Teen returns to Napa after spinal cord injury

Less than four months after his spinal cord was severed in a snowboarding accident, Napa teenager Blake Mendenhall is back home.

Many things are different in his life today, like a personalized wheelchair and a newly renovated accessible bedroom and bathroom. Even the front door of his house was moved to allow better access.

Yet many things remain the same. Like his quiet confidence. His determination. A positive attitude. His love of sport. His relationships with his family and friends.

“A lot of people think I’m a real mess,” because of the accident, Blake said. This is not true.

“How I was then,” meaning before the Feb. 25 crash, “is the same as I am now,” Blake said. “I’m still myself.”

“You're still Blake,” echoed her mother, Tasha Abri.

On this late February weekend, Blake and his friends headed to Northstar Resort in Truckee to snowboard and have some outdoor fun.

That Sunday, he was snowboarding on a hill when “I caught an edge and hit a tree.” He noticed he couldn't feel his legs, Blake recalled.

The ski patrol quickly reached the teen, put him in a sled and took him down the slope. A helicopter arrived and Blake was airlifted to Renown Children's Hospital in Reno.

“I remember the next thing I saw was bright lights,” Blake said. “People asked me lots of questions. And I was trying to answer the question, but I couldn't hear myself. I could sort of see but everyone was kind of blurry.

Around the same time, Tasha Abir, Blake's mother, received a text message. “All I saw was an airlift and my heart broke,” she said.

Abri, who lives in Napa with her husband and their children, was in San Diego for work. “I ran to the airport” and arrived just minutes before a flight to Reno took off.

Blake underwent seven hours of surgery that day to realign his spine, which had been broken in two places. Hardware such as bolts and screws now hold his back together. His scar is approximately 12 inches long.

He would spend more than two weeks in the intensive care unit at the Reno hospital. He is paralyzed from the middle of his chest down. He can't walk.

In a video taken around the same time, Blake is shown in his hospital bed in Reno. Just days after his injury, he already seemed to be mentally preparing for recovery.

“Never give up,” he vowed.

And he didn't. Blake's next stop was Craig Rehabilitation Hospital near Denver.

The Napa teen spent 60 days at the center, learning to live after a spinal cord injury. Abri was with him most of that time.

At Craig's, he spent Monday through Friday in rehab, while continuing his schoolwork.

He also learned a lot more about spinal cord injuries.

“I realized I was sort of lucky to still have hand function.” Some paralyzed people can only move their heads, he noted.

Just as Blake was in rehab, so was his home in Napa.

Shelter said Rick Robben Construction, Wright Construction, Ace Concrete & Sons, MJS Fine Cabinetry, Hare Construction and Standard HVAC Napa, and others, volunteered to help make Blake's home accessible, at no cost to the family.

Over the next two months, crews renovated the home, including moving the front door so Blake could easily enter, rearranging Blake's bedroom, and adding an accessible bathroom and shower.

“I really felt speechless and eternally grateful for all the donations,” Abri said. “Taking their guys from other jobs and starting Blake’s project right away was a huge deal.” Thanks to their generosity, Blake would return to a safe and welcoming home.

After two months at Craig Hospital, Blake's stay at Craig was over. Unlike the medical flights that took him to Reno and Craig Hospital, this time he took a scheduled flight to the southwest.

“Mom really helped a lot,” Blake said.

“We had six suitcases and two wheelchairs,” Abri remembers.

But overall, the theft was no problem, he said. Transferring from wheelchair to seat and back is an important thing he practiced at Craig Hospital.

Blake has been back in Napa since May 8. His family was able to purchase a used SUV with an adaptive seat that he can access from a wheelchair. For now, his days usually include visits to an adaptive rehabilitation center in Petaluma that offers one-on-one training for people with spinal cord injuries. And he has doctors and other appointments. He is also finishing his 9th year remotely. He spends time with his friends and family, who have been very supportive.

Of course, challenges remain.

“My injury definitely impacts my life,” Blake said. “Everything I do is a challenge.”

That includes some things most people might not realize, his mother said.

Blake lost weight and muscle after his injury and needs to get it back. Because his shoulders (and arms) are now essentially his legs, he has to protect them from injury, Abri said.

He can't feel his legs or feet, so he has to be extra careful for any type of bedsores from his wheelchair, clothes, or even a misplaced shoelace that's not properly tucked in.

“I'm never really upright, so it puts a lot of pressure on my tailbone,” Blake said. He regularly adjusts his position in his chair.

Other things are just as important, if not more important, her mother said.

“Seventy-five percent of rehabilitation is learning how to take care of your skin and manage your bladder and bowels,” and how to control when you go to the bathroom, Abri said.

“And figure out how to do it for yourself,” Blake added.

That's the worst part of his injury, he said.

Blake admitted that sometimes he wishes he didn't face so many challenges. Still, “It also makes me a stronger and better person, that’s for sure.”

Abri said she lets him take the lead when it comes to decisions regarding her independence. “He’s responsible for himself and how much he wants to push himself and what he wants to do,” Abri said.

He will be a sophomore at Vintage High School. Blake may look forward to regular school activities and events, but there's one thing she's not excited about.

Besides snowboarding, Blake is an athlete who plays football, soccer, basketball, hockey and golf. He will remain on the football roster, his coach told him. But there are no adaptive sports at Vintage High School.

The teen said he had heard about different adaptive sports teams in the Bay Area and wanted to learn more. He's also planning a trip this summer to an adaptive sports foundation in Truckee called High Fives. The foundation provides education and recovery from life-altering injuries in outdoor action sports, its website states.

Like most 15-year-olds, Blake also talks about getting his driver's license. With a vehicle and an adaptive steering wheel, he can drive, the teenager explained. And he wants it.

Blake said he thought he would walk again someday. Researchers are working on stem cells and new technologies, he stressed.

“If we can reach Mars, we can discover spinal cord damage,” Blake said.