Over the last two years, Matt Ross has become one very busy man. When he’s not working at his full-time job, he’s going to either softball or hockey practice, playing golf with friends, and mentoring patients at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals. His goal is to show people what’s possible after a serious injury. It’s something he has had to learn since a host of back problems that started around 2020 culminated in a non-traumatic spinal cord injury in 2023.
“I came to Madonna because I had a herniated disc in my L5, S1 and it got so bad after an accident for work, I had to have surgery,” Matt said. “During surgery, there were some complications where the surgeon basically cut into my spinal cord and I lost feeling from my knees down. Then, I was diagnosed with cauda equina because my disc re-ruptured and I had a hematoma pushing against my spinal cord. I had to have another surgery.”
When he arrived at Madonna’s specialized spinal cord injury program, Matt says he felt a wide range of emotions, from skepticism to denial. There were unknowns in his recovery—whether he would be a full-time wheelchair user or using an assistive device to walk.
“My life was turned upside down,” Matt said. “I didn’t understand what had happened to me. I knew I was hurt and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who to turn to. We didn’t know the answers and it was a very complicated time, very depressing time. I was just unsure about why I was alive.”
Matt describes the next few months as a dark time in his life, but he credits his Madonna care team for supporting him and guiding him through the confusion. He adjusted to life in a wheelchair and kept an open mind as therapy introduced him to new things. He got stronger and more confident, which recreation therapy capitalized on.
“When Matt came in he was, he was very motivated to get back to doing everything that he was doing prior to his injury,” Jessie Franks, MA, ACSM-EP, CTRS, Matt’s recreation therapist, said. “His motivation to maintain his physical activity as well as a social network made him a good fit for introducing him to adaptive sports.”
The pair started slow, first testing out an adaptive bicycle. That opened up a world of possibilities. From there, Matt looked into adaptive softball, adaptive hockey, adaptive CrossFit, and even adaptive scuba diving.
“I have decided to go head first because I’m like, at this point, I’m injured, so what do I have to lose?” Matt said. Life is changed forever, but let’s see what we can do. It took a while at first because you don’t think you know what you’re going to do or how you’re going to do [it,] and you just learn to love it. You learn to love the people that you’re doing this with and realize there are things you can do that you never thought were possible based on your injury.”
Franks says a lot of people may not know all the resources available to them in their community. She introduced Matt to Jena Munson with the United Spinal Cord Association. Munson showed him just how broad the spinal cord injury community is, and how many activities exist for people living with disabilities.
“I think there’s a misconception with adaptive sports that you have to be a daily wheelchair user, where really, depending on the sport that you are interested in, a variety of individuals with disabilities can participate,” Franks said. “I try planting the seed when a patient is here in rehab with what’s available in the community, so they can find what fits them. I think exposing Matt to a variety of options out there really opened his mind to what is available.”
The benefits of recreation therapy and adaptive sports go far beyond just keeping someone active. Franks said it can help people rediscover their sense of self and build a support network.
“Recreation therapy, incorporating patients’ interests, hobbies, and different activities into their therapy can really enhance their quality of life, showing them all that they can do,” Franks said. “Maybe it’s in a different way, maybe it’s using a different piece of equipment, but it enhances everything from your physical wellbeing to your emotional to social, and it really just allows people to see all the possibilities.”
For Matt, adaptive sports took him from wondering why he was alive, to feeling a renewed sense of purpose.
“I can honestly say that it probably saved my life,” Matt said. “I believe that God put us on this earth and each one of us has a journey. We meet people for a reason. We may not know what that reason is, but as we go through life, it’s important for us to be patient and present. I’ve learned that trying to be more present in the moment and enjoying what’s going on around me rather than thinking about the next things we have to do, has been a great Godsend to my life.”
Matt says he believes his life journey is now about giving back and encouraging others. He is a peer volunteer at Madonna and is always willing to share his story with other spinal cord injury survivors. His biggest piece of advice is just put yourself out there and see what happens.
“I can’t say enough about the importance of what it is to get out of your house and to get involved with other people,” Matt said. “Don’t be afraid. There are ways to adapt different equipment to your disability and it’s a great way to get out there and just try it. Nobody’s perfect, but it’s a great way to be able to do something outside your comfort zone.”