Twice Broken, Twice Unbroken: A Young Athlete’s Double Recovery Story

Dr. Rita Roy: Hi everyone. My name is Dr. Rita Roy, CEO at the National Spine Health Foundation, and I’m your host for the Get Back to It podcast, where we tell real stories of healing and recovery. What does it mean to get back to it? It means overcoming injury through treatments that work in order to return to the people and activities you love, whatever that looks like for you.

It means getting back to your life. We’re here to share the success stories of those who did just that, and some of the best. These stories, you’re not going to believe

at the get back to it podcast. Our goal is to tell stories of spinal champions who’ve been able to achieve a better quality of life through spinal health care. In today’s episode, I’m delighted to be speaking with Kasey Sutherlin, who at the age of 19, lost her life. broke her back jumping into a lake, and 10 years later, while rock climbing, broke it again.

One year after the second accident, she competed in a running event and won. Today, she is running 30 to 70 miles per week and living her best life. Now that you know what to expect, let’s get back to it and dive right into Kasey Sutherlin story.

Kasey Sutherlin: In 2009, at age 19, I broke my back while cliff jumping into an alpine lake while camping with newfound friends in the mountains above Denver, Colorado. A popular activity near our campsite involved jumping off a 40 foot cliff into St. Mary’s Lake. When it was my turn, I jumped off the cliff feet first with proper form and did not hit any rocks or debris in the water.

The impact, however, shattered my vertebrae. 

Dr. Rita Roy: As a teenager and young adult, including Starting at the time of the first accident, Kasey Sutherlin struggled with an undiagnosed eating disorder, unaware of how under-eating affects bone health. 

Kasey Sutherlin: After swimming to the surface, I could only remain in place, treading frigid water, unable to speak or move my body in a way to swim to shore.

Friends swam me slowly to shore, carefully rolled me out of the water, and called search and rescue. After hours of lying in place with a T12 compression fracture, An Alpine rescue team arrived and carried me out on a stretcher. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Once at the hospital in Denver, Kasey Sutherlin asked the doctor if she’d ever run again.

And although unable to recall his exact response, remembers he did not say no, which gave her hope. 

Kasey Sutherlin: For around two weeks, I remained in intensive hospital care with regular checks to ensure the bones stabilized. And I did not develop paralysis. This was a time I remember in pieces. Over the After those two weeks, I went from not being able to roll over in bed or stand to being able to slowly walk down the hallway with a rolling walker.

Dr. Rita Roy: Kasey Sutherlin treatment involved manipulating her back into place at one point. Surgery was initially planned, but ultimately decided against. 

Kasey Sutherlin: I was put into a hard, unremovable torso cast before being released from the hospital. I remained in this cast for around two to three months. 

Dr. Rita Roy: During this time, Kasey Sutherlin condition Goal was to walk a little every day.

She followed her spine doctor’s instructions of not bending, twisting, or carrying heavy items. 

Kasey Sutherlin: My grandmother came to stay with me, and together we built my walking tolerance up to seven miles on smooth pavement. After this first cast came off, I was put in a removable plastic brace for around four months.

I continued to use the brace as a tool for one to two years putting it on. When my back was fatigued or hurt about eight to 12 months after the accident, I started running again to minimize the impact. I avoided running downhill fast or on hard pavement. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Fast forward to 2019 Kasey Sutherlin was rock climbing in Moab, Utah and suffered a fall, breaking her back a second time.

Kasey Sutherlin: I was clipping my rope to gear I had placed in the rock. When my foot slipped, I fell around 10 to 15 feet. Landing hard on my back. I was unable to move and remained in place until search and rescue could reach me. Hours later, they carried me down the cliffs on a stretcher to where a helicopter weighted I was then airlifted to the ER In Grand Junction, Colorado, 

Dr. Rita Roy: Kasey Sutherlin was diagnosed with an L two burst fracture and remained in intensive care for one to two weeks before getting transferred to the hospital’s physical therapy program for two additional.

Kasey Sutherlin: I was assigned a physical therapist who was also an athlete, had daily sessions to build my strength, and met other patients who had suffered traumatic injuries. I did not have surgery. Instead, I was put in a plastic removable brace that was molded and customized to fit my torso. The day before my release, I was completing laps around the hospital floor with a rollable walker.

I again built my walking tolerance over months and months. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Kasey Sutherlin wore the brace while upright for six months. For the next year after that, she put it on whenever her back was hurting or fatigued. 

