Jai's Story
Spinal cord injury
An enthusiastic sports fan and basketball lover, the life of Jai Kately Jr. changed in a split second in April of 2022. Jai was at home in Fort Worth, Texas when a bullet ripped through his house, shattering his spinal cord.
The 22-year-old was rushed to the emergency room and straight into surgery. Fortunately, Jai lived but further testing revealed that he had a spinal cord injury (SCI) that left him paralyzed below the waist. He spent two weeks in the intensive care unit and would need a wheelchair for mobility.
When he stabilized, Jai transferred to another hospital for inpatient rehabilitation that wasn’t a great fit for his needs. “I was the youngest person there and they were not specialized in SCI,” said Jai. The weeks and months that followed were daunting as Jai navigated the physical and emotional aftermath of the attack. He struggled during outpatient rehabilitation sessions for about a year.
“I cannot walk. I was not even in my own house for a year after,” said Jai. “It was hard to be motivated to get better.”
In addition, his wounds were not healing properly, and the inability to walk left him unable to take proper care of himself. But he resolved to improve his situation, and his doctor recommended that he go to inpatient rehabilitation at Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation (BSWIR) - Dallas to learn the skills he needed to be independent.
At BSWIR - Dallas, the physician-led rehabilitation team worked with Jai and his family to develop a customized treatment plan. Jai's focus when arriving at BSWIR - Dallas was to "heal my wound, remove a lot of tightness and get back into a daily program and routine that would benefit me."
Given his condition, Jai would need a comprehensive range of rehabilitation services. His care team included physical therapists, occupational therapists and recreational therapists. In addition, psychologists helped him learn copying strategies. The nurses were able to manage his wounds which finally started to heal. His entire care team motivated him to be independent again.
Physical therapy focused on regaining his strength and balance, using the standing frame and working on floor transfers so he could be more independent.
"[The] therapists pushed me to do things that I originally said I couldn't do. [They] trust me," he said.
Occupational therapy focused on enhancing the mobility and strength of his arms. His therapists introduced deep stretches to loosen his muscles and unlocked a newfound appreciation for cooking.
"That was my first time really cooking ever in my life," he mentioned. "Now I know that if I follow a recipe, I can do this."
Recreational therapy brought him back to the sport that he loved – basketball. Not only was he able to get back on the court to dribble and shoot by himself and with therapists, Jai became close with another patient during his stay at BSWIR - Dallas and was able to play one-on-one with him.
Throughout his time at BSWIR - Dallas, the primary skill that helped him to reach the turning point in his recovery was learning different wheelchair abilities.
"Wheelchair wheelies, popping up on curbs and more of the wheelchair skills helped give me confidence in my chair," he mentioned. "I use to never think I could do those things; I would never take my anti-tippers off."
Even seemingly simple tasks, like transferring from the floor to his chair, became empowering milestones. His care team reassured him that he could do all of those by himself. They even instilled confidence in him and informed him to of the ability to drive again with the Adaptive Driving Program.
Reflecting on his experience, Jai shared this advice: "Mentally, you just have to live in the moment. You cannot think about the past or the future, just live in the moment. Try to connect with people and show love – that is how you get love."