Photo courtesy of Aquatic Neurological Rehab Center
Marissa Sternberg (left) works with physical therapist Shelley Regan at Tucson's Aquatic Neurological Rehab Center.

It's a nightmare scenario for any parent: successfully raising a child and sending her off on her own, only to have catastrophe befall her almost immediately. It happened to Brian and Lisa Sternberg.

"My whole life has changed. Everything I do, every place I go now is because of what happened," says Lisa.

Two years ago, the Sternbergs' then-19-year-old daughter, Marissa - with her furniture in tow and her two dogs beside her - was on her way to Denver to become a veterinary technician. While driving through New Mexico, the car she was in, driven by a friend of the family, spun out of control and rolled over five times.

Badly hurt, Marissa was airlifted to University Medical Center in Albuquerque, a top trauma center. Doctors put her in an "induced coma" to facilitate the many surgeries she required. After three weeks, she was allowed to come out of sedation. But even after two days, she was not responding. It became apparent that Marissa had suffered traumatic brain injury. She was left with no locomotive ability and a minimal ability to communicate.

She was flown back to Tucson, where she received some therapy in a local hospital, but it became clear to her parents that she needed much more than local facilities could provide: she needed specific neurological rehabilitative therapy. No in-state facility could provide that for her at the time. The only regional options were in Denver; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Austin, Texas. When a place became available for Marissa in Austin, Lisa packed up and moved to an apartment near the hospital to be with her daughter.

But the situation was far from ideal. The family was separated, and even in Austin, Marissa didn't have access to the kind of therapy and equipment the Sternbergs (after extensive research into therapeutic alternatives) were convinced would benefit their daughter most: water therapy in a specially-equipped pool. They began to think in terms of what was possible.

The result was a state-of-the-art facility offering aquatic and land-based physical therapy in central Tucson. Under the medical direction of University Medical Center trauma surgeon John Porter, M.D., the Aquatic Neurological Rehab Center is the only facility in the city with such equipment under one roof and open to the public. Housing an ERGYS 2 electrical stimulation leg cycle (the kind used by the late actor Christopher Reeve) - as well as two pools with underwater treadmills, underwater video monitoring, and resistive jets - the center fills a unique niche in Tucson's healthcare infrastructure.

"We cater to a specific population of neurological disorders" that are underserved by existing local facilities, says Karen Shriver, the center's director.

Which doesn't mean they don't cater to other populations, too, like arthritis and fibromyalgia sufferers. The Sternbergs see the center as a world-class public resource they are anxious to make available to the broad population that could benefit from it. They would like to partner with (or set up) a foundation for families who can't afford to pay for care. Lisa cites patients who don't have insurance or are reaching the limit of what their insurance will cover and mentions that this is imminent for Marissa herself.

In designing the center, they have kept the needs of caregivers in mind, providing a comfortable lounge area and a rest area with beds for patients who need multiple therapies in the same day. In the future, they would like to offer basic "hostel" style accommodations for families.
"We want family members or loved ones to expedite the healing process. We know family can do that," says Shriver.

It's something the Sternbergs have gone out of their way to do for their daughter, and they have been rewarded by Marissa's response to the water therapy, which has increased her range of motion. But for all that she has struggled against Marissa's fate, Lisa does not seem bitter. She is philosophical about the way tragedy has opened up an avenue for her and her husband to help others, and her attitude strikes a balance between patient resignation and hopeful action.
"I believe in bashert," she says, "which means "meant to be.'"

The Aquatic Neurological Rehab Center is located at 2919 E. Grant Rd. (at Country Club). For more information, call 326-AQUA (2782)