Tiler Ross was cruising along one of his normal motorcycle routes when an unexpected encounter with two deer changed everything.
The March 28 crash left the 20-year-old from Odessa, Missouri, with a fractured neck and a severed spinal cord, resulting in paralysis below the belly button. Tiler suddenly found himself facing a new reality.
“I was very independent before my accident,” Tiler said. “I just look at life a little different now.”
Tiler spent two weeks at Centerpoint Medical Center, where surgeons inserted rods to stabilize his spine. Then, he came to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals to begin the next phase of his journey: regaining independence through Madonna’s specialized spinal cord injury program.
“We had to work on coping with his spinal cord injury,” Samantha Sellers, OTR/L, a Madonna occupational therapist, said. “Practicing things like dressing, showering, and activities of daily living were a challenge, but Tiler did all the work; I just taught him different ways to do the same things.”
As Tiler mastered the basics of self-care from a wheelchair level, his physician-led care team began helping him reconnect with the activities he loved. One breakthrough moment came when he used Madonna’s Action Trackstander, an all-terrain mobility device that allowed him to stand and move outdoors.
“It made me feel like I was walking again when I got to stand and move,” Tiler said. “It was a pretty good moment for me. I’ll be able to outside with my dog and enjoy life a little bit better.”
Another milestone came through Madonna’s driver’s re-education program, where Tiler learned to operate a vehicle using hand controls.
“Driving was a big part of my life before this accident,” Tiler said. “Driving to work, driving to everything, driving for peace, so that was pretty important to me.” After a month at Madonna, Tiler returned home with newfound confidence and the skills to care for himself. He’s now exploring work opportunities and looking ahead to a future that, he hopes, includes getting back on a motorcycle—on his own terms.