Kasey Sutherlin: I completed my first run of one to two miles while wearing the brace about five months after this accident.

I completed a trail 50k a little over one year after the accident and won that race.

Dr. Rita Roy: Wow, Kasey Sutherlin. Kasey Sutherlin. Kasey Sutherlin, your story is so incredible and so amazing and, and your resilience and your perseverance and you’re just continuing to go through with things. I am just so blown away by your story. Um, you know, the other thing that your story shows is how important it can be, um, you know, to get good care and, and, and to get it.

You know, take good, good action and have a good care team around you. Um, when you jumped into the lake the first time and you broke your back, I can’t imagine how scared you must have felt. Um, can you share with us what that was like at that time? What was running through your head and what you were thinking?

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, um, so when I jumped off that cliff, I hit the water and I just remember knowing immediately that something was very wrong. Time slowed down and I remember being underwater and like looking up at the surface and just knowing like I need to get to the surface, um, and Once I did that and was breathing oxygen again, I, I was kind of in shock and I, yeah, I couldn’t, like, talk, I couldn’t move, and so, um, friends came and swam me out, rolled me onto the shore, and then I, I initially wasn’t thinking about paralysis, but I did know that, like, My back was, my back was hurting so much and I knew that something was very wrong with my back.

Um, and so just waiting there, I was like, trying to just kind of manage the pain. Um, but once Search and Rescue did get there, they were asking me to like, wiggle my toes. Um, and like, checking me out and I did realize at that point, maybe I could have like, Was close to being paralyzed or could still be paralyzed and that’s like when the fear definitely Set in and I think that like being paralyzed was like Like my worst fear, so I was like terrified.

Um and And then after that, um, yeah, they just carried me down on the stretcher. I had an ambulance ride down to Denver and then, um, I did have a really good care team around me. Um, I do remember the ER doctor was like very kind and, um, not like discouraging. Um, and I, yeah, I do remember. Yeah, yeah. I remember that I had really good nurses.

Um, Yeah, 

Dr. Rita Roy: that’s amazing how you describe that so vividly, jumping into the water and then feeling like time slowed down and you’re coming up slowly. Did your friends realize that there was something wrong? How did they know to jump in and get you? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, yeah, they, they did. Um, Because I, I think it, I was in the water for maybe a few minutes and they were shouting at me, they were like saying Kasey Sutherlin, Kasey Sutherlin, like, swim out, like, what’s wrong, like, and I was saying absolutely nothing and just could barely stay afloat and so, yeah, I think two guys, like, swam from the shore and then kind of like, yeah.

And I remember just saying like my back, that’s like all I could say. And, and 

Dr. Rita Roy: was your back hurting? Could you actually feel pain in your back or were you just generally. In shock with the whole thing. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Um, initially when I hit the water, I think I was in in shock and just like treading water, but then once I think the the pain kind of like Slightly set in as we are like moving to shore and then it was just kind of like intense pain until Their gym rescue didn’t get there and then they gave me medications which made it 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, that’s, that’s, uh, that’s incredible.

Um, because yeah, the initial shock, you’re just sort of like something’s wrong, but I don’t know what, right. And then you get to shore and then you start to feel the pain and then, you know, something’s really wrong. 

Kasey Sutherlin: I, I, um, I remember like, I couldn’t like move my torso really like I, it was kind of like, I was like stuck in place like I couldn’t like go into like a horizontal position to like swim.

So it’s kind of just

Dr. Rita Roy: wow. And so Kasey Sutherlin, that’s amazing that you got to the hospital quickly and an excellent, you know, medical team there to, to meet you. And so you ended up staying in the hospital for a long time. Um, what was that like and, and, and why was it so long? That you were actually in the hospital. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah. Um, I think I had just a really bad break.

Um, that T12 compression fracture, that vertebrae just like shattered and was smashed like a pancake basically. And, um, some of the bones were only like, Like, some of the pieces of the bone were only, like, a few millimeters from my spinal cord, so I was, like, extremely lucky, extremely lucky I’m not paralyzed, um, but, yeah, I think, I think I was just there because, Of the severity of the fracture, and I just like, for almost like a whole week, I was just like in bed, kind of, I don’t remember it super clearly because I was on like a lot of pain medication, but I, I was just basically in bed, not really moving, and then they did manipulate, had to manipulate the bone back into place.

