Whitefish couple grateful for support following debilitating injury

Charlie Powell places a supportive hand on his wife’s back, guiding her across their living room, right past the very staircase that altered Shelby’s life forever six months prior. She moves gingerly in small, but consistent steps, facing forward with her life partner by her side. This small act of crossing the room is a microcosm of her existence these days — there are physical challenges, yes — but she doesn’t face them alone.

And she never, ever gives up.

When Charlie talks about their new normal, he offers the John Lennon quote: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

And it’s true.

Six months ago, Shelby certainly didn’t plan to tumble down the stairs in her Whitefish home. She didn’t plan on sustaining a spinal injury that at first left her almost entirely paralyzed from her neck down — or a minor brain injury.

But that’s exactly what happened May 24.

Charlie was away on the East Coast for a business trip and Shelby was home alone when she took a fall that changed her world.

“I actually had my phone in my hand and I was trying to dial it, but I couldn’t move,” she recalled about the immediate aftermath of the accident.

Charlie had been trying in vain to reach his wife, and after calls and texts continued to go unanswered, he asked his sister to check on Shelby at their home. She found Shelby lying on the floor and immediately dialed 911.

Shelby was transported from Whitefish to Kalispell Regional Medical Center by ambulance and underwent an emergency spinal fusion surgery on her C3, 4 and 5 vertebrae, which had compressed under the impact of her fall. The procedure helped to relieve the pressure on her spinal cord by straightening her spinal column. Two metal rods and eight bolts continue to help keep her vertebrae in place.

“In a moment’s notice, your life changes,” Charlie said.

And it had.

Directly following the accident, the only thing Shelby could move were her toes.

After a short stay in the ICU, the Powells were medevaced to Craig Hospital in Denver — a rehabilitation center that specializes in the treatment of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. Before they departed, Shelby’s neurosurgeon in Kalispell said it was a “fantastic” sign that Shelby could wiggle her toes. He was optimistic about her recovery.

But when they got to Craig, her prognosis wasn’t quite as rosy — in fact, doctors gave no prognosis at all — only facts.

“They will never say, ‘You’re going to be fine.’ They’ll never give you a false sense of hope,” Charlie said. “They basically will say, ‘Keep working harder.’”

Initial tests were at least moderately promising — Shelby had an incomplete spinal injury, meaning her cord was damaged, but not severed. She also had sensation below her injury and some movement, although not a huge percentage.

Still, it was somewhere from which to start.

“Incomplete injuries are a big gray area because you just don’t know how much recovery you will experience. You get a two-year window, is what they basically give you,” Charlie explained. “Statistically, they say that what you do recover in total will take place in about a two-year window. Plenty of time to go still.”

Shelby spent the next three months rehabilitating at Craig, a place Shelby describes as “an eye-opener.” She was among a group of patients from all walks of life re-learning things as basic as how to balance, how to walk or how to sit up.

It was a battle to keep her spirits up.

“I tried to think of one thing that was working that wasn’t working the day before,” Shelby said.

Through it all, Charlie was by her side. His business allowed him to work remotely so he could support his wife when she needed it most.

At Craig, Shelby’s improvements were significant, Charlie said, but the process was far from a walk in the park — and the work didn’t end when the couple returned to Whitefish.

Every day, Shelby wakes around 8 a.m., takes her medication and begins a series of exercises that includes stretches, core work and leg lifts, in a workout room Charlie set up specifically for her therapy. After lunch, they head to The Wave Aquatic and Fitness Center for an hour or so of strength training or to physical therapy, which she attends twice a week — one day for her hands and another for general upper body work. Back at home, Shelby hooks up to a machine that sends electric currents through her muscles to stimulate her hands. In the evening, she plays with blocks to improve her dexterity and then it’s off to bed. In the morning, the whole routine starts all over again.

She currently has more control over her right side than her left.

Shelby can sit upright independently, brush her teeth and feed herself — all major milestones in regaining her independence.

“I can reach this far up now,” she said, bringing a hand to her mouth. “I can’t do my hair yet.”

But in half a year, she’s come a long way from wiggling her toes. With some assistance, Shelby can even walk up and down the stairs.

“We celebrate every little milestone of accomplishment,” Charlie said.

For Shelby, there is no second chance once the two-year clock is up. So she’s getting after it, with the help of her husband, day after day.

“We’re going to get everything that we can get back … We’re not going to get to the end and say, ‘gosh, we should have tried harder,’” Charlie said.

“You don’t have a choice but to survive. You can curl up and quit. I don’t know what that looks like — I’m not interested in that. I know you’re not interested in that,” he said, looking to his wife.

Shelby tears up when she relives certain parts of her journey. When she talks about what it feels like to “sit and watch life go by.” When she mentions Stumptown Art Studio, where she worked and volunteered for the past 20 years. When she listens as Charlie talks about all the help they’ve received from friends and family that allows them to devote so much time to her recovery.

“We have our first grandson. He’s one-and-a-half and our other daughter is pregnant right now with our first granddaughter, and I just want to be able to scoop them up, carry them, play with them, roll around on the floor,” Shelby said. “That’s my goal.”

She smiles briefly from her arm chair, her face awash in the yellow glow of evening light.

“You’ve got to keep going to get better,” Shelby said.

This isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to them, Charlie adds.

She’s been through hell before.

She’s been through worse.

“We moved here because our little boy died when we were visiting here. He was 2 years old. He died in his sleep and we just thought, well, we’ll move up here because we felt like this was where his spirit was. That was a long road to get through all that,” Shelby said. “Surviving that is why we’re surviving now. I’m just thankful to still be here.”

An integral part of her journey in healing has been the outpouring of support she’s received from the local community. Friends and family have taken care of everything from household minutiae, animal care and bills, so the Powells could put all the time and energy possible into Shelby’s rehabilitation.

“People stopped their world to mow grass and rake leaves and tend to our house …. it’s pretty incredible,” Charlie said. “It’s made it a loss less hard than it could have been.”

Stumptown Art Studio, which Shelby co-directed and taught art classes at, held a fundraiser in her honor in June, which brought in a staggering $15,000 for the couple. Others contributed money to a GoFund me account, which allowed the Powells’ daughters to visit them during Shelby’s stay at Craig Hospital.

“I’m just overwhelmed, really,” Shelby said, holding back tears. “I don’t want to disappoint them.”

“‘Thank you’ doesn’t really cover it but I don’t know what else you say. It’s humbling,” Charlie added. “You can’t fix the past. All you can fix is now and tomorrow. That’s all you can do, is work and try your best.”

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss can be reached at (406) 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.