This is Maital Steiner’s story – in her own words.
“For my 30th birthday, my husband surprised me with the Buckeye (powered parachute). I am afraid of heights. I was both excited and scared, but it was liberating. I thought I was about to overcome my old fears.
The next thing I remember is the frozen expression on the pilot’s face, and then I was on the ground, crying in pain. I knew then that in one second my entire life had changed. One vertebra had been shattered, another was broken, and a third was fractured. After surgery, I was able to move my feet, but I couldn’t feel them. I was left with unanswered questions:
Will I ever be able to walk?
Will I ever be able to stand again?
Will I feel my body?
I was frightened. I was mourning for something I couldn’t quite understand. After four days, the doctors said I was being transferred to a rehab and mentioned Reuth. As a social worker myself, I had heard good things about them and knew the place personally. I knew that’s where I wanted to go. I came here in a wheelchair. Physically, I was totally dependent on others – for getting dressed, taking a shower, standing up. Emotionally, I was shattered – I had to learn everything from the beginning. Every hour in my schedule was filled with a different therapy – Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, art therapy.
Rehabilitation is a full time job!
This place brought me back to life – I was in a wheelchair, everything seemed black, I didn’t know how to become myself again. And they put me back on my feet, both figuratively and literally.
A smile for a person who is at rock bottom is not something to be taken for granted. It gives them to strength to fight.”