And then. Would try to get me up and, like, to stand. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Mm hmm. And, and do you remember what that manipulation was like, or how, what that, sort of, treatment of that manipulation was? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, um So, once, once I, I was, I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but a few days to a week in. Once I could kind of like stand up, they had me go into a room with, I, I’m not sure if it was like, um, with spinal surgeons, but it was with, with doctors.

And they had me like lay on. tables, and then they, they, like, moved my, my torso, I think, like, pushed it in a way where, I guess, like, the bones came to, like, were manipulated back into place to where they, They should be. Um, but I’m not super clear on that memory, but I do remember. Yeah. 

Dr. Rita Roy: That’s incredible. And then you stayed for a few days after that to, to have sort of that sort set into place and observe you and make sure that things were progressing right.

Is that sort of what that plan was? Yeah, 

Kasey Sutherlin: yeah, definitely. And um, the doctors were kind of like debating. What to do with me and how how best I could heal And initially they did plan surgery and I believe the surgery was it was lateral lumbar interbody fusion So they were going to like Going from the side of my torso and I guess fuse vertebrae together but they decided not to I think because of a few reasons one was that I think they were Worried about something about like my size like they were worried I was too small or something to like go in and do that Well, or at least that’s what I was told And the other piece of it was I think I had doctors Really really good doctors.

I’m so thankful They really like assessed me the situation and like deeply thought about it. And like, I, they knew I was young and maybe could heal on my own. And so they decided to put me in like a hard cast that you might like put on your arm and just start like anything you yeah. And we’re hoping that that would.

That would work well and it did and I was actually really nervous about getting surgery. So I was like Happy with that decision 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, and that’s amazing. And um during that time That was when you had asked one of the doctors If you’d ever be able to run again, right at some point in there and what Describe that situation and what what that was like 

Kasey Sutherlin: yeah, yeah, um, so I Yeah I’ve been a runner, um, for most of my life since middle school track, um, and yeah, and so that, that’s kind of like my activity that I love that involves like moving my body and I would run every day.

Um, so I really did not want that to be taken away from me. Um, So I did ask that question. I think that was one of the first questions I asked and Yeah, and I remember the doctor He didn’t give me a yes, definitely He’ll be able to run but he also didn’t say no and so I just remember thinking Oh, well, that means like I’m I’m going to to write it.

I’m gonna, um, pursue that and make sure that happens. Positive 

Dr. Rita Roy: thinking, power of positive thinking. That’s, that’s amazing, Kasey Sutherlin. Well, um, one of the things that we mentioned in the course of, of your story is that, um, you had, Some limitations with your bone health and so was that discussed with you at this time when and when did that come up during this conversation and looking at your bone, your fractured T12 vertebra and and and considering how to treat it.

Was that a consideration? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Um, they did not, I don’t think they did like a DEXA scan, I believe that’s what, what you do for it to assess, yeah, um, so, so they did not do that, so I’m not aware if, That, like, played into the decision of whether to have surgery or not, um, and, and no one really discussed that with me.

Um, so at the time, I wasn’t really aware that I had, Like low bone density, but later looking back on on everything at the time, I was like, definitely under eating and like, had struggled kind of with, um, disordered eating, if not an eating disorder, like in my teens, and probably the same time thought this happened.

So, um, I 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Yeah. Which is not not uncommon for runners, right? I mean, that’s we see that often with, um, with athletes and particularly runners, um, who are putting on so much mileage and keeping weight down so they can go a lot faster for longer, right? Is that is it? Did you find that to be the case in?

You know, in in your running journey. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Um, yeah, yes. Um, yeah, eating disorders are, um, definitely, I don’t know if I’d say common, but they definitely happen a lot, um, within kind of the running community, um, especially among like running teenage teenage girls. Um, and I Yeah. I think that running maybe influenced, um, that kind of developing with me somewhat, but other things did too, but I wasn’t, um, at the time of this accident, I wasn’t, like, I went, well, I definitely was not aware of kind of like what under eating can do to your bone health.

I had no clue, um, and so if I would have known that, I, I definitely would have thought twice about jumping off of that cliff, um, because, Yeah, because I know that, um, because of under eating, my bones are definitely more susceptible to breaking. So if I would have known that, um, maybe I would have made a different decision.

And yeah. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. So interesting that we’ve, we do a lot of, uh, education around bone health and the foundation and, um, One of the things that we’re really trying to work on is, is getting the word out that bone health is important at every age. It’s not just osteoporosis is not just a condition that you have to think about when you’re older, but thinking about your bone health at every stage and at every age.

