Positive attitude keeps accident victim focused
July 17 benefit slated to help with medical bills for Courtney Eicholtz
BY JAY BODAS
Staff Writer

Courtney Eicholtz

WOODBRIDGE - At 19, Colonia resident Courtney Eicholtz will soon be learning how to drive for the second time around.

This time, however, driving represents a unique challenge because Eicholtz is paralyzed from the waist down.

"After I finish my outpatient therapy, I will work on my driving," said Eicholtz, a 2004 Colonia High School graduate. "You have to drive with hand control, because I can't use my feet."

Courtney was paralyzed in a March 26 car accident, while out with friends.

Despite the challenges that loom ahead, however, Eicholtz has maintained a doggedly positive attitude.

"People tell me I am abnormal because I am always in a good mood and in good spirits," she said. "There at [Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation] in West Orange, you do see some people who are depressed and don't get anywhere with themselves. But I'm always in a good mood and don't let things bother me."

It was her grandmother who first told her about her paralysis, while she was hospitalized at University Hospital in Newark for a week after the accident.

Her positive mindset was evident right from the beginning.

"I pretty much knew because I wasn't able to feel my legs," Eicholtz said. "But I asked my grandmother, and she told me. I hated the hospital, but as soon as I got to rehab at Kessler, everything was better. I didn't have to lay in a bed, I could actually get out. Rehab was nice."

Courtney was sitting in the front passenger seat, while a friend was driving on the day of the accident. A third friend was sitting in the back seat.

"While we driving on Route 1/9 south in Elizabeth, a car cut off the girl who was driving, and when she tried to avoid it, our car went over the divider into the opposite lane," Eicholtz said. "It was late so there was no oncoming traffic, but in the process our car flipped over, and I was ejected through the sunroof."

None of the three were wearing their seat belts.

"The only thing I remember is the car flipping, and that's it," Eicholtz said. "I remember being on the ground, in pain ... and then waking up in the hospital."

While her two friends suffered wounds that will ultimately heal, Eicholtz's injuries included a broken jaw, a fractured neck and a head laceration.

But the most serious injury was to her spinal chord, which was severed permanently at level T10, her midsection.

For seven weeks following the accident, her jaw was wired shut. She ate through a straw during that time.

But it didn't hurt her appetite.

"I wish I had a problem eating," Eicholtz said, smiling.

She underwent intense physical therapy for two months at Kessler, relearning how to stand and even walk, with the help of braces.

Eicholtz was able to return home to her family, parents Jimmy and Barbara, and brother Kyle, exactly three months after the accident at the end of May.

She recently completed therapy sessions at home for a half-hour a day, three days a week, and wears a body brace over her midsection to stabilize her back.

Her future therapy will involve stabilizing and strengthening her trunk and will include advanced wheelchair skills. She will also learn to drive again.

"I will learn how to pick myself up if I were to fall from a chair," she said. "And now driving a car would be similar to driving a Jet Ski or using cruise control."

So far, the family's car insurance has covered most of the costs, but the future is uncertain, said Barbara Eicholtz.

"New Jersey Manufacturer's Insurance, our carrier, has been good, more than good," Barbara Eicholtz said. "But she is only covered for so much. Her final spinal surgery was $100,000, and her jaw surgery was $18,000, and there will continue to be expenses in the future."

To raise funds, friends and family have planned a benefit in Eicholtz's honor at the Woodbridge Elks Lodge 2116 on Rahway Avenue from 7-11 p.m. on July 15.

Eicholtz was a student at Middlesex County College majoring in fashion design at the time of the accident.

She plans to return to classes as soon as possible.

Eicholtz is also applying to work with an organization, ThinkFirst.org, to speak to public school students about the importance of wearing a seat belt and other driving-related issues.

"Many people in rehab don't know how to deal with their situation, and for many people it takes them forever to get through therapy, and they just sit there depressed," she said. "But when you're in a good mood it helps you get through everything. That's just my outlook on life in general."

Tickets for the July 15 benefit can be purchased by calling Carol Iacobelli at (732) 499-7314. The cost is $25.