How one woman finally found relief after a serious horseback riding accident.
Lucia’s story, written by Christine Baer
Whether it was the stiff leather of the horse’s new tack or symptoms from undetected Lyme disease, Lucia will never know for sure. But something was causing her horse to be extra jumpy that day in February when she went out for a ride on a wooded, snow-covered trail in Bedford.
The first time that the truck backfired from a distant road, Lucia’s horse did something very out of character for the palomino mare. She bucked. “It was a vertical, ‘bucking bronco’ type of buck,” Lucia says. One that would be difficult to manage, even for an experienced rider, but Lucia managed to hang on. The second time, she wasn’t so lucky.
Lucia grew up riding horses, and the trail ride that day was one that she took regularly on her beloved Butterscotch, whom she has owned for twelve years. She rode five days a week, and the bond with her horse was strong. So the pain she felt when she landed on the frozen ground that day ran deeper than the shattered pelvis she suffered. “I was devastated that this creature did this to me.” It simply made no sense.
There was no cell phone reception on the trail, and Lucia knew that she had to find a way to get help. With no possible chance that she could walk with her injuries, she had no choice but to crawl, grateful for the cold snow that gave her some relief from the pain as she made her way to the road.
Eventually, a passerby found Lucia and she was taken to the hospital, where she learned that she had not only shattered her pelvis, but had three broken vertebrae and a torn hamstring, as well. She would spend the next two weeks in the hospital. But that was just the beginning of her recovery.
After coming home from the hospital, Lucia spent six weeks in a hospital bed at home, finding solace in reading, writing, painting and catching up on popular television series. But, with each day, Lucia realized that time was not improving the pain she was experiencing.
Still, her doctor insisted that the pain was normal, and prescribed physical therapy. Just five days into the protocol, Lucia’s pain was excruciating. She decided to seek a second opinion, and turned to a different hospital. There, she was told that her pelvis was not going to heal on its own. She needed surgery to insert eight pins and plates. This was devastating news, as Lucia would now need to spend another eight weeks in bed.
After the surgery, and now seven months post-accident, Lucia was still only getting around with the assistance of a walker, and she was still experiencing pain and weakness. “I was so broken,” she says. “I was at a point where, at age 56, I was accepting that I would never walk normally again. That’s when I found LYMBR.”
Lucia is passionate when she talks about the thing that made all the difference on her long journey to recovery – personalized stretch therapy. When Lucia walked into the newly-opened Darien CT LYMBR studio last June, she didn’t know what it was all about. But, she knew that she was willing to try just about anything to get some relief from the pain.
Certified stretch therapist Michael Eaton admits he was a little nervous to work with Lucia after hearing all that she had been through. Her long list of injuries was overwhelming. But LYMBR trains stretch therapists like Eaton to help people who need relief from sore muscles, over-use, and even injury.
“I could see that she had some discomfort when she first walked in. I remember it took a lot of effort to get on and off the table due to the injuries,” says Eaton.
“My body was so locked up from all the trauma and surgery,” Lucia recalls. “But even after the first session with Michael, it felt like a revelation that I might not have to walk like that anymore.”
LYMBR’s stretch therapists are certified, with over 100 hours of hands-on training, to use progressive dynamic stretching that helps improve flexibility. For Lucia, this was key to getting her life back.
“The first improvement I saw in Lucia was her confidence,” says Eaton. “Lucia came in very guarded and naturally protecting the injuries. After the first few sessions, she was floating in and out of the studio with a new glow to her.”
Due to the extent of her injuries, Eaton approached Lucia’s stretch therapy with great care and caution. He constantly checked in with her to make sure that she didn’t have any pain or discomfort during their sessions, keeping her informed about which muscles he was isolating and stretching. Over time, the two developed a friendship. “We talk about everything in sessions, from the latest trends to what’s going on in our personal lives. When a session is over, I’ll usually tell her what I want to work on for the next time. Lucia always responds, ‘Okay, you’re the boss. I trust you.’”
Three months after her first session with Michael at LYMBR, Lucia says she feels like she can overcome anything. “I can walk down stairs!” she exclaims. She is back to her active self, taking her dogs on long walks without the need for pain medication or a cane. She still goes in for a LYMBR stretch with Michael one to two times every week.
“Working with Lucia has opened my eyes and helped me realize just how powerful this work is…” Eaton says. “It’s bigger than just stretching people. I get to help people who have been living in discomfort for years feel some type of relief.”
Lucia won’t be riding any time soon. But she is still the owner of five horses, one of whom is Butterscotch. After the accident, a vet discovered that the mare was suffering from undiagnosed Lyme disease, which caused the uncharacteristic behavior that day on the trail. The two were reunited after the incident.
“When I discovered how sick she was with Lyme, and saw how overjoyed she was to see me when I finally visited her in my wheelchair, my disappointment in her was replaced by understanding and gratitude that my injury was not worse,” says Lucia.
“While I am very sad that I can’t ride,” she says, “I plan to just be around the horses and take care of them until I can. LYMBR has made me so well that I can do that.”
