On August 30, 2018, Cathy Rothwell had a tragic cycling accident that resulted in a broken neck and spinal cord injury which left her paralyzed from the neck down. She was in hospital ICU for 1 week and then moved to Sharp Rehabilitation Center. There she spent 7 weeks as an inpatient, receiving intensive physical, occupational, and speech therapy for 3-4 hours/day, 6 days/wk. Cathy worked very hard during her time in Rehab and has recovered some movement of her limbs, both arms and legs and some limited use of her hands. However, she is still in a wheelchair and needs a lot of help and support. Cathy is determined that she will be able to cycle again and is working hard on her recovery. 
Cathy has been an avid cyclist for decades. Cycling was one of Cathy’s primary activities and was a source of significant joy in her life. In the past few years she had been riding 5 days a week with different cycling groups. In 2016 and 2017, she was a fundraiser for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) and rode in the CAF Million Dollar Challenge ride from San Francisco to San Diego. And now, Cathy needs our help! 

Cathy was released from Sharp Rehab and went home on October 25. Her transition home is a milestone and starts the next chapter in her journey to recovery. It demonstrates the large amount of progress that she made during her 7 weeks in Rehab, but it has also exposed a large number of needs and gaps to support her living at home. She needs a lot of assistance at home, 24 hours a day. Cathy has no immediate family members, however friends have been visiting, helping with meals, cooking, and other tasks. This has been very helpful and has provided a much needed break for her primary caregiver, best friend and roommate BB. Please keep this support coming, it is much appreciated. 

As a result of her injuries, Cathy has many needs; none of which are fully covered by insurance.

• A fully electric hospital bed 
• A powered wheelchair and customizations for fit and comfort 
• Required medications 
• Required single-use disposable medical supplies
• Required durable, reusable medical supplies
• Home Health Care – Assistance required 7/24, including full night time coverage 
• Wheelchair accessible ramp to provide access to her home. A big THANK YOU to Shawn Wall, Kim House, Heather & Mark Woodruff for their time and labor to build a ramp for Cathy and to the Cyclovets Cycling Club for funding the materials.
• Frequent Doctors visits: Physical & Rehabilitation, Orthopedic, Primary Care and other medical specialists
• Outpatient Occupational and Physical Therapy - 3 visits per week
• Wheelchair accessible vehicle - to enable her to go to doctor visits and therapy sessions
• Home modifications for wheelchair access; hallways, doors, bathroom and shower 
• Other Home modifications to enable/support increasing independence
• Assistive devices to aid her independence in everyday activities
• Rehabilitation exercise equipment
• Dental work – the accident broke veneers on her front teeth that need repair

All funds received will help Cathy with the expenses related to the adaptations required to live with her disabilities and to support her continued work towards recovery with specialized therapists. Any support you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for all for your love and support!

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