This testimonial reflects the experience and outcome of this patient. Actual results will vary.

“RIM has allowed me to be a great mom.” - Karyha

Karyha would hang out at the park with friends every day. May 1, 2024, was no exception. Karyha was 18 years old and pregnant. 

“I was having fun with my friends when a fight broke out with some other teens. One of them started shooting and a bullet hit me, my friend and two younger kids,” says Karyha.

Karyha was shot in the back, the bullet exited just below her breast. She had no feeling from the waist down but was able to call her mom. Her mom and brother beat the ambulance to the park and took Karyha to the hospital.

She had immediate surgery. Karyha’s baby miraculously was fine, but doctors told Karyha she would likely never walk again. After a month in the hospital, she started to regain some sensation and movement in her legs. Doctors then sent her to a hospital that could accommodate the birth of her baby and rehab. On June 24, she had a 3-pound baby girl, Aryha. 

“I stayed at this hospital for a month.  We worked on moving and strengthening my core. They recommended I continue with outpatient therapy at DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM), where I made so much progress,” adds Karyha.

Three times a week, Karyha did occupational and physical therapy. Therapists worked on strengthening her core and upper body. Shortly after, she was able to stand with assistance, then moved quickly to assisted walking.

“We did things I would never have thought…like playing Wii Sports. I did Wii bowling to help my balance. Whatever my baby weighed, I would work out with those size weights and do motions of lifting and cradling,” says Karyha.

Karyha says RIM has allowed her to be a great mom. She is beyond grateful for her therapists, her daughter and her family. Walking with just a brace, she’s looking forward to continued therapy at RIM.