Minnesota woman walking again 4 years after being paralyzed: "I wasn't going to let myself down"

CRYSTAL, Minn. — Life can change in an instant — Jen Kelly knows that firsthand.

Kelly started riding horses when she was just 8 years old. As an equestrian with years of experience, she's taken a tumble or two — until a tumble in September 2020.

"It happened quickly and I landed on my face," Kelly said. "I had been instantly paralyzed from the back down."

Kelly broke three vertebrae in her neck and crushed her spinal cord. Facing the fear of never walking again, five words from her doctor kept her going: "You're going to walk again."

"Those were literally and figuratively my marching orders from there on out," Kelly said.

Kelly spent months at North Memorial and then spent rehab at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute.

"Walking is exceptionally complex," Dr. Mandy DeRasmi with Courage Kenny said. "It's a lot of coordination and balance and strength."

At Courage Kenny, Kelly had access to cutting-edge technology and top neurosurgeons. Day after day, Kelly put in the work.

"She always wanted to try new things," DeRasmi said. "She would do research on her own and come to me and be like 'Oh, what do you think about this? What do you think about this? What do you think about this? Should I try this? Should I but this?'"

Throughout it all, it was Kelly's mindset that stood out to doctors.

"You can tell a difference with the patients that have a little bit of gumption to them," DeRasmi said.

Kelly had both gumption and gratitude.

"I really pushed hard and I really expected a lot from myself," Kelly said. "And I wasn't going to let myself down, let alone the others who support me. The new normal is about being grateful for the 'yay moments.' When I first recovering, something as simple as holding a toothbrush was amazing."

Those small yay moments led to big ones.

"To see my horse again, to pet him, to talk to him, and to be in the barn and smell the hay and smell the horses," Kelly said. "Year, that was a real milestone moment for me."

While Kelly is now walking, her recovery will be a life long endeavor and healing process. She said she will continue to focus on her mobility , balance an strength.

"There's really two paths you can take," she said. "You can take I the discouraged depressed place and that really is self pity, or you can look outward and that's about gratitude. So, I chose the gratitude path."

Kelly hopes her story touches just one person, then it's all worth it. Someday, she wants to write a book.