One young Marine from Chesterfield is recovering after an accident crushes his spine but not his spirit.
“I got injured and suffered a spinal cord injury. Now I’m home just doing rehab and trying to get better,” said 20-year-old Jacob Rinehart.
Each step has been a battle in itself for Rinehart; just months ago, he couldn’t move anything from the neck down.
Sadly, this resulted from a basic training accident where he had to carry a fellow marine.
“It was as if someone got shot. You have to drag them away from being shot at. So you have them on your neck, and you’re pulling them through the mud. You got all your gear on. The way it happened, unfortunately, I got the worst of it,” Rinehart said.
Over a year later and the progress has been amazing.
“Slowly, over time, I kept seeing improvements. I feel like I’m finally independent compared to when I first got injured,” Rinehart said.
But Rinehart also had someone in his corner who was making a recovery himself, Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions.
“They’re an inspiration. Good people. They have to a biggest hearts I feel like. They’re always for the team. They care about the community. So it was super cool to meet those guys and talk to them,” Rinehart said.
Rinehart has been making his recovery at DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, where his physical therapist is with him every step of the way.
“Being a marine, having that marine mentality, he was definitely very motivated and willing to push the limits,” said Rinehart’s physical therapist, Kyle Weishaupt.
His story hopefully motivates others to face a seemingly impossible task.
“It gets better over time. It can’t happen overnight. Just wake up every day and keep working,” Rinehart said.
Once physical therapy is done, Rinehart is going to the gym on his own to make that full recovery and get back to 100%.