Is so important and so critical. And we often don’t think of our bones as being living, breathing, changing organ in our, in our body, but it is, and there’s the steady state that’s happening in your bones of building bone and resorbing bone. And, and it’s, it’s a very active. And so that’s something we’re working very hard on is to get the word out that, that everyone at every age should think about their bone health.

Um, but that’s not something that, that we really learn about or, or talk about. So it’s sort of like, how would you know, right? 

Kasey Sutherlin: It’s awesome. You guys are like spreading that awareness. That’s really cool. 

Dr. Rita Roy: And so Kasey Sutherlin, we’re just, just kind of wrapping up talking about this first injury. So when you left the hospital, um, did you leave in a brace and were you told to wear that for a period of time?

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah. Um, yeah. So I was in that hard, like unremovable. Oh, that’s right. Yeah. Um, when I left the hospital and that, that kind of just, it covered my whole torso. There is like a hole in the middle where my stomach was. I couldn’t take it on and off. It was very like thick, um, and hard. Um, I couldn’t take showers for around four months.

I remember, um, yeah, my grandma did come to stay with me and she would help me like wash my hair in the sink and that brace or the cast. It was like very uncomfortable, but it did make me feel really safe because the whole time I was recovering, I was like, really worried about, the paralysis. I was kind of like terrified of it.

Um, so that brave the cast really made me feel safe because it kept like all my bones like in place where they should be. And like it prevented me from bending or twisting, which was very important while I was healing. 

Dr. Rita Roy: And did you have to have a special diet at all during that four month period when you were healing?

Kasey Sutherlin: Um, I, I did not. They did not give me like a diet plan to follow. Um, they did give me like pain medication that I took home, but I, I stopped taking it, um, soon after. I left the hospital, but my, my, my grandma was there to help me like cook and yeah, and yeah, we would take walks together every day. 

Dr. Rita Roy: So awesome.

Um, and hopefully you were getting lots of calcium as those bones were healing and in your, in your grandmother’s yummy cooking. I’m sure it was very, very good for you. I 

Kasey Sutherlin: think that’s something, yeah, like, Maybe that we, we could have improved on, but yeah, we did not have a diet I was following. 

Dr. Rita Roy: And so were the doctors following you during the time that you had that unmovable cast on for four months?

Yeah. Yes, I had, like, regular checkups, I think. And did you get an X, get an X ray when you’d go in to see how things were progressing? Yes, 

Kasey Sutherlin: we’d have an X ray and discuss, um, what everything looked like and how it was healing and that the bone was still stabilized. And that was about maybe, maybe once a month I’d go in for that.

Dr. Rita Roy: Okay, so you’re such a sunny, bright, beautiful young woman. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like to have that thing on for four months. Did it get itchy? Was it uncomfortable? Like, how did you get through that time? Um, did you have to, Were you in school? Did you have to stop school? Like, how did you manage your life?

I can’t even, I can’t even imagine, but it sounds like just the fear of the alternative of possible paralysis just sort of kept you going with that. But I’m just amazed and absolutely amazed by how you got through that. Can you tell us a little bit about what your day to day was like? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, all right, um, thank you.

Uh, yeah, yeah, it was It was uncomfortable. It did get itchy. Um, I was in school. I was a sophomore at Colorado State and I did continue with my classes. I didn’t attend as many classes as I was beforehand. I did a lot of work like just at home. I had like a little apartment to myself, um, that my My grandma and I were living in, and then, um, my mom visited me also, and so, like, yeah, my family really helped me through it, um, and day to day, um, was just kind of getting as much rest as I could, um, and trying to eat good food, um, doing, doing schoolwork, and then we’d take a daily walk, um, and at first those walks were short, and like, at first it, it was hard to even, like, stand, so like, even Building like standing tolerance was important, but like the more I did those movements, the more I, I could do them.

Um, so just little by little day by day, I would just like build that strength back. And it did like, it did hurt my back to even stand or walk, but, um, we started with walks. Maybe one one mile or so and we did build up like seven miles, which was great 

Dr. Rita Roy: Amazing and so four months later the doctors say we can take this You know unmovable cast off and and then they gave you a removable, right?

Yeah, right And so that just feel like freedom. I was like, okay, I only have to wear this how many hours a day as opposed to just all the time. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Definitely. Um, yes, it was very nice. The, the removal of race wasn’t quite as obvious as like the huge, um, torso cast. So I. You could still like tell I was wearing like big t shirts so you could still like tell I had That removable brace on but not nearly as much as like the huge cast.

