To Help
Nicole Crook and her family are seeking donations so Crook can attend "Project Walk" therapy. The "Nicole Crook's Benefit" account is accepting donations at the Wisconsin Community Bank, 1717 10th St., Monroe.
MONROE - The smell of gas is all she can remember. The smell of gas and numbness in her legs.
She was having a fun night out with a friend, drinking at one location and then driving to the next destination, driving on the back roads. But on the way, her friend failed to negotiate a curve and went off the road. The car went down an embankment and struck a culvert, landing on the passenger side.
It happened quickly.
"I knew I screamed," recalled Nicole Crook.
Her friend had to drag Crook from the vehicle, because she was unable to do it herself; her legs were too numb.
"I told her to hit me, to punch me, and nothing came back."
Crook lost more than the feeling in her legs in that car accident on Sept. 10, 2010.
A nursing student at Blackhawk Technical College, Crook's life with her boyfriend and her energetic 4-year-old daughter, Payton, brought her joy.
Everything has changed since the accident.
"I pretty much had everything taken away from me," she said.
She said her boyfriend left her, and now she has to rely on friends and family to take care of her. She cannot take care of her daughter like she wants to.
"I can't do anything with her," Crook said. "I can't watch my own kid."
Payton stays with her grandma during the day, and visits her mom on a daily basis.
After the accident, Crook spent three months in the hospital. Certain areas of her body still do not work properly, a result of vertebra being crushed and damaged. Crook's fingers do not work properly, and are now shaped like those with severe arthritis. Her respiratory system does not work properly, and she had been hospitalized twice with pneumonia.
These days, it has been hard not to have all her family around her. Crook's mom lives in Oregon, and dad lives in Holland, Mich. They keep in touch through text messaging.
Currently, Crook lives with her cousin in Monroe. She does not know how long she plans to stay there, with a possible move to another cousin's place in the near future.
Three days a week, Crook spends time in rehabilitation at Monroe Clinic. It takes a few hours for Crooks to get ready for the trip to rehab. Friday's trip started with a wake-up call around 9 a.m., with rehab starting at 11:30 a.m.
Some of her time is spent laying in a recliner chair, covered in blankets when she is not with her daughter.
"There isn't much I appreciate after this," Crook said. "Life is pretty much hell."
Yet there is hope. To take her rehabilitation to the next level, Crook plans to attend "Project Walk," a spinal cord injury recovery facility, in a few weeks.
The closest facility is in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
The facility, according to the its website, offers in-house programming, which allows those who drive long distances to work hard for however long it takes.
Programming is for one-week periods, depending on the level of injury, budget and scheduling. The facility recommends that out-of-state clients initially spend two to three weeks.
Programming starts at $105 per hour and is not covered by insurance.
Crook hopes to spend about three hours a day in therapy during her first week. Her family and friends are hoping to raise money to help Crook attend the program.
Crook said she is hoping to spend the full three weeks in rehab in the facility, while staying in a hotel.
"I'm hoping to get a lot back," Crook said. "I just want to walk again. It may not be the same, but it can be better than this."
She was having a fun night out with a friend, drinking at one location and then driving to the next destination, driving on the back roads. But on the way, her friend failed to negotiate a curve and went off the road. The car went down an embankment and struck a culvert, landing on the passenger side.
It happened quickly.
"I knew I screamed," recalled Nicole Crook.
Her friend had to drag Crook from the vehicle, because she was unable to do it herself; her legs were too numb.
"I told her to hit me, to punch me, and nothing came back."
Crook lost more than the feeling in her legs in that car accident on Sept. 10, 2010.
A nursing student at Blackhawk Technical College, Crook's life with her boyfriend and her energetic 4-year-old daughter, Payton, brought her joy.
Everything has changed since the accident.
"I pretty much had everything taken away from me," she said.
She said her boyfriend left her, and now she has to rely on friends and family to take care of her. She cannot take care of her daughter like she wants to.
"I can't do anything with her," Crook said. "I can't watch my own kid."
Payton stays with her grandma during the day, and visits her mom on a daily basis.
After the accident, Crook spent three months in the hospital. Certain areas of her body still do not work properly, a result of vertebra being crushed and damaged. Crook's fingers do not work properly, and are now shaped like those with severe arthritis. Her respiratory system does not work properly, and she had been hospitalized twice with pneumonia.
These days, it has been hard not to have all her family around her. Crook's mom lives in Oregon, and dad lives in Holland, Mich. They keep in touch through text messaging.
Currently, Crook lives with her cousin in Monroe. She does not know how long she plans to stay there, with a possible move to another cousin's place in the near future.
Three days a week, Crook spends time in rehabilitation at Monroe Clinic. It takes a few hours for Crooks to get ready for the trip to rehab. Friday's trip started with a wake-up call around 9 a.m., with rehab starting at 11:30 a.m.
Some of her time is spent laying in a recliner chair, covered in blankets when she is not with her daughter.
"There isn't much I appreciate after this," Crook said. "Life is pretty much hell."
Yet there is hope. To take her rehabilitation to the next level, Crook plans to attend "Project Walk," a spinal cord injury recovery facility, in a few weeks.
The closest facility is in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
The facility, according to the its website, offers in-house programming, which allows those who drive long distances to work hard for however long it takes.
Programming is for one-week periods, depending on the level of injury, budget and scheduling. The facility recommends that out-of-state clients initially spend two to three weeks.
Programming starts at $105 per hour and is not covered by insurance.
Crook hopes to spend about three hours a day in therapy during her first week. Her family and friends are hoping to raise money to help Crook attend the program.
Crook said she is hoping to spend the full three weeks in rehab in the facility, while staying in a hotel.
"I'm hoping to get a lot back," Crook said. "I just want to walk again. It may not be the same, but it can be better than this."