On February 21, 2008 Cori's life changed dramatically. On her way home from ice skating that afternoon, Cori was a passenger in a car that was involved in a catastrophic multi-vehicle accident on the Post Road in Cos Cob. In critical condition but lucky to be alive, Cori was rushed to the Stamford Hospital emergency room where doctors determined she had burst fractures in her spine resulting in a spinal cord injury and she had sustained numerous and complex injuries to her left hand and arm.
After four months and nine surgeries, Cori was released to the care of her mother and two sisters. She has been undergoing intensive rehabilitative therapy but is paralyzed from her waist down and currently only has use of her right hand. At the age of 17, Cori has lost most of her independence and now must rely on her family and friends for her personal care and support.
If you meet Cori, you will be amazed at her incredible outlook and spirit. For someone who has lost so much and who was once such an active young person, she still is as vibrant and engaging as before this serious tragedy.
In the meantime, the financial toll of this serious accident has become overwhelming for Cori's family. Her medical bills are enormous and her family is faced with finding a way to pay for all her care that is not sufficiently covered by insurance. Cori's family is struggling to pay for transportation, nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy services, medical supplies, handicap equipment, home modifications, and rehabilitation programs such as Project Walk, an intensive physical therapy organization devoted to improving the lives of people with spinal cord injuries. To help offset such expenses, Cori's family and friends have come together to help her by establishing a campaign in her honor through the Catastrophic Injury Program of NTAF.