So that was nice I would um, like attend classes in person more at that point and The removable brace I I wore any time. I wasn’t laying in bed And yeah, and it kind of just had this Like, it was made of, like, metal and then, like, um, had, like, padded sections, um, and one of, like, the padded sections was pressed against my vertebrae that were broken, so it, that compression actually felt really good, and it kind of just kept those bones still in place, and it also made me feel safe, um.

And kept my back from being fatigued. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Wow, that’s incredible. And so, you started to feel better and better, you’re walking up to seven miles a day, and then you got the go ahead to start running? Yeah, yes. So when was that? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, yes, that was very exciting. Um, that wasn’t until maybe, Yeah. Um, eight months after the accident.

So it was a while. Um, but 

Dr. Rita Roy: it 

Kasey Sutherlin: was very exciting. Um, so just like it started with just a very slow jogs, um, less than a mile, like during the walks that we would do. And then, um, just slowly building that. That tolerance and, um, getting slightly faster on the jogs and at first, um, it was a lot easier to just kind of jog on like dirt roads or, um, Services that didn’t have a lot of rocks like going over rocks was, 

Dr. Rita Roy: um, but uneven terrain would be.

Yeah. Yeah. And even 

Kasey Sutherlin: terrain was definitely harder to even just walk on with my back. Um, but eventually I. Was trail running again? 

Dr. Rita Roy: Amazing and you know you say well, it was a you know It was eight months after the accident that you were able to start slowly running again But when you zoom out and think about that, that’s within a year Within a year of a major accident like that, and this, um, you know, treatment, a slow treatment, waiting for your body to heal, that was within a year.

I mean, that was remarkable. Really amazing. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, yeah, thank you. Yes, I’m, I’m very happy. It was, Less than a year. Um, yeah, very thankful I could get back to that. 

Dr. Rita Roy: And at some point you didn’t need to wear the removable brace anymore. How, when was that? How, how much longer did you have with that? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah. So I think that the, the doctor said that I could stop wearing it at that point, around like eight months or so after the accident.

And I, I did, like, take it off sometimes, but also I, If my back was like hurting, um, I would put it back on and it would help me feel better. So I did kind of use it as like a tool, like, um, even over a year after I had broken. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. And so then you just sort of sailed on to the rest of your life.

And at some point you picked up rock climbing and then we get, you know, 10 years. And boom, there you go again. Oh, so when that happened and you fell, what did you think to yourself? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah. Um, it was very surreal. Um, so I was, I was climbing, I was leading a rock climb in Moab. And, yeah, I had placed a piece of gear that would keep me safe, and I was about to clip my rope to it, and I didn’t have a good handhold, and my foot was on a ledge, and my foot just slipped, and I wasn’t clipped into the rock yet, so I fell to the ground, but I remember as my foot slipped, that time really, like, slowed down again, and I

I remember as I was falling, um, just having all these thoughts going through my head before I hit the ground and just, most of it was just me, Just, really, not believing that this was happening, I was like, what, I can’t believe, like, I’m falling right now, like, this is going to be very bad, like, I know I’m going to hit the ground, um, I’m maybe I’m going to break.

I knew I was going to break something as I was falling and I was like, Oh my gosh, I’m going to break my back again. This is so surreal. I can’t believe this is happening. And just all of those thoughts going through my head as that time slowed. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Oh my goodness. And Kasey Sutherlin, had you had any close calls at all when, during your, um, your rock climbing, I would say, era of your life?

Yeah, 

Kasey Sutherlin: um, this, no, actually. I, I’d been with other people who had had close calls, but myself, I, I hadn’t had any injuries. From not having any close calls, um, but this was the day. There’s always something that can randomly happen. Um, and it is like a dangerous sport and you can feel pretty safe in it. And then it’s just that one second, that one day something can happen.

Dr. Rita Roy: And how long were you a rock climber? So after your first, um, incident, which had happened 10 years prior and you, you know, were able to run again, when did you pick up rock climbing? Or had you always been a rock climber? 

Kasey Sutherlin: I picked it up maybe two years after that first accident, 

Dr. Rita Roy: you know, you know, on the one hand you could say, well, why would you pick up something where you, you know, you might fall and hurt yourself again.

On the other hand, it’s, you know. You have to do the things that you love and that you are passionate about. And you can’t let fear, um, of what’s happened in the past hold you back from doing something in the future. So I really admire that. Um, that’s, that’s, that’s amazing. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Um, I think that, um, falling the first or not falling, um, jumping off the cliff the first time, definitely.

