Today we come to you with an inspiring and uplifting story from Revitalize, one of our sponsors. This story truly highlights the tenacity and resilience of the human spirit, and we hope you enjoy it.
A special thank you to Joci Scott and Dr. Tara Scott for sharing their story with us.
Our physical health is something we take for granted.
We never know when one day everything could change. Joci Scott, from Bath, experienced that last year in a plane crash that paralyzed her. Her visualization and determined mindset brings her to today, where she is at a stage of mobility that some doctors said was impossible.
Joci, daughter of Dr. Tara Scott of Revitalize, has had to re-learn how to do everything, but she is thankful for everything that has come her way.
After many weeks in the hospital post-spinal fusion surgery, she came home in September 2019 and began a brand new journey. While continuing physical therapy, she received her wheelchair in October and began learning how to use it – the fifteen-minute set-up process now only takes her three to five minutes.
Joci eventually performed in her wheelchair in Weathervane Playhouse’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in December and sang + danced on stage – something she’s done all her life and at Ohio State University.
Still as driven as ever, Joci went back to OSU in January to continue her studies until she had to come back home due to COVID-19 and her physical therapy was cancelled. She stayed looking on the bright side, however, and went to the Cleveland Clinic Mellon Center. While there, she was introduced to an exoskeleton and walked approx. 450 steps in that same day (the average on the first time is 100 steps). This exoskeleton is different, Joci says, and she likes that it’s using her whole body to work and get stronger.
Not one to shy away from a challenge or obstacle, Joci is now walking with her exoskeleton three times per week and building strength every day. While at home, she is driving and spending time with her family while finishing up this semester.
Near the end of our talk, Joci commented that, interestingly, she has “had some wonderful opportunities that wouldn’t have happened if this horrible thing hadn’t happened to her.”
She is thankful that she’s been able to impact so many throughout this experience and has discovered her passion for trauma therapy through a wonderful pairing with her own trauma therapist.
Before her accident, Joci said that she didn’t know what her purpose was on earth, and now she feels that she was given this story for a reason. “I’ve been able to reach a lot of people in the community and having the opportunities to share my truth and faith with others is very inspiring,” she added.
There have been obstacles, Joci told us, but she revealed her thoughts towards those obstacles: your brain is the most important part of the body and your mindset is extremely powerful in the face obstacles. “Try to visualize what you want to accomplish,” she said, “because you can accomplish almost anything.”
Her mother, Dr. Tara Scott, added: “doctors affect the mindset of the patient [because] what you tell the patient is extremely important.” She added that each patient and situation is very different and the power of thought in a patient is vital to their healing process.
“It’s okay to ask for help,” Joci ended with, “you don’t have to do it alone.” “Finding a community of others who have had similar experiences has been very important to my healing.” That is the power of community!
