Adaptive Sports Therapy

At 19-years-old, Keyshawn P. was involved in a motorcycle accident in September 2023, where he sustained a thoracic level spinal cord injury. Keyshawn was in multiple hospital and rehab settings, including a rehab stay at Shepherd Center in Georgia until he returned home at the beginning of July 2024.

When Keyshawn started services with Rehab Without Walls in July 2024, he had strict precautions severely limiting his ability to be independent and he could only sit up in his wheelchair a few hours at a time. He needed assistance for most things; bed mobility, transfers, dressing, bathing, and navigating ramps/curbs.

During this time, Keyshawn’s physical therapist Katie McKenna, PT, DPT, worked with him on functional mobility, wheelchair management, spasticity management and positioning, upper body and core strengthening, endurance training, adaptive equipment training, and community reintegration.

Occupational therapist, Adair, assisted him with developing organizational skills, provided education on how to navigate the health care system, and prepared him for finding a job. Keyshawn’s precautions were lifted in November 2024, which allowed him to participate in more activities. He has become independent with bed mobility, transfers, navigating ramps/curbs/uneven terrain, performing a stretching routine, getting dressed, cooking meals, grocery shopping, and running errands.

Since working with his RWW interdisciplinary team, Keyshawn has joined a gym, developed an exercise routine, and started to explore adaptive programs, such as ice skating, archery, pickleball, and skiing. We even brought him into the pool to relearn how to swim. Keyshawn has been able to take part in sled hockey and adaptive skiing with local New Hampshire adaptive recreation programs.

Keyshawn states, “I had an amazing time ice skating for the first time with my physical therapist Katie, and occupational therapist Adair, in collaboration with Northeast Passage. I am hoping to join the hockey team next season.”

Physical therapist Katie states this about Keyshawn’s therapy, “It was extremely rewarding to assist Keyshawn in accomplishing his goals of getting on the ice. I cannot wait to root him on from the sidelines when he joins the hockey team. He is such a motivated individual who does not let his injury define him. He succeeds at everything he does. It has been so rewarding to help him achieve all his goals!”