Made me aware of heights. And I, I do think that that made me like more cautious as to like what could happen. And I, when I started climbing, I would only, um, follow on climbs, which means that the rope would already be set up for me. So I would just get on the rope and if I fell, I wouldn’t go anywhere because I was already safe.

Um, so I started with that, but eventually kind of progressed to. Lead climbing, which is more dangerous. But yeah, I was, I was in Colorado and like love the outdoors and nature and. People are on New York Climbing and I, I love the movement of that also, so I did decide to rock climb. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Oh my goodness. So, you’re laying there and you’re thinking, I’ve seen this movie before.

Someone call me an ambulance. Exactly. Ah, so were you, were you on a ledge? Was it hard to get to you where you were on this fall? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yes, it was, it was kind of hard, um, to get to us. Um, luckily we had cell service, so one of my friends, Oh, I didn’t even think about not having cell 

Dr. Rita Roy: service. Oh my goodness. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, that would have been awful.

One of my friends called, um, search and rescue, and it did take them a while to get there to reach us. Um, so I was like laying there for hours and hours, um, not believing this was happening. But I, um, Yeah, it was, it was not, not good. Wow. Yeah, and then they had to put me on a stretcher, and we had to like, go down these cliffs, so they were carrying me on a stretcher, and were kind of like, passing me from person to person down these cliffs, and, Oh my gosh.

Yeah, and I was, yeah, I was, I was scared again that I was gonna be, you know, Paralyzed, so I, I remember like when they were handing me down the cliffs, um, it really, really hurting because I was almost like in a vertical position at some points when we were going down. Wow, oh my gosh. That was really hurting my spine, and I thought that that like pain was an indication that they, they might have been like permanently hurting me, so I was like begging them to stop, um, when we, when they were carrying me, and they, they didn’t stop.

But that was, yeah, I’d say that the second, um, accident was more traumatic than the first one. Um, 

Dr. Rita Roy: Wow. Just because of the location, probably where you were and having to get your way out of it and getting you to safety. That just sounds so, so frightening. Uh, Kasey Sutherlin, I can’t, again, I’m just, I’m, you know, I look at you today and I can’t believe you went through that.

That’s, that’s incredible. Um, so you’re, you’re in Moab and they, did they helicopter you to a hospital or how did you get to the hospital from there? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, they did. So we, we got down those cliffs to the dirt road and there was a helicopter waiting and I was, um, kind of like in and out of it and they had me on a lot of like medication, pain medication 

Dr. Rita Roy: already.

Oh, they had already started pain medicine for you. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, when they reached me, um, After I fell, um, I was like screaming and just in a lot of pain. And then, um, a few hours later, search and rescue, they reached me and they gave me a pain medication immediately. Um, and then, yeah, when we got down to that dirt road, there was a helicopter waiting, um, and then they airlifted me to grand junction, which was, Ooh, I, it’s a two hour drive from Moab, shorter in a helicopter.

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. Gosh. Um, and so there you are, you’re, you’re in the er, you’re, are your friends with you at this point or were you, you had to have probably somebody with you. 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, yeah. They, um, they drove, um, from the side of that. They met you there? Yeah. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah. And so then they told you in the er there that I’m sure they got the X-rays and told you it was an L two burst fracture.

And what did you think at that point? Yeah, 

Kasey Sutherlin: um, I. When they told me that I was not surprised because I knew that my back had been broken Like when I hit the ground, I knew Um, I had broke it again. Um Because of the pain. So I, yeah, I wasn’t super surprised when they told me that. Um, but, yeah, I was just kind of like devastated that this was happening again.

So back to intensive care you went for that? Yeah, I did. And I don’t, maybe I was in intensive care for a week and again, it was kind of like, it’s kind of like a blurry memory for me because of just I think the trauma and all the pain medication I was on. So I just remember pieces of it. But again, I had like amazing nurses that were taking care of me.

And again, I, I couldn’t like stand up or roll over on my own. 

Dr. Rita Roy: But you knew what to do this time, I guess, right? An expectation of what to come. And so did it feel, did you, did you feel hopeful this time as well? Did you ask those same questions? Will I be able to run again? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, yeah, I did feel hopeful. I actually felt more hopeful this time.

