Jerry's story
“My experience at Kessler was so empowering. They gave me the strength and the tools to begin this next chapter in my life.”
Returning to the game
“It wasn’t how we planned to start the New Year,” said Jerry Lanski.
He and his wife Wendy were spending the holidays at a friend’s home. In the middle of the night, he got out of bed and fell — hitting his back on the bed frame. He tried desperately to stand up, but couldn’t move his legs. “I couldn’t feel anything and that’s when the panic set in.”
Doctors at Hackensack University Medical Center performed surgery to stabilize his spine, but as it turned out, the force of his fall caused bone fragments from his spine to tear into his spinal cord, leaving him with a complete T12 spinal cord injury — paralyzed from his waist down.
Despite a series of setbacks, Jerry remained positive. “I knew life would never be the same again... but I also knew that I wasn’t going to give up. I kept telling myself, ‘You’re going to get through this.’”
Jerry focused on what he could do, and soon found that there were few limits. “It was important for Wendy and me to learn as much as we could. We asked countless questions, and my Kessler team provided all the answers. My experience at Kessler was so empowering. They gave me the strength and the tools to begin this next chapter in my life.”
An avid golfer, Jerry was determined to return to the game using adaptive strategies and equipment. “Being on the course gives me a sense of normalcy. And I feel like a champion for having overcome so many obstacles to get where I am today.”