Omaha Man Builds His Next Chapter After Work-Related Spinal Cord Injury

For Davon Bruns, the day started like any other rainy workday.

The 33-year-old Omaha native was working in underground utilities, helping put in power for new residential neighborhoods and commercial properties. When rain changed the day’s plans, his crew headed to a job site to do some cleanup.

But this wasn’t supposed to be a day that would change the course of his life.

Davon fell from the back of a truck and went underneath a trailer. He heard a pop in his back and immediately knew something was wrong. He tried to get up. He couldn’t.

“I knew something was off,” he said. “I tried to move my legs and my legs weren’t moving.”

Davon was taken to CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center – Bergan Mercy, where doctors determined that his L2 vertebrae had been shifted out of place, affecting the nerves below his spinal cord. He underwent a six-and-a-half-hour spinal fusion surgery and spent 10 days in the hospital.

Then, he came to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ specialized spinal cord injury program for injured workers.

“I knew Madonna was the spot,” Davon said. “With the whole rehabilitation process, it’s just been amazing. I couldn’t ask for better.”

Davon arrived at Madonna facing a long road ahead.  

“I was not able to get out of bed,” he said. “I was crying to get out of bed.”

His physician-led interdisciplinary team began with the fundamentals—helping Davon learn how to move, transfer to a wheelchair and navigate a new way of getting around.

“He took to the wheelchair pretty quickly on how to maneuver it,” Janelle Hanson, PT, MSPT, a Madonna physical therapist, said. “But, he hadn’t really done it before and so, everything was new.”

Davon sustained a low spinal cord injury known as a cauda equina injury. Initially, he had only limited muscle activation in his right hip and knee, with no activation below that or in his left leg.

“As he progressed, though, we got a little bit more in both legs, but not below the knee,” Hanson said.

That made some of the movements needed for walking particularly difficult.

“Extension is innervated lower than the front of the leg so, extending that leg back behind with the hips wasn’t working well either,” Hanson said.

For Davon, the uncertainty surrounding his recovery could have been discouraging. But he had a different mindset.

‘It doesn’t matter what you’re going to tell me,” he said. “I know what I’m going to do, and I know that I’m going to walk again.”

At Madonna, Davon had the opportunity to work with specialized technology designed to help him practice movement, strengthen his legs and experience what walking could feel like again.

He remembers seeing the Lokomat robotic gait trainer for the first time.

“The Lokomat was very inspiring,” he said. “Seeing somebody on that for the first time was truly inspiring because you could put me in that and you can assist me on walking. Then I can learn how to walk again.”

Davon also worked with the Aretech ZeroG body-weight support system and the EksoGT, a robotic exoskeleton.

He also spent time in Madonna’s warm-water therapy pool, where aquatic therapy gave him another opportunity to work on mobility and movement with the support of the water.

Each offered a different type of support, giving Davon opportunities to practice movement and challenge his body in ways that would have been difficult without assistance.

“The Zero-G was awesome. The Lokomat was awesome,” Davon said. “But that exoskeleton, wow, that was hard work.”

For Hanson, Davon’s determination was just as important as the technology.

“He would just keep going, step after step after step,” she said. “Some days you could tell just by the look on his face, this isn’t working well. But then the next day he’s right back at it.”

Davon began to see the possibilities, too.

“It just gave me confidence in the fact that this can be done again,” he said.

As Davon progressed, his team also worked with Hanger Clinic to explore additional ankle-foot orthosis options that could help address his difficulty with leg extension and support him as he worked toward walking.

“He just would always progress forward,” Hanson said.

Walking was an important goal for Davon, but it wasn’t the only goal.

His team also knew that a wheelchair would likely remain an important part of his mobility.

“He knows that for longer distances the wheelchair is the way to go,” Hanson said.

Therapy focused on helping Davon navigate the everyday situations he would encounter outside the hospital.

“They’ve taught me how to be independent in the wheelchair,” Davon said.

That included getting in and out of vehicles and managing his wheelchair on his own.

“I went out to a car similar to mine, got in it, broke down my wheelchair, put it in the vehicle, took it back out, put it back together,” he said.

He even learned how to transfer into a larger vehicle.

“I showed somebody else how to transfer into a Suburban that’s high up there,” Davon said. “And I did that with ease.”

The team also explored wheelchair attachments to help Davon consider how a wheelchair could fit into his life beyond rehabilitation.

“We also tried a couple of manual wheelchair attachments so that he could see some options,” Hanson said. “He’s got children, so things like sporting events or if he’s going to the zoo, where he could go longer distances and on multiple terrains.” (this feels repetitive with the quote above)

Davon’s rehabilitation was about more than equipment, exercises and milestones. It was also about the people he encountered along the way.

“I couldn’t do this by myself,” he said. “If I was to go to hospital and get sent home from there, I would be lost.”

Hanson saw Davon’s determination firsthand. But she also saw something else: a person who made the people around him better.

“Davon was a real joy,” Hanson said. “When you first meet him, you think he’s a tough guy, but he is the most genuine, kind person and just sweet as can be.”

And there was one ritual that became part of every therapy session.

“Never left a session without a hug,” she said. “Even if we’re done and I’m getting ready to move on to the next person. It’s like, okay, let’s do our hug.”

His kindness extended beyond his own recovery.

“He would encourage other patients and encourage us if we’re having a rough day,” Hanson said. “And even if he’s having a rough day, he’s still going to encourage others and he’s just an inspiration.”

That connection with his team became an important part of Davon’s experience at Madonna.

“I’m very proud of my team for getting me to where I was,” he said. “Because when I came in here, I thought I was a broken man. I really did. But I came to Madonna and I conquered and I pushed myself and I had my team right beside me.”

Davon knows his recovery isn’t finished.

He plans to continue working toward his goals, including returning to work. But he’s also thinking beyond his own recovery.

Someday, Davon hopes to return to Madonna—not as a patient, but as a peer support for someone else beginning their own rehabilitation journey.

“I’ll be back here to help other people out,” he said. “Because they need somebody to come in and tell them, hey, your life’s not over. This ain’t the end of the road.”

It’s a message Davon has come to understand for himself.

“This is just a new chapter and a new beginning for a new life for you, regardless of any situation,” he said. “Your life’s not over after this.”

His life may look different than he once imagined. But Davon isn’t focused on returning to exactly who he was before his injury.

He’s focused on what comes next.

“I’m proud of myself,” he said. “It’s me versus me on a daily basis.”

And whatever comes next, Davon isn’t backing down.

“My next phase is going to be my best phase.”