Because yeah, that first time I didn’t know what to expect. And it was all new, and I was. Um, but the second time I was like, okay, I know what this is like, this has already happened to me. I’ve already gotten through this. So I, I was like more confident that I could get back to running and was determined to do that.

Dr. Rita Roy: And determined to do that. So, for this time, you didn’t have the unremovable cat. You had the removable brace, right? This was when they did the customized plastic brace for you? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Correct. Yeah. So, I’m not sure why they chose not to put me in the hard cast again. Um, maybe the break might have been too much.

The free different Yeah. Yeah. Or not as bad, but, um, yeah, they put me, they like molded my torso and then made a, a removable plastic torso cast that like fit me perfectly and supported my back. Um, and I could take that on and off. So when I was sleeping, yeah, when I was sleeping, um, laying down, I could take that off.

Which. Let me sleep, but 

Dr. Rita Roy: that’s, that’s, that’s a relief from the last 

Kasey Sutherlin: time 

Dr. Rita Roy: I would think like, like, not as bad as 

Kasey Sutherlin: it was way more, it wasn’t very comfortable. 

Dr. Rita Roy: And so, so this time the recovery was much shorter. It was just five months of race wearing, right? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Right, yeah, and I did kind of like repeat the process that I had done the first time, but everything just moved a little quicker, so.

Well, once I was out of intensive care, I did physical therapy in the hospital for about two weeks, and that really helps me and like gave me hope and I would go every day to the physical therapist that the hospital had assigned me and We would do little exercises and we’d take little walks around the hospital Um, but again, I couldn’t like bend, twist, or carry anything.

And it was like that process of kind of like relearning how to like walk and building standing tolerance, walking tolerance. But, and then once I was discharged from the hospital, I, um, would like record my weekly walking mileage and just kind of like slowly built up the, that mileage again. With walking.

Dr. Rita Roy: That’s, that’s amazing. And Kasey Sutherlin, um, that, that must have really interfered with your life at that point, whether it was. Working or, or the other activities that you were doing, you had to manage all of that all over again. That’s, that, that, what was that like for you? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, um, yeah, I actually went back to live with my parents for, oh, I want to say maybe three months or so.

Um, because I, I did need help. Um, I couldn’t drive anywhere. It was hard to like get in and out of a car. Um, Yeah, so I went to live with them and then I was like working in Moab at the time I was living in Moab And so I took I took time off work Up to like half a year. I think I wasn’t working 

Dr. Rita Roy: Wow. Wow.

Well, that was so fortunate that you had such wonderful family support around you to, to help you get through this so you could focus on your healing and building your strength back. And, you know, fast forward five months after this accident. Tell me what, tell us what you did again. 

Kasey Sutherlin: I can’t believe it.

Yeah, so I started jogging in those walks, um, and slowly built up my running again. Um, actually ran 10 miles with that. That plastic brace on at one point, but, um, and then I competed in a trail 50 K about a year after the accident and I won the race. Um, but I was Yeah, I was, I was, like, really worried whether I could get through that or not, and, like, I was worried about, like, my back impacting me and limiting me, but I, I did wear, like, a kind of, like, a stretchy back support while I was running, which definitely helped me.

Um, but yeah, I was so happy that it was possible. I could like race and compete and run what I wanted again. 

Dr. Rita Roy: I don’t know why anybody wants to run a 50k, but God bless you. I, that’s not, that’s not in my list of things I want to do, but, but that’s that. So I’m amazed by that in and of itself. And then just, you know, within a year after this major injury, it’s just such a testament to your determination, your perseverance, excellent medical care around you, wonderful support system, and just.

Deciding to get through it and to get back to the things you love doing. Such an amazing story, Kasey Sutherlin. I’m just, I’m just thrilled that you’re sharing this with us. I hope people who are listening are getting inspired by you as well. I know they are. Um, Kasey Sutherlin, how did you find the National Spinal Foundation?

How’d you find us? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, I, I was just searching for non profits that spread awareness about, um, spinal injuries, um, and also helped people with injuries that weren’t just paralysis, and so, I, I also, I, I did want to like, Share kind of like what happened to me because, um, I know when I was going through all of this, the more hope I had the better.

And, um, I was really like scared and worried that I couldn’t get back to what I wanted to do. And I couldn’t pursue my running dreams. And I was Really afraid of that. So I think if I would have had like someone who had been through a similar thing or had heard a story about someone who got back to like being an athlete that would have really given me hope and I wouldn’t have been as Scared or I wouldn’t have been as yeah, I would have had more hope I guess 

Dr. Rita Roy: Wouldn’t have felt so alone, but that’s what we are here to do.

