Continuity of Care Helps Woman Regain Strength After Spinal Cord Injury

In 2023, a medical crisis changed the world as Giannina knew it. With no warning signs or symptoms, she woke up one morning in pain and unable to move. When her ailment caused paralysis that would fundamentally change how she lived her life, it wasn’t only her physical health that was impacted, but her mental health.

Thanks to the motivating, consistent care she received at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, Giannina is independent and living life to the fullest once more.

New Beginnings

After her health emergency, Giannina was put into a medically induced coma. The 40-year-old Linden resident spent three months in the hospital, and in the midst of the intense recovery process her well-being went downhill.

“At first, I couldn’t do anything,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to do anything. All I could think about is, ‘Why am I here?’”

When Giannina entered inpatient rehabilitation at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, things began to look up. She was put under the care of Jennifer M. Chui, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician with expertise in spinal cord injury, and began rehabilitative treatment that included a robotic gait training system that provides body-weight support. This process allows patients to accomplish previously impossible tasks like getting up from a chair and walking, providing crucial practice and support.

Dr. Chui’s focus is to enable each patient to live as independently as possible, including those with spinal cord injuries from traumatic accidents and those like Giannina, with medical causes. The exact cause of her paraplegia remains unclear.

Women make up 20 percent of those living with spinal cord injury, and sometimes their distinct needs are not fully addressed. Dr. Chui recently co-authored Rehabilitation Considerations for Women with Spinal Cord Injury to explore this topic. “The goal of this article is to help health care providers recognize and address the specific care points for women,” Dr Chui says.

Hope for the Future

After completing her inpatient rehabilitation, Giannina continued to work with both Dr. Chui and with physical therapist Sharanya Chavva. Today she gets around her home, does her own laundry, cooks, showers independently and lives an active life. She has even begun to take steps with braces and a walker.

She credits both team members for their efforts and continuity of care. “They are my angels,” she says. They have not only provided her treatment but have helped her and her fiancé, Parth, to understand the process, as part of an initiative for sharing family education and training for loved ones who support patients at home. 

“The team is helping her not just medically but also emotionally and psychologically,” Parth says. “She is happier, and her morale is better. Everyone is helping to push her in the right direction and she is working very hard.”

Giannina remains determined, setting goals and working hard to achieve them. She hopes one day to walk again. “I still wake up sometimes and think, ‘I can’t do it.’ But I get myself motivated. I want to stay on the road to recovery.”

Next Steps & Resources

• Meet our source: Jennifer M. Chui, M.D.
• Learn more about JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute.