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|  Spencer Resident Recovering Well After Car Accident By STEPHANIE SOUTHWORTH New Leader Staff Writer
At both David Prouty High School and Worcester State College, he competed on the cross-country track and basketball teams. He was also earning his way toward a teaching degree and intended to become a high school history teacher. However, one rainy morning put a halt to his future plans. From what his parents, Harry and Sally Hodgerney, local paramedics and police officers have been able to piece together, on Oct. 11, 2002, Hodgerney lost control of his vehicle somewhere on Marshall Street in Leicester while coming home from a friend's house. His car struck a tree on the driver's side, trapping him inside the vehicle. Harry Hodgerney said his son is alive today because he had the best crews from Leicester Rescue Squad and UMass Memorial Medical Center. "A team from UMass met the Leicester Rescue Squad at Tatnuck Square. I'm not sure what would have happened if those two crews weren't there," he said. Hodgerney's father added they received the phone call no parent ever wants to get at about 3:30 a.m. "Someone driving by on the road found him and called police. We're not sure how long he was there before that," he said. Hodgerney was in a coma for three weeks and sustained a severe brain injury and multiple orthopedic injuries, including shattered bones in his left leg and arm. While at the hospital, he underwent surgery to repair the shattered bones. "They put a pin in his leg, and he also had a broken collar bone," Harry Hodgerney remembered. "He had a huge bump behind his ear, where he had sliced the top of it off." When Hodgerney awakened, he suffered memory and speech loss. He could remember nothing about the accident. "He couldn't talk, but I think he could understand what people said to him," his father said. Harry Hodgerney said his son is "coming along" and doing very well in his rehabilitation. "He's a fighter," he said. "He was in good shape before the accident, and I think that helped him." Rehabilitation Hodgerney was supposed to be at Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital in Worcester for two months of therapy but was allowed to go home after a week and a half and commute back and forth every day after learning how to walk with only a cane. Dori Walsh, an occupational therapist at the hospital, worked with Hodgerney on his therapy. Hodgerney did strengthening and stretching exercises for his right arm so he can do such activities as brushing his hair and eating. Hodgerney also had physical therapy for walking and high level balance and worked on his speech and cognitive skills, including memory, following directions, and organizational skills. Walsh said his cognitive skills came back quickly, and he has made excellent gains. His personality also came back quickly. Over time, she added, they were able to get more conversation out of him. Hodgerney moved through his leg pain but it took a bit longer for his mobilization to return. "He got frustrated at times. It wasn't happening as quickly as he thought it would," said Walsh. Overall, she added, Hodgerney is probably 85 percent recovered because he is not back at school or driving yet. "But he did very, very well in therapy," she said. Walsh attributes Hodgerney's success to his motivation, age, and physical shape. "He was in good shape before the accident, and he's young. He also had a very supportive family to help him with his recovery," she said. Currently on a leave of absence from school, Hodgerney hopes to start classes again in the fall. He is also looking forward to returning to his part-time teaching job at a Sterling day care center. Hodgerney does his own regimen of home exercises, including using the exercise bike they have. "He gets discouraged at times because there is some fine-tuning that still needs to be done, and it's not happening as fast as he'd like," said his father. "It's going to take some time." Hodgerney is finished with his therapy but will need to have a driving evaluation to get him back on the road. "He wants to learn to drive again. He's not very far away from it," Harry Hodgerney said. "His parents are a little less anxious for that though." Published February 19, 2003 in The Spencer New Leader | |||||||||
