carolyn.pioro

On September 20, 2005, as Carolyn flew through the air, she realized something was wrong. Seconds before, she had launched off of her trapeze bar towards the catcher. The mid-air miscalculation that followed was both unexpected and unimaginable. Then she was headed down to the safety net. She had made this fall many times before, but this time she knew the position of her body was all wrong. Carolyn landed on her neck and felt an electric snap. Everything went limp. Twelve hours later a team of doctors had saved her life by opening up her neck and repositioning her broken spine. Feeling and movement below her shoulders was still gone. Carolyn had a complete break, which meant the paralysis was permanent.