bebber, 30, said he takes full responsibility for the fall he took May 27, 2013, at Geary Community Hospital in Junction City while helping his father at his window-washing business. “I had been a certified outdoor guide at the time,” Van Bebber said. “I would inspect climbing equipment, so I told my dad ‘I’ll look at your stuff.’ “I looked at it, it looked good, so I said I would rappel down before anyone else.”
He said he knows he overlooked a few things. “The mistakes were mine,” he said. “Just as I started to rappel down, the rope popped and down I went.” His experience as a rock climber, boulderer and zip-line attendant all combined, he said, to desensitize him to the sensation of free-falling, and he subconsciously moved in place to land on his feet.
Extensive damage
His injuries included damage to his spinal cord — the result of a burst fracture in his back bone that sent bone fragments flying — lumbar fractures, ankle fractures and heel bone fractures. He had four surgeries on his heels, three lower back surgeries, including a L1-5 spinal fusion, and two surgeries to place and remove blood clot filters.
He said his recovery process began with a determined thought that, down the road, he would not regret that he had not put forward a full effort. “I didn’t want to have to think that I could have worked harder,” he said. “That essentially was the more motivating factor, it is simple to settle, and I don’t like that idea. “I had worked hard prior to being injured, and I hated to let that seem to be all for naught.”
He knew, too, that he was not alone in his recovery. “I had a lot of people around me that are incredibly encouraging, people who spent time praying for and with me and speaking affirmations in my life. When you have people wanting you to do well, you seem to be persuaded or compliant to pushing in that same direction,” he said.
The right place
After finding Louisburg Rehabilitation in January, he said he always felt like he was in the right place, and he encountered the right people. His physical therapists were Vogelsberg, Christine Davis and Lisa Robbins. “They take ownership in you as a patient and in your recovery,” he said. “That’s what sets Louisburg Rehabilitation apart.”
“He was very fortunate that he didn’t end up paralyzed,” Vogelsberg said. “He came from a very low place to now he rides his bike 20-some miles, he’s back to some light running, it’s just an amazing kind of recovery.” Had Van Bebber avoided physical therapy, his physical therapist said he would not have gotten back much function. “He had a fall that damaged him clear to the frame of who he is,” Vogelsberg said. “The doctors put the frame back together, but that does nothing to what holds the frame or makes it move. “What moves, supports and protects the frame, that’s what we worked on in physical therapy.”
He’s gone from a wheelchair, to a walker, to a cane to walking unaided, albeit with what Van Bebber calls “a few deficits” including numbness and tingling sensations. “Recovery isn’t linear,” Van Bebber said, “You have to shift your paradigm to reassess what progress is. It is forward and backward, but you can use the setbacks to assess, to take time off. It prevents things from getting worse.” From the time of his fall until his wedding day in July was just under 14 months. “Thanks to Louisburg Rehab,” he said, “I could walk down the aisle.”
Van Bebber’s therapists gave him this recognition to highlight National Rehabilitation Awareness Week and to laud his positive attitude one calls “electric” and all admire. “That’s the majority of the battle,” said physical therapist JJ Vogelsberg. “We point them in the direction and guide them along, but ultimately what the patient does is the difference.”
Van Bebber, 30, said he takes full responsibility for the fall he took May 27, 2013, at Geary Community Hospital in Junction City while helping his father at his window-washing business. “I had been a certified outdoor guide at the time,” Van Bebber said. “I would inspect climbing equipment, so I told my dad ‘I’ll look at your stuff.’ “I looked at it, it looked good, so I said I would rappel down before anyone else.”
He said he knows he overlooked a few things. “The mistakes were mine,” he said. “Just as I started to rappel down, the rope popped and down I went.” His experience as a rock climber, boulderer and zip-line attendant all combined, he said, to desensitize him to the sensation of free-falling, and he subconsciously moved in place to land on his feet.
Extensive damage
His injuries included damage to his spinal cord — the result of a burst fracture in his back bone that sent bone fragments flying — lumbar fractures, ankle fractures and heel bone fractures. He had four surgeries on his heels, three lower back surgeries, including a L1-5 spinal fusion, and two surgeries to place and remove blood clot filters.
He said his recovery process began with a determined thought that, down the road, he would not regret that he had not put forward a full effort. “I didn’t want to have to think that I could have worked harder,” he said. “That essentially was the more motivating factor, it is simple to settle, and I don’t like that idea. “I had worked hard prior to being injured, and I hated to let that seem to be all for naught.”
He knew, too, that he was not alone in his recovery. “I had a lot of people around me that are incredibly encouraging, people who spent time praying for and with me and speaking affirmations in my life. When you have people wanting you to do well, you seem to be persuaded or compliant to pushing in that same direction,” he said.
The right place
After finding Louisburg Rehabilitation in January, he said he always felt like he was in the right place, and he encountered the right people. His physical therapists were Vogelsberg, Christine Davis and Lisa Robbins. “They take ownership in you as a patient and in your recovery,” he said. “That’s what sets Louisburg Rehabilitation apart.”
“He was very fortunate that he didn’t end up paralyzed,” Vogelsberg said. “He came from a very low place to now he rides his bike 20-some miles, he’s back to some light running, it’s just an amazing kind of recovery.” Had Van Bebber avoided physical therapy, his physical therapist said he would not have gotten back much function. “He had a fall that damaged him clear to the frame of who he is,” Vogelsberg said. “The doctors put the frame back together, but that does nothing to what holds the frame or makes it move. “What moves, supports and protects the frame, that’s what we worked on in physical therapy.”
He’s gone from a wheelchair, to a walker, to a cane to walking unaided, albeit with what Van Bebber calls “a few deficits” including numbness and tingling sensations. “Recovery isn’t linear,” Van Bebber said, “You have to shift your paradigm to reassess what progress is. It is forward and backward, but you can use the setbacks to assess, to take time off. It prevents things from getting worse.” From the time of his fall until his wedding day in July was just under 14 months. “Thanks to Louisburg Rehab,” he said, “I could walk down the aisle.”
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