United Spinal is her Spinal Cord Injury Life Advice Center

Sawyer Stearns, 26, had meningitis at 13 days old and surgeries to manage swelling and related issues throughout her life. When she went in for a spinal fusion at Seattle Children’s Hospital in 2017, she expected a tough recovery like her other surgeries. But unfortunately, it was more than she anticipated.

“I went in walking,” she says. “And I came out unable to walk because of the severity of the scar tissue.” The college freshman suddenly had a C3 incomplete spinal cord injury. She spent another month at the hospital, interacting with child life specialists and preparing to move back home.

Sawyer’s experience working with those child life specialists inspired another big life change: She wanted to ditch her elementary education studies and become a specialist herself. “They were the first people to tell me what was happening to my body and more,” she says. “I wasn’t a kid, I was 19. But still, their kid-friendly demeanor was different than a doctor coming in and just saying these outlandish terms.”

She disenrolled from Washington State University Tri-Cities, then moved back in with her parents and attended community college as she adjusted to her spinal cord injury. Her parents did most of her care until she could get benefits and hire her own caregivers.

Going home wasn’t easy. She dealt with a mix of sadness, anger, and even some guilt since her mom was doing attendant care while dealing with her own health issues. Six months later, Sawyer transferred to Central Washington University in Ellensburg. There, she pursued her bachelor’s and master’s degrees with her new career goal.

United Spinal’s Website is Resource-Rich

Although Sawyer had friends, she only talked about surface stuff, avoiding anything too deep. She sought out therapy to help bring more balance.

“I went through a lot to find the one, which took some time. I’m grateful that I can finally talk more about this and share my story because before, I was filled with anger and guilt and grief, and that depression was taking over,” she says. “I still have that now – that constant thing – but knowing how to cope now that I have those skills makes it much easier, which is nice.”

Sawyer finished grad school and moved to Seattle to pursue work. Her Ellensburg caseworker transferred her case to Seattle, making applying for benefits in a new county much easier. However, finding housing and caregivers was concerning.

Fortunately, Sawyer found United Spinal’s website and its collections of videos and articles on managing caregivers. “I thought, ‘Wow, there are so many things and working groups and peer support and – my gosh, there are different resources for catheter use and things like that.’”

She had found her spinal cord injury life advice center.

Realizing her dream

Just over six years after being treated for a spinal cord injury at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Sawyer started working in the hospital ortho clinic as a patient support coordinator. After an upcoming four-month internship, she’ll have reached her dream of becoming a child life specialist and providing the same kind of support that helped her so much in 2017.

With her existing setup and support, Sawyer is excited about her future and plans to do everything possible to stay in Seattle.

She also plans to use United Spinal resources more. “Just the openness of United Spinal and everyone involved in it was nice,” she says. “I was on a Zoom call about caregivers. And then, I was part of the accessibility forum. I’m just trying to put myself out there and be a part and voice in our community.”