And, and so I just thank you so much for finding us and reaching out to us and being part of our community And sharing your story to give other people hope that’s just remarkable. It’s just amazing So tell me so now what what do you what do you where are you in your life? And what are you doing? And are you rock climbing still and running and have you picked up any new?

Sports tell us what you’re doing now 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah, um, so I quit rock climbing. I, I stopped rock climbing that, that day that I fell. I think I, I loved rock climbing, but I, I think I got my fill of it. Um, I’m still running. I love running. Um, I really like competing in Trail 50Ks. And I’m hoping to train for like a sub three marathon this winter.

Um, Gosh. Yeah, I really like mountain races, so I’ve been doing, like, races that, where you run up mountains and, um, It sounds horrible. But I’m, I’m glad you can do it. Um, and I, thank you. Um, I, I’m lucky enough to kind of, I’m working for myself right now. So I’m a graphic designer and I, I do a lot of like artwork.

Um, and that actually really helps my back cause I’m able to. I’m able to draw, like, laying down, um, so I can kind of, like, rest my back throughout the day. Um, I don’t have to sit in a chair. Sitting in a chair is, like, something that hurts my back the most, I’d say, so I’m really lucky, um, I don’t have to work in a chair all day.

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, that’s wonderful. So let’s just talk as we’re wrapping up here. What, what are some of the strategies? So in addition to, um, having good ergonomics at work and, you know, being able to position yourself well, um, the ongoing sort of care and maintenance of your back and strengthening your back. Um, can you tell us a little bit about what, what are the things you do?

I, I suppose some of the physical therapy exercises you’ve learned, but what, what other kinds of things to strengthen your back? Do you do? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Yeah. Um, yes, I do do the physical therapy exercises and, um, those really help because they’re specific, um, to like my injury, I need to kind of like strengthen one, one side of my back more than the other, um, and stretch one of the side of my back more than the other, um, so stretching in a certain ways help me also, um, I think keeping my spine flexible helps me me a lot.

So I roll my back every day pretty much. Um, and it’ll like pop, um, which actually feels really good. And I, I think, yeah, keeping it flexible helps and 

Dr. Rita Roy: flexible, moving, staying 

Kasey Sutherlin: active, um, running. I’m so lucky it doesn’t hurt me. It actually, um, sometimes makes it feel better. Um, so I do run every day. 

Dr. Rita Roy: That is amazing.

That’s wonderful. And I’m here to say, make sure you have a calcium rich diet, Kasey Sutherlin. Yes, 

Kasey Sutherlin: thank you. 

Dr. Rita Roy: Get that calcium in. Get that calcium in. Take care of those bones. Are you, are you following your bone health with, with a DEXA scan? 

Kasey Sutherlin: I’m not. That’s something I would love to do. Um, but I, I do, Try to really eat healthy, um, and try not to like under eat.

Dr. Rita Roy: Yeah, that’s great. Um, well, put that on your to do list down the road to, uh, get, get a measure, get a baseline of where you are with your own health. Um, so you can watch that. All right. Well, I’m going to go into our closing here and, and I guess before I do that, Kasey Sutherlin, was there anything that you didn’t say that you.

Want to say did we did we cover everything or was there anything else? 

Kasey Sutherlin: Um, I think that there is one question about Giving advice to someone who’s struggling with the spinal injury. And I think maybe the the most important things for me were to Really celebrate those small accomplishments because those do mean so much like even just standing or taking like a few steps, um, whatever you can do is huge.

And I think that in moments of despair, it’s really important to look back at like where you came from and Where you were when you had your injury, um, or your accident and, um, to look back and see how far you’ve come from that. 

Dr. Rita Roy: That’s such good insight and just one little step at a time and not give up, right?

That’s just So good. Thank you for sharing that Kasey Sutherlin. Kasey Sutherlin, it was such a delight to meet you and hear your truly miraculous story of incredible perseverance and determination. I know that sharing it with our community here will no doubt help someone else gain the confidence and fortitude needed to work hard and make a difference.

The right decisions for themselves as well. Thank you. Thank you so much for, for sharing with us at the national spine health foundation. Something we believe in most is providing hope for recovery through sharing stories of success and expertise. It isn’t always easy to find someone to relate to, even though a hundred million adults suffer from neck or low back conditions every year to hear more stories of spinal champion recovery and access educational materials about it.

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