Success Stories
 Casey Russell enjoyed an active, healthy and productive lifestyle. He liked to run marathons, golf, fish, play with his four adorable rescue dogs, and work a rewarding job as an engineering consultant.
Casey's life changed dramatically when he was involved in a motorcycle accident February 20, 2010. He sustained a severe brain injury with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3. He also suffered a lacerated liver, punctured lung and multiple orthopedic injuries to his spine, ribs, jaw and shoulder which required surgical intervention. After two and a half weeks in the hospital, he was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility for six weeks before returning to the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth for treatment in the Mabee Rehab Center. This is where Casey started the Brain Injury Transitional Services (BITS) program that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facililty (CARF).
The BITS program team of therapists and staff members worked closely with Casey and his family over the next six months. They helped him re-learn cognitive and memory strategies to improve his organization skills and ability to plan and complete daily tasks. He performed strengthening and coordination exercises using the SMART Balance Manager and the Dynavision to help improve his balance and reaction speed. Casey made remarkable progress and eventually was able to resume living a completely independent lifestyle.
Before the accident, Casey had completed 10 marathons, including two internationally. But even with his remarkable progress, Casey was not going to feel as though he had truly recovered until he was able to complete another marathon.
Knowing the tragedy of his accident, he is grateful to be alive, let alone still able to walk. Since the accident, Casey has now completed two marathons. He contributes a great deal of this success, and the ability to continue doing something he loves, to the staff of the Brain Injury Transitional Services program and presented the staff with a photo of himself after competing in his first marathon following the accident. Casey wants to thank the BITS staff for all of their "hard work, dedication and commitment to enable me with a second chance at life!" |
