Robin - Philadelphia, PA

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Lying in her hospital bed with a severe neck injury - the result of a serious car accident that left her almost completely immobilized - Robin was determined not to let herself cry because she didn't want to have to ask for help to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Now, not only can Robin dab her own eyes - though the only tears she's likely to cry today are tears of joy - she's also back on her feet and continues to add new things to her "can do" list each day. During Robin's emergency room exam, the orthopedic trauma team discovered the source of her paralysis: a herniated disc in her neck (the cervical spine) that was pressing on her spinal cord. Their solution: a cervical fusion using the Medtronic ATLANTIS® Anterior Cervical Plate.

The result? A determined young woman whose progress so exceeded her surgeon's expectations that when she walked into the exam room for a follow-up visit some three months later, he thought he was seeing the wrong patient!

Robin sustained her neck injury early one morning when, on the way to work, she wasn't able to stop in time on an interstate on-ramp and rear-ended the car in front of her. "I tried to call for help, but when I went to reach for my phone, I realized I couldn't move," she says. "I felt trapped and couldn't do anything to help myself."

Fortunately, a passing cable repairman stopped to offer his assistance and call 911. "I asked him to support my head, because it was at an angle and I needed help to keep it from dropping," Robin explains. Her "Good Samaritan" held her head steady until the ambulance arrived, then called her husband to let him know what happened and which hospital Robin was heading to.

An emergency room examination revealed that Robin's neck was dislocated and she had a severely herniated cervical disc. "The first thing we did was realign her neck to relieve the pressure," says the spine surgeon who treated Robin, Dr. Alex Vaccaro, Professor of Orthopedics and Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson Hospital and the Rothman Institute. "Our surgical solution for the disc herniation was to remove the disc material that was pressing on her spinal cord and then rebuild her neck using bone graft taken from the front of the fusion site and an ATLANTIS® Anterior Cervical Plate."

Dr. Vaccaro's surgical strategy also involved fastening a tension band to the back of Robin's C5 and C6 vertebrae using two lateral mass screws and a rod. He was assisted by neurosurgeon Dr. James Harrop. "All things considered, Robin's surgery went smoothly," Vaccaro says.

After surgery, Robin entered a rehabilitation facility. At first, the road to recovery was rough, she says. While her surgery was successful in that it removed the source of pressure from her spinal cord and stabilized her cervical spine, she still had virtually no mobility in the rest of her body. This lack of mobility is typical in cases like Robin's, where the spinal cord has been severely compressed, Dr. Vaccaro says. Robin's dislocated vertebrae caused a 50% compression of her spinal cord canal. In most cases like these, Dr. Vaccaro says, patients frequently lose virtually all sensory function and movement below the level of injury, and have about a 5% chance of ever regaining normal motor and sensory function again.

"I was far from home and very depressed," she admits. "I thought I wouldn't be able to do much of anything ever again. I couldn't scratch my head; I couldn't take my glasses off or put them on.

"I tried not to cry because I couldn't blow my nose or wipe my own tears; I'd have to get someone to do it for me. It was a very down time."

Then one day, Robin could move her toes. "This is when things really began to get better," she says. "As soon as my legs were able to move a little bit, my therapists started to work with them and get me up walking, which they had said I would never do."

This turn of events thrilled Robin and her family, who'd maintained a near-constant vigil by her side since the accident to encourage her and keep her spirits up. "I was shocked she was able to move her toes so soon," says her husband, Stuart. "Then she just entered a phase where she started to improve very rapidly. Where she is now is just incredible."

"My daughter is very dedicated, very strong and determined," says her mother, Lucy Schroeder. "We've always said she's a fighter. She's proven that, and continues to prove it every day."

Dr. Vaccaro was so surprised when she walked into the exam room for a follow-up visit about 3 months post-surgery that he proclaimed her progress "a miracle". "She walked into the room, and I thought I had the wrong patient," he says. "For some reason, she started to get function back, which is something no one really expected to happen. What happened was a miracle."

Today, Robin says she is "amazed" at how far she's come, and very thankful for the incredible amount of support she has received from her family, Dr. Vaccaro and his staff, members of her church and many others not only in her community but elsewhere in the United States and around the world, who sent her more than 400 cards and countless prayers of support. "I'm doing so much better than before," she says. "So many people have done so much for us and been helpful in so many ways.

"Through this experience, I found that I'm a different person than I thought I was, and I've really been impressed by the ways my accident and injury have impacted the lives of other people. It has brought about a lot of positive results."

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As you read this please keep in mind that all treatment and outcome results are specific to the individual patient. Results may vary. Complications, such as infection, blood loss, or nerve damage are some of the potential adverse risks of spinal surgery. Please consult your physician for a complete list of indications, warnings, precautions, adverse events, clinical results, and other important medical information.