Carter Holt loves dirt track racing. Between the speed and the atmosphere, the adrenaline had Carter hooked.
But during a late September race in Odessa, Missouri, Carter’s life changed forever.
“I was in second and I spun out,” Carter recalls. “I had somebody jump the right rear of a tire and land front end into my helmet, and just knocked me unconscious for (five) days.”
The track crew and medical personnel extracted Carter from his sprint car and transported him to Research Medical Center in Kansas City. Following several scans and tests, doctors determined the 20-year-old from Olathe, Kansas, had sustained an anoxic brain injury.
“They didn’t know how much brain function he’ll ever have,” Jeff Holt, Carter’s dad, said. “They didn’t think his quality of life [would be] good and told us to think about pulling the plug at that point. We decided we’re going to do everything we can to give him the best chance to make it.”
Weeks later, he arrived at Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospitals on a ventilator, trach and feeding tube. He spent two and a half weeks getting strong enough to wean from and remove the devices.
Then he transitioned to the Rehabilitation Hospitals’ specialized brain injury program, needing assistance with his core strength, balance and coordination.
Carter engaged in a specialized program combining physical, occupational and speech therapy and his care team recognized the value of high-intensity gait training for both his arms and his legs.
“Because he had a hard time knowing where his body was in space, he needed quite a bit of help to maintain good balance during any dynamic standing and walking tasks,” Emily Adams, OTD, OTR/L, CBIS, a Madonna occupational therapist said. “We would have him wear ankle and wrist weights or a vest while carrying laundry, organizing a kitchen to put items away, making a bed, getting dressed and pushing a grocery cart, which not only targeted his balance but overall endurance and higher level thinking skills. We saw a great response from him.”
Using specialized technology like the bodyweight support treadmill training system, the Moveo leg press machine and the Proprio 4000, Carter also saw improved success with his mobility.
“His gait really improved,” Nicole Ford, PT, DPT, CBIS, a Madonna physical therapist, said. “He used to scissor his feet. He would sway his trunk. He really needed a lot of support. When he walked out of here, he was a standby assist. I didn’t need to help him when he would catch his toe. I didn’t need to provide him cues to keep his feet apart for a wider base of support.”
Once he realized what was possible, he took off.
“I got walking and it’s been all gas, no brakes ever since,” Carter said.
The final piece of the puzzle was addressing Carter’s vision. Working with Madonna’s neuro-optometrist, Dr. Samantha Bohl, they utilized a prism lens to help.
“We worked daily on visual skills targeting binocularity and specifically convergence/divergence of the eyes while he wore prism lens on his glasses to decrease his instances of double vision,” Adams said. “He went from seeing double of everything to being able to react and respond to his environment well.”
Carter’s recovery journey has caused him to slow down a little bit and definitely re-evaluate his place on the track.
“It gives me patience and hope for what’s next and how I look at things and how much more I value what I have,” Carter said. “I think this is the line now, I draw. I’m better off watching than racing.”