Note: This story is part of the 2008 Seton Family of Hospitals Annual Report. It is always a privilege to include the stories of people who have experienced remarkable recoveries and are moving on with their lives. We are proud to be a part of their journey.

Thursday, November 16, 2006. Life was good. Central Texas resident Rene Don Juan was in his early thirties, owned a general contracting business, was going to be married in two days. The band had been hired, the food ordered, relatives heading into Austin. Driving to work, a vehicle entering Mopac clipped Rene's bumper. He lost control of his truck, spun and flipped. Tools, generators, and Rene himself went tumbling down the highway. He was rushed to the University Medical Center at Brackenridge.

Rene's injuries were catastrophic: A damaged liver, broken ribs, punctured lungs, a fracture at the T-12 vertebrae and a spinal cord injury. In an instant, thoughts of work, dreams of marriage and family were swept away. Rene was in a fight for his life. On that Saturday, the day of his planned wedding, he was still unconscious.

After the Crash

UMC Brackenridge Emergency Department doctors systematically treated Rene's complex panorama of injuries. Charlotte Smith, MD, a physical medicine & rehabilitation physician who is part of the Brain & Spine Center team, recounts Rene's struggle to survive. "Rene was so beaten up, there was so much trauma, that he was beginning to show signs of a catastrophic complication, heterotopic ossification (an irreversible condition that, if not detected and treated aggressively, can cause a patient to form bone in soft tissues, resulting in frozen joints that can cause paralysis even if the spinal cord injury improves)."

Ultimately, the crisis passed, but "the prognosis was so poor," Rene recalls. "I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't sit up."

Dr. Smith adds: "We have the very, very best surgeons. They have such a progressive attitude, and are so secure in the fusion procedure. The net effect was, following surgery we were able to keep Rene out of a jacket' (the equivalent of a body cast) and were able to begin the process of mobilization immediately, giving Rene the best chance for functional improvement."

The clinicians at the Brain & Spine Center began to formulate strategies to help Rene not just physically, but spiritually. While the staff developed a sophisticated rehabilitation schedule, Rene performed a simple act. He began to pray.

"I knew that before I could heal my legs, I had to heal my heart," Rene says. According to Rene the staff at the Brain & Spine Center was "optimistic and inspirational. They make you feel like a person. Not like an injured person, but a person."

In a typical year, the renowned Brain & Spine Center at UMC Brackenridge sees more than 100 new spinal injury cases. Most of the rehabilitation is conducted at the Brain & Spine Recovery Center.

Rene describes his condition after the accident as that of "an infant learning to crawl and go to the bathroom." Old tools were set aside and new ones taken up, shovels and trowels replaced by the Geiger (an upside down bicycle) and the Autoambulator (a robotic device which teaches a patient to walk again).

Still Improving

Today, Rene's pace of recovery continues to impress his therapists. His business has grown from 12 employees to 30. To his knowledge, he is the only area contractor who actively works construction sites in leg braces.

"We're talking about an accident that happened a little over a year ago. Rene's progress has been remarkable. He really is a miracle," Dr. Smith says.

Rene believes that his recovery has been a product of teamwork, his own hard efforts in tandem with the talented staff and leap-ahead technology of the Brain & Spine Center.

"I realize now that Dr. Smith is the best doctor for spinal cord rehabilitation maybe in the country," Rene concludes.

And yes, Rene did get married. Life is good again.

Brain & Spine Center, University Medical Center at Brackenridge

The Brain & Spine Center offers a variety of programs to help patients who suffer from strokes, tumors, aneurysms, head injuries, seizures and lower back problems. The Center offers patients access to high quality care, including two state-of-the-art operating suites, a new imaging center with neuro-interventional radiology capability, a neuro-intensive care unit, a neuro-floor and access to rehabilitation services.

Charlotte Smith, MD

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
605 E 15th
Austin, TX 78701
Phone: (512) 324-7131

Dr. Smith received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. She is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. Smith is the Executive Medical Director of Rehabilitation for the SETON Family of Hospitals and HEALTHSOUTH Rehabilitation Hospital.