ATLANTA — This year is a huge milestone for a Georgia original. A special place that’s changing lives.
For 50 years now, the Shepherd Center has been helping people with spinal cord and brain injuries with innovation and encouragement.
One of those people is 17-year-old Jake Kennedy.
“So, I was injured with a spinal cord injury on Dec. 27, 2022,” Kennedy said.
While on a trip to Europe, Kennedy was electrocuted, which led to the amputation of his arm. His spine was severed in the fall.
After surgeries and hospital stays, he’s getting specialized rehab in Atlanta at the Shepherd Center.
Kennedy is now working on his movement through an implanted myo-electric arm.
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“It’s connected through an implant into my shoulder that’s hooked up to my nerves. So, the nerves that would normally control my arm, whenever I want to get this arm to move, I just have my nerves activate. And just like that, the arm moves,” Kennedy said.
He’s learning how to control the high-tech arm and hand and is making great progress.
The kind of progress that the Shepherd Center has been celebrating for 50 years.
After opening in 1975 with six beds, co-founder Alana Shepherd said they are now known around the world.
“The word spread we were doing a good job, and now we’re the largest there is. And we’re so proud to have made 50 years,” Shepherd said.
They treat patients with spinal cord and brain injuries or trauma using encouragement and innovation.
In their newest building on Peachtree Street, assistive technology experts help patients fine tune their independence.
We found other patients who now use an Alexa to open the front door. One patient says it can unlock the door for them when friends come to visit.
Another patient uses a Bluetooth wearable mouse that has a gyroscope built into it so he can scroll through TikTok, play Pokémon Go, or text friends.
The Shepherd Center has even come up with video game solutions for Kennedy. The X-box controller he uses, was created with a 3-D printer.
“So now whenever I’m playing Call of Duty and we win a match, I can be like, you guys just lost to a guy with one arm,” Kennedy said.
He is now in his senior year of high school and looking at colleges with hope.
“I felt relatively hopeless when I got here. I felt like, you know, my life was never going to be what I wanted it to be, and it’s because of that same staff, the therapists, and the nurses, and everyone, that I earned that hope back and rebuilt it,” Kennedy said. “You will realize that your life can be incredible, just as incredible as it was.”
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