Injured Union College Gymnast Leaves Hospital
By AT News Team, August 16 2015: Seven months after falling 23 feet in the Union College (UC) gymansium, Heather Boulais walked out of the hospital and returned home on Thursday, August 13. “Boulais, receiving support from two caregivers on each side, rose from a wheelchair and slowly made her way out of the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska. She smiled broadly as onlookers applauded enthusiastically and television cameras captured the triumphant scene,” reported the Adventist Review.
Boulais suffered a serious brain injury when she fell on January 14, 2015, while installing equipment for a gymnastics routine involving aerial silks. The Lincoln Journal Star noted that Boulais was captain of the UC Gymnaires when the accident happened.
“It’s been life-changing for Heather and all of us. It’s been long, difficult, exhausting,” Heather’s mother Cheryl Boulais told KETV 7, the ABC television affiliate in Lincoln.
In a show of support, community members began wearing “Prayers for Heather bracelets.” Heather’s father Terry shared, “To see her stand, take the steps, is very humbling. But we’re very thankful for the prayers and everything.” Commenting further on the role of prayer, UC president Vinita Sauder told the Adventist Review, “The Union College family rejoices that Heather has made such wonderful progress! The Lord has blessed and has heard the prayers of those of us here in Lincoln, Nebraska, and around the world.”
Boulais is still recovering from the fall. Her parents expressed “excitement that she was finally able to drink fluids on her own through a straw,” noted the Adventist Review. “But they asked for prayers for improvements with eating and drinking, and, most importantly, the return of her ability to speak.”
KETV 7 reported that because Union College is conducting an investigation into the accident, the school is “unable to provide additional details at this time.”
Boulais’s recovery process can be followed on Facebook [1], and donations can be made online [2].
[1] https://www.facebook.com/groups/971428729535905/
[2] https://securelb.imodules.com/s/339/index.aspx?sid=339&gid=1&pgid=581&cid=1387