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Struthers teen determined to rally after car accident
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
STRUTHERS
While in a coma caused by severe brain and spine injuries suffered in a car crash, Ellen Emilia Becker would swing her right arm in a circle as if she were pitching a softball.
Ellen, 18, daughter of Daniel H.D. and Lisa Becker of Struthers, doesn’t remember doing that.
But her mother thinks Ellen, 17 at the time, was subconsciously back on the diamond pitching for the Struthers High School softball team.
Since the crash Aug. 3, 2009, Ellen’s progress has been remarkable, say her doctors, her mother and her rehabilitation coach, Paul Dunleavy, co-owner of Ironman Warehouse in Youngstown, where Ellen works out.
She is not back to playing softball, however, but she has come from being in a coma to regaining nearly 100 percent of her cognitive abilities, Lisa said.
Ellen, who uses a wheelchair, has a short-term goal of walking by the one-year anniversary of the crash and a long-term goal of “doing what I planned to do before the accident.”
At the time, she was preparing to attend college on a softball scholarship. While that may not be possible, she said she has not given up her dream of going to college and mortuary school and joining the family business as a funeral director.
She is the granddaughter of Dan Becker, owner of Becker Funeral Homes, and Tom and Marilyn Chako of Struthers. Her brother, Hazen, is a senior at Struthers High.
It is that kind of resolve and courage that led Ellen to be among three to receive the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital’s Courage Award on Friday at the 20th annual HeartThrob Ball at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center.
The award is given to pediatric patients who have demonstrated great character in overcoming a challenging obstacle in life, a hospital spokesman said.
When Ellen came to the children’s hospital, she was “one of the worst cases ever seen” there because of having severe injuries to both the brain and spine. Usually it is one or the other, said her doctor there, Douglas Henry.
“I think she deserves this award. We see a lot of nice recoveries and lot of kids who work hard, but she really did stand out. When she was beginning to understand her situation, anyone would have been extremely depressed. But Ellen, from the beginning, had a very positive, tough attitude,” Dr. Henry said.
The doctor’s first goal was for Ellen, who has a spinal-cord injury, to regain consciousness. Once she was able to understand and follow directions, we could show her how she could do things with her muscles,” Dr. Henry said.
Ellen did not remember much for a long time after the crash, her mother said.
She was riding with two friends, Christie Manchester and Kaylynn Barkco, both of Southington, when the crash occurred.
Christie, the driver, was killed when the vehicle went off State Road and hit two trees. Kaylynn was released from the hospital a few days after the crash. Ellen was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown and then transported by helicopter to Cleveland Clinic.
The three had become acquainted through playing softball.
While Ellen has made progress, Dr. Henry, who treated her while she was a patient at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation, said the C-6 spine at the neck affects some of the arm muscles and those below.
“Even after she left us in December 2009, she showed some improvement flexing her fingers. We’re eight months out from her injury, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there is some recovery down the road,” the doctor said.
But he didn’t hold out much hope for full recovery.
There is no “giving up” in Ellen or her family, however.
“I have gotten further along than they thought I would at the hospital. They said I might not ever walk or eat or breathe on my own,” Ellen said.
“I said that is not going to happen to my daughter,” her mother said.
The physical therapy is not painful, but it is really hard. “Not all my muscles work,” Ellen said.
“It is frustrating because, before the accident, I was in the best shape of my life ... lifting weights and running and pitching every day,” she said.
“She was as focused then as she is now. She is awesome,” Dunleavy said.
Even though Ellen could not play, she supported her softball team by going to workouts and games. “Watching softball still makes me happy,” she said.
And the team supports Ellen, her mother said. They are dedicated to her.
Ellen said she prepared a speech for Friday’s award event. She thanked “God, all my nurses and therapists and doctors, and my family and friends,” flashing a big smile.
In last year’s Struthers High School yearbook, Ellen received the award for the best laugh.
“That’s one of the things we are working on,” her mother said, referring to getting her muscles to where she can laugh again.
In the meantime, Ellen’s smile is still there.