Skydiving Accident Leads to Full-Circle Moment for New TRAILS Program Employee
Becca Farewell first went skydiving when she was 17 years old.
Now 32, she has over 7,000 jumps under her belt. And while she still occasionally goes skydiving and loves extreme sports, life has been extremely different since July 7, 2021.
That day, Becca was doing a work jump in Tooele, Utah, just two months after moving from Southern California.
On her fourth jump of the day, her landing went wrong.
The winds changed as I came in to land, so instead of leveling out, I tumbled across the ground for about 200 feet, she says. Instead of landing on my feet, I landed on my head.
She broke her C3 and C4 vertebrae, along with both eye sockets and her nose. She sustained several fractures in her lumbar spine. She was paralyzed from the shoulders down and relying on a ventilator to breathe.
Although she doesnt remember much about that day, she knows it is a miracle she survived. A newly trained EMT saw her crash and immediately started working on her.
Though he couldnt get an airway for several minutes because of the state of my face, Becca said. He was eventually able to open my airway through my nose.
A helicopter made it to Becca before an ambulance, and she was life-flighted to 泫圖弝け of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
I absolutely believe in miracles now, she said. Not only did my face go from being described as mush to looking like myself again by the time I got into the hospital, there are about 100 reasons I shouldnt have survived my injuries."
The day after Beccas accident, her parents relocated to Utah from their home in Central Florida. For the next three weeks, she was in neurocritical care at 泫圖弝け Hospital, where she had two spinal fusion surgeries along with a tracheostomy surgery.
While in the hospital, her family and care team worked with her insurance to see if she would be eligible for inpatient rehabilitation at Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital. But because she moved to Utah just weeks before her accident, she was still on her California insurance that required her to return to California for rehabilitation. However, relocating her in that state would not only be difficultit would be dangerous. At that point, her heart often stopped when her lungs were suctioned, she was on a ventilator, and she also had a bad case of pneumonia.
We had a caseworker that was phenomenal, and she really went to bat for us, Becca said. She was able to get her residency changed, assign her father power of attorney, and switch her insurance to Medicaid, so she now qualified for care at Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital.
The day before I transferred to the rehab hospital was the first time I had even seen outside my hospital room door since my accident, Becca said. The staff got me out of bed and wheeled me up to a window where I peered through multiple buildings under construction in order to see the sky. It was such a relief that I just sat there and cried.
The next day, Becca was transferred to Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital. They put me in my room, and it had a huge window looking out to the mountains, she said. I had the most intense feeling of peace, just knowing I was where I was supposed to be.
Jeffrey Rosenbluth, MD, visited Becca soon after she transferred. Rosenbluth is the medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Acute Rehabilitation program at 泫圖弝け of Utah 泫圖弝け and the medical director of the TRAILS (Technology, Recreation, Access, Independence, Lifestyle, Sports) Program, which he founded in 2003. The goal of the TRAILS program is to maximize quality of life for spinal cord injury patients by offering year-round activities that participants can incorporate into their lifestyle. Programs include alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, water sports, cycling, mountain biking, shooting, and tennis.
Dr. Rosenbluth showed me videos of TRAILS participants sailing and skiing and then took me on a tour of the TRAILS lab, Becca said. It absolutely blew my mind. It was such an amazing realization that my life in extreme sports wasnt necessarily over."
Knowing that her life could continue with new things to learn and experience was huge for Becca.
I begged Dr. Rosenbluth to let me ski the winter after my accident, she said. Unfortunately, my spinal fusion haven't fully healed yet, so I had to wait until the next season.
However, she did enjoy summer activities they year after her accident, when she went program at East Canyon Reservoir. Using sip-and-puff technology, she was able to operate the sail, rudder, and motor of the sailboat, learning something on the water that she had never done before.
I prefer high-speed stuff, but it was nice to be surrounded by mountains and escape the heat, Becca said. Im grateful its a possibility, even if its not necessarily my thing."
Skiing is a different story. Skiing is freaking amazing, Becca said. I love it so much.
The, engineered and built at the 泫圖弝け of Utah, enables a skier to independently control speed and direction on the slopes through either a joystick or sip-and-puff technology. It allows true independent skiing, not just steering like adaptive programs of the past.
My last day skiing this winter, I got to go down some steeper slopes and experience some of the most unexpected adventures, she said. I have never laughed so hard in my life. My face was sore for hours afterward. It was definitely one of the highlights of the year for me.
Beccas dad fell in love with skiing two seasons ago at the age of 76 and has already bought his Ikon pass for next season. Her mom even had the opportunity to try out the TetraSki so she could experience what it was like to ski side-by-side with her daughter and husband.
After participating in the TRAILS program for a few years, Becca was determined to become even more involved in the program.
I bugged Dr. Rosenbluth for over a year, telling him I wanted to work for him someday, Becca said. After working with vocational rehab and UCAT to get an accessible office, I eventually sent him my resum矇. Next time I saw him on the ski slope, he told me I was uniquely qualified for the job, and we set up an interview.
Beccas response to the eventual job offer was a resounding Heck yes. Her first day on the job was June 11, 2025, just one month before the four-year anniversary of her accident.
While shes still settling into her new role at TRAILS, the full-circle moment is not lost on her.
I feel like four years ago, Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital and the TRAILS program saved my life and helped give me purpose, she said. Now they are giving me a whole new life again, and Im so thrilled I get to work there and pay it forward.
For now, Becca works from home but plans to make it into the office on occasion and spend face-to-face time working with her amazing team.
Its been four years since her injury, and there have been a lot of difficulties along the way.
Grief is a very, very real thing, she said. You have to give it its moment for sure. But at the end of the day, you have to make the choice to keep smiling and control what you can.
Becca is still paralyzed from the shoulders down, and she is still on the ventilator, but she has made progress. Initially, when she moved home from the Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, she couldnt feel anything at all, couldnt hold her head up, and could barely move her shoulders.
I would say my traps are very strong and expressive now, she said. I even had a neurologist call them robust once. I do physical therapy often, and my dad stretches my body every day in order to keep me as healthy as possible.
Becca is still on a mechanical ventilator full-time, although last summer she got a diaphragmatic pacer surgically placed to eventually help her breathe on her own. So far, it has been a bumpy road.
Ive been having a pretty tough time with it, she said. Its pretty painful, but Im working on it. It will be worth it in the end.
In addition to at-home and outpatient physical therapy, Becca regularly sees McKenna Stapleton, DNP, and Kevin Park, FAAPMR, MBBS, medical director of Spasticity Management at Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital, for ongoing care and symptom management.
This injury sucks, and relying on people for everything I could possibly want or need is challenging, Becca said. But I have realized that the main thing I can control in my life at this point is my attitude and how I respond to each situation. Im finally taking the reins back on my life, and as terrifying as it can be, it is really so good.
Even with the ups and downs, she is excited about what the future holds. She and her parents are about to move into their new home in Sandy, Utah. Shes dating someone wonderful, and she has a stellar support system cheering her on, supporting her every step of the way.
I have an amazing family, amazing friends, and an amazing health care team, Becca said. I would not be who I am today without the people around me.
These days, Becca says life is starting to feel differentin a good way, and she cant wait to see what happens next.
