Binghamton family supports alumna's spinal cord recovery

By Steve Seepersaud

Rebecca Koltun '21To simply enjoy the simple moments would mean so much. Rebecca Koltun '21 looks forward to seeing the colorful sunsets at Oyster Bay on Long Island and even traversing the aisles of the grocery store.

Since suffering a devastating injury on a Vermont ski slope, these and other everyday moments haven't been a part of her life. With world-class medical care, and support from family, friends and the Binghamton alumni community, she'll soon be able to resume living with her family.

"It is time for her to leave the hospital and come home," said Audrey Koltun, Rebecca's mother. "She has been there for seven months. With a spinal cord injury, any little thing can go awry that could need medical attention."

On March 13, 2021, Rebecca Koltun traveled from Binghamton to Stratton Mountain for a ski weekend. Not long after arriving, she was in a near-fatal ski accident, requiring multiple attempts at CPR to get her breathing again, and she was airlifted to a New Hampshire hospital two hours away. Her brother Erik Koltun '18, who happened to be skiing at Stratton at the same time, alerted his parents after getting a call from the ski patrol. 

"We were stunned, shocked, in disbelief," said Audrey Koltun. "My husband and I threw a bunch of stuff in suitcases, we found someone to watch our dog and just drove to the hospital as quickly as we could. We waited a while before calling the hospital, for fear of being told the worst. We didn't know if we'd be going up there and coming right back or what. One of the [doctors told us] she was critical but stable, which meant to us that she was alive."

She spent more than two weeks in intensive care, unable to speak, move, talk or eat. Family members took turns sitting with her, and they watched tons of videos on an iPad Audrey Koltun was thankful she packed at the last minute before bolting from Plainview, N.Y., to New Hampshire. Rebecca Koltun needed a spinal cord rehabilitation center with ventilators — not because of COVID-19, but because she was unable to breathe without one — and a place where she could stay for a long time. 

In March, Rebecca Koltun was taken to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, where she received four hours of daily physical, occupational, speech and recreational therapy. She had a diaphragmatic pacer installed, which meant she no longer needed a ventilator to breathe, and she is able to talk and eat. Audrey Koltun said her daughter had always been proud of her independence. By late spring, with some head and neck control, she gained some measure of independence. Her Binghamton roommates packed up everything from her apartment and brought the belongings and her car back to Plainview.

"Rebecca had asked for some type of group so [patients] could talk, so the hospital created a social group that would meet once a week," Audrey Koltun said. "She really enjoyed that and then after a while, she'd just get in her chair, using the head array, and independently wheel herself around and go visit people."

Rebecca Koltun's injury took place about two months before she would have graduated with the Class of 2021. Her mother contacted the University so her instructors would know Rebecca couldn't come back to class. Audrey Koltun had received forms to withdraw her daughter from the University but never filled them out.

"I was thinking, with two months left of school, she has a 4.0, does research, was involved in sports, clubs, was pre-med and was a [teaching assistant]. Could they please just graduate her? We got approval for her to graduate on time. Rebecca was in the hospital, and the University said someone could go up and walk for her and get her diploma at graduation because it was in person.

"Her friend put Rebecca on FaceTime when walking up on the stage. It would've been terrible to do all that school work and not graduate. We had a little party for her, she had the cap on and we took some nice pictures of her in Binghamton gear. That was huge."  

Toward the end of the summer, Rebecca Koltun had relocated to a facility in Glen Cove, N.Y., about 30 minutes from her home. The family is living in an apartment while their house gets a number of accommodations installed such as a lift and accessible shower. The short- and long-term costs associated with a spinal cord recovery are tremendous, and the Koltuns are working with the Help Hope Live Foundation to raise funds for her care. Support from family, friends and Binghamton alumni has pushed the fundraising total past $800,000. 

Steve Riegler '92, who lives in the same town as the Koltuns, is the drummer for Churro Eye, which held a benefit concert for the family during the summer.  

“This recent tragedy has seen the local community step up, with so many going above and beyond to support Rebecca and her family through these difficult times," Riegler said. "With all of us in the band being nearby residents, this hit close to home. It was very important for us to do something that could bring the community together, help raise money for the Koltun family and help spread the word on spinal cord injuries.”

"It's very humbling and almost overwhelming and beautiful how people have come together to help us," Audrey Koltun said. "A lot of the people who made donations to the foundation and are doing their own fundraisers, we don't even know them. The outpouring of love and support from our neighbors and people all over the world who have reached out to us makes this less painful."