Posted on November 25, 2015
Marcus’ message of determination: ‘Whatever you want to be, you can be it’
Congrats are in order for Marcus Fairfield and Liz Lauer! This week, the new parents welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their family.
A rollover accident in April left Marcus with a paralyzing spinal cord injury. He graduated this fall from Mary Free Bed after months of intensive inpatient rehabilitation where he focused on maximizing his strength, mobility and independence.
In addition to helping him learn new ways of performing everyday activities, Marcus’ rehabilitation team also helped him to prepare for parenthood. This included finding adaptations for day-to-day tasks, like changing diapers and getting his daughter in and out of her crib.
While in inpatient care, Marcus was able to forge a special bond with his recreational therapist, Kaitlin Salowitz, who helped Marcus to attend a very special ultrasound. (Read more about that connection, here.)
Throughout his rehabilitation, Marcus often spoke of what was possible for him after injury, rather than what wasn’t. That optimism and determination helped Marcus to stay focused on his rehabilitation goals.
“Whatever you want to be, you can be it,” Marcus says. “Whatever you want to do, you can do it. Mary Free Bed has kind of restored the fact that that’s true.”
Watch the video above to learn more about Marcus and his unique journey of courage, dedication and hope. Dive deeper into his story with the videos below. These detail Marcus’ accident, the leading-edge rehabilitation that helped him to regain independence and a special message to his daughter.
Best wishes to this wonderful family – and thank you for choosing Mary.
