Prerna's Recovery Story  

In July of 2021, at the age of 22, Prerna fell off of a 12-foot cliff with a resulting incomplete C6-7 ASIA B spinal cord injury. She had been hiking with her friends, and due to her training as a volunteer EMT, she knew what spinal precautions to take before the ambulance arrived. She was emergently taken to a local trauma hospital in Ohio where spinal decompression and fusion was performed and she was medically stabilized.

When the medical team determined she was ready, Prerna was transferred to Acute Rehabilitation at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) where she stayed for 4 weeks as an inpatient and participated in physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreation therapy and psychology. Her physicians and nurses along with all of her therapists helped her become as independent as possible.

Once she returned home, Prerna found that one of her biggest barriers to independence was that she was unable to pick up most items due to her limited hand function. In 2023, she had hand surgery which transferred some of her tendons to improve her grasp and restore her ability to pinch. This has significantly increased her independence. She is now able to dress and transfer herself independently as well as being able to go to the store and function independently for several hours without any assistance.

Prerna was always interested in pursuing a career in medicine but after she became a patient herself, the desire to pursue a career in medicine became more personal. In the last year, she has been volunteering at SCVMC as a SCI Peer Supporter and visitor escort. She has also volunteered in the Rehabilitation Research Center and on the Rehabilitation Units helping current patients sign up for My Health Online.

This August, Prerna will start Medical School! We wish her the best and thank her for her volunteer contributions at SCVMC.