Georgia Woman Paralyzed After Routine Chiropractor Visit

After a normal visit to her chiropractor for back problems last month, a recent college graduate from Georgia was left paralyzed, according to her family.

Following a neck adjustment at a chiropractor in Savannah on June 16, Caitlin Jensen, 28, who graduated from Georgia Southern University in May, was sent to the emergency room, according to WJCL-TV.

GoFundMe

Her loved ones posted on a fundraising website for her medical costs that she "became ill" following the adjustment and was taken by ambulance to the Emergency Room of Memorial Health hospital, where it was discovered that she had four dissected arteries in her neck.

According to the station, the damage caused a heart arrest, a stroke, and finally traumatic brain injury.

GoFundMe

“She’s able to open her eyes now and then and wake up a little bit. And kind of move her hands to squeeze a little. But that’s it,” her brother Caleb Johnson told the outlet.

“That morning we were up and talking to her before work. You’re talking to her and then 30 minutes later, she’s in the hospital and now in the ICU.”

WJCL

According to reports, after reviving Jensen, who had been without a pulse for ten minutes, medical personnel quickly performed an arterial stenting procedure.

“She’s conscious and able to respond to verbal commands by blinking her eyes, as well as wiggling the toes of her left foot,” the GoFundMe post states. “However, the rest of her body sits in a state of paralysis due to the injury.”

Jensen’s mother, Darlene Jensen, informed WSB-TV that doctors think she suffered a stroke “as a direct result of the neck manipulation.”

“The surgeon … that saved her life, and every other doctor that has looked at her, have all agreed that this happened as a direct result of the neck manipulation,” Darelene told the station. “The chiropractor called 911 and then called me and told me that she was ‘reacting to the treatment.'”

Jensen's family has since hired legal representation even though the precise reason for her injuries has not yet been established.

Her chiropractor declined to speak to WJCL, but a different spine specialist informed the publication that Jensen's condition was rare.

“Those dissections will often produce symptoms of headache and neck pain, which then drive people to a doctor’s office,” Dr. Steve Ranicki reportedly said.

“Once they’ve gone to the medical doctor or chiropractor, the likelihood is, unfortunately, a stroke will occur.”

When Jensen is stable enough, her family intends to take her from the ICU at Memorial Health to the Shepard Center in Atlanta.

“Caitlin has a long road to recovery, and as a college student who has a very simple health care plan, she will need significant financial resources to get her through this road to recovery,” the fundraising page says.

According to the post, Jensen graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in biology and chemistry and is now "ready to live the American dream."

Her family members had collected more than $61,000 as of Thursday for her medical expenses.