On January 11, 2011, Michelle Konkoly, a member of the Georgetown University swim team, was trying to open a window in her dorm room. When it opened, it shifted and she fell five stories. She was rushed to the George Washington University Hospital. She had broken ribs, fractured vertebrae, a punctured lung and a severely injured foot. She was paralyzed from the waist down.
Hard Work Reaps Rewards
After stabilizing Michelle, Spinal Surgeon Warren Yu, MD, operated within 24 hours to fuse the vertebrae. She moved back home to Pennsylvania for the next part of her journey - rehabilitation. “I was paralyzed for two months after my accident. But I was working really hard because I was determined to get back on my feet,” she says. Once her outpatient rehab was completed, she spent another eight weeks working on her gait pattern while wearing a supportive harness. By July 2011, Michelle was walking unassisted.
Michelle went back to Georgetown in August 2011, to continue competing at the Division 1 level. She took a break during her sophomore year to regain her strength, but became an active and competing member of the varsity swim team her junior and senior years. In the meantime, her mother told her about the Paralympics, and she went through the classification process and started training for the London 2012 trials. She missed making the 2012 team, but her times were improving, so she set her sights on the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
At the trials in July 2016, her swim times were faster than before her accident. “I had to train extra hard to compensate for the limited function in my legs,” says Michelle. “So when my times came back so fast, I knew my hard work had paid off!” During the Paralympic Games in September 2016, Michelle won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze, and set one World Record, two PanAmerican Records, two Paralympic Games Records, and four American Records.
GW Hospital Has Contributed to My Own Success
Michelle insists she is not a one-woman show. “I am very fortunate to have had the best surgeons at GW Hospital put me back together,” she says. “They fixed what was broken, and that allowed me to start my rehabilitation back home.” She is also grateful for all the physical and occupational therapists who were part of her journey. “Knowing they were behind me made it so much easier to focus on my recovery. Their support, and that of family, friends and trainers has meant the world to me!”
Life after the Paralympics is busier than ever for Michelle. She will be starting medical school in September 2017, and wants to focus on working with disabled children, helping them live a full life like she has. “I have spoken with children with disabilities whose doctors have told them they can’t do certain things. That tells them they are limited,” she says. “I want them to know that they have no limits and say to them, ‘Let’s figure out HOW to do this!’”
Learn more about The Center for Trauma and Critical Care and watch Dr. Sarani discuss trauma surgery.