Rachel: Achieving her Goals

In the summer of 2021, Rachel Story was busy working a summer job, enjoying family time, and preparing for her senior year when the unthinkable happened. Rachel was on the way to her family’s lake cabin when she was involved in a serious car accident. The impact of the accident left her with a crushed L1 vertebrae.

Rachael participated in occupational and physical at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, part of Allina Health. Although Rachel was given a 3-4% chance of walking again, she wanted to walk across the stage at graduation. Anyone who spends time around Rachel can quickly tell that when she sets a goal for herself, she will achieve it. She worked extremely hard, often going above and beyond her therapy sessions, and less than one year from her accident, Rachel was walking again. More importantly, while participating in the intense rehabilitation services at Courage Kenny, she successfully applied and got accepted to college and completed her senior year.

Rachel credits her strong support system of family and friends for being by her side throughout her recovery and pushing her to keep setting and achieving new goals. Rachel and her family are beyond grateful for the impact Courage Kenny has made in their lives. “Courage Kenny has been so great; everything is personalized to Rachel’s needs. Her therapists have always thought outside of the box and find solutions when things aren’t working.” Rachel’s mom, Stephanie shared.

Today, Rachel is nearing the end of her first freshmen year of college at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business, where she is more determined than ever to keep achieving her goals. Rachel visits the fitness center at the U of M on a regular basis to continue working on her overall strength, and she has recently joined Courage Kenny’s Adaptive Swim Team. "I am a VERY competitive person!"

At just 19 years old, Rachel is a true example of when you set your mind to something, you can achieve anything.