February/March 2007
February/March 2007
Traci Bryan - Her determination serves as inspiration to others
Shoppers coming to Fonda’s Fashions and Gifts in Rowlett are treated to an array of sensory delights.
The aroma of scented candles floats in the air; quiet music plays in the background; chic fashions offer soft, crisp or satiny tactile sensations; silver and beaded jewelry shine and glitter; flamingo computer dusters and Jim Shore collectibles elicit smiles. Children’s laughter often comes from the back of the store where a play area has been set aside to provide moms an opportunity to shop in ease.
The cheerful and pretty young woman greeting every customer who comes though the doors of Fonda’s is manager Traci Bryan. First-timers are welcomed and directed to the items they are looking for. Long-time customers become friends who are asked about families, schools and jobs.
Although most customers first come to Fonda’s looking for unique items, they may find that this tiny gift store offers something more uplifting and inspiring—amazing displays of resolve along with sparkling tenacity.
A change in plans
The first thing new shoppers
notice about Traci is her smile, then they spy a somewhat surprising
contrast—the wheelchair she has relied on for ten years.
This life-long Rowlett resident traces her community roots back to her grandfather Preston Bryan. In 1962, the Rev. Bryan moved his family to Rowlett where he served as pastor for the First Baptist Church of Rowlett until 1975. His son, David, Traci’s father, also relocated here at that time. Her mother and business associate Carol was raised in Garland.
After graduating from Lakeview Centennial High School in 1995, Traci was offered a scholarship from Navarro College in Corsicana to study singing and dancing. A music-oriented career had been a lifelong dream for this hometown girl who loved to entertain. “My grandmother used to tell my mother, ‘the child sings all the time. That’s the sign of a happy child.’”
That dream came to an end in 1997 when Traci was in her second year of college. She was riding in the front passenger seat of a car when a friend who was driving fell asleep at the wheel. In the resulting accident, another friend sitting in the backseat, and not wearing a seat belt, flew forward into the front passenger seat. Traci suffered a broken neck as a result.
“After my accident, they had to put me in a drug-induced coma,” Traci notes. “I had double pneumonia and ARDS [Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome]. I almost died several times.”
Once Traci was strong enough, she was fitted with a vest and halo to keep her spine immobilized. She was required to wear this apparatus for four months while she began healing from the trauma of the accident and resulting complications.
“I had to do physical therapy wearing that!” Traci sighs. “And then once they took it off, I had to relearn how to do things.” At that time, she was given little hope forever being able to walk again.
Carol notes with annoyance, “They basically told her, here’s your wheelchair; have a nice life.”
Courageous choices
In spite of the fact that the accident meant putting a life-long aspiration on hold, it allowed Traci an opportunity to express a resolve and fighting spirit that would not only take her farther than expected in her recovery, but also prove to be an inspiration to others.
Determined not to simply give up and resign herself to never walking again, Traci started researching alternative treatments that others suffering from spinal cord injuries had experienced success with. Through these efforts she discovered a surgeon based in Washington, D.C., who performs an experimental surgery for people dealing with injuries such as hers.
A year later, Traci flew to Argentina for this relatively new medical technique. “They took sural nerves out of the backs of my legs and grafted them in the damaged area of my spinal cord,” she explains.
Carol adds, “It makes a little bridge so the nerves can regenerate and cross back over. The opening was covered up with a little piece of tissue from the lining of her stomach that feeds the nerves as they heal.”
Was Traci nervous about having a new surgical procedure performed in another country? “A little bit!” she laughs. “Everything looked different. You knew you weren’t at home. And they didn’t speak English, but they had a translator.”
Her reason for opting to have the surgery in Argentina was purely—and frustratingly—financial. “Since it was experimental, it was not covered by insurance,” she explains. “It cost me $40,000 to do this in Argentina, and it would have cost me over $200,000 if I had it done here!”
Since Traci is still confined to her wheelchair, one might question the success of the surgery performed over seven years ago. Carol points out that nerve recovery and growth is a strikingly slow process. “She is still not walking yet because the nerve cells are still regenerating.”
This long waiting period before obvious results can be demonstrated means that Traci must maintain a rigorous physical therapy workout to maintain body strength, avoid body weight gain, and prevent her muscles from atrophying.
“If you don’t do the therapies, you aren’t going to see the results,” says Carol. “Traci does them religiously.”
In May 2004, Traci, accompanied by her mother, traveled to Project Walk in Carlsbad, California, north of San Diego. In a three-hour, three-day-a-week, 12-week program she received new physical therapy training to get in better physical condition and advance the healing process. Here she met trainer Nito Blochlinger.
Shortly after returning to Rowlett from Project
Walk, Nito moved to the Dallas area and Traci resumed working out with him here.
“That is whom
I train with three days a week now,” she states.
“I trained with him for about a year before I found out about Russia,” Traci continues. “So I was well-prepared for what I was fixing to do.”
Continuing the journey
Through additional research, keeping up with the newest developments in spinal cord injury treatments, and visiting with others who are seeking medical breakthroughs, Traci learned of a new stem cell treatment conducted in Russia. Patients having injuries similar to hers who had participated in this procedure had demonstrated some amazing results.
So last year, Traci once again embarked on an adventure to explore new healing possibilities.
“When I was in Russia the first time, I was there for three weeks,” she clarifies. “They took stem cells from out of my blood. Then they ran extensive tests on me.” Traci goes on to explain how the Russian medical team separated her stem cells into 20 separate vials. Over time, these stem cells are injected back into Traci in a way that she describes as being “like an epidural.”
During her visits to the Russian hospital, Traci also receives physical therapy and neuromassage. She describes the latter as “kind of like touch therapy. They massage the nerve endings and do it with such force it almost leaves me bruised. When they do this it stimulates the nerves and I can actually feel stimulation in my legs.
“I’ve been to Russia three times this year and I’ve received a total of five injections,” Traci notes. “And I am planning on going back in February to receive my sixth and seventh.” She points out that the Russian scientists have found through their research that administering these stem cells in small doses leads to far more successful results than giving larger doses in fewer injections.
The treatment in this foreign country was a bit more challenging in that her doctors were Russian and translators were available only during the daytime shift. Traci and Carol have relied on a Russian-English dictionary to communicate with the staff during their trips their. Traci also found the Russian hospital environment a bit oppressive at first. “The first impression is a little bit scary,” she shrugs. “The hospitals don’t have frills like ours do.” She quickly adds, “But all the equipment is state of the art. They just don’t spend money on wall paper or carpet.”
Traci explains that receiving the treatments in Russia is not an issue of finance but timing. She explains that although the process was first developed in the United States, it was not immediately followed through with in this country, so Russian medical teams decided to try it out. Over several years of trials and testing they found that embryonic stem cells did not produce the successful results as stem cells from the blood or olfactory bulb of the nose of the patient being treated. Traci states that because of the success of the procedure demonstrated by the Russian scientists, that “they hope to start this process in America in two to four years.”
Having to make several trips to Russia each year has added up financially. “My first trip was $20,000 and each subsequent trip is between $8,000 and $10,000.”
Does Traci feel secure having an experimental treatment performed in a country whose language she cannot speak? “We do our research, we read up on things before we do anything,” she emphasizes. “We talk to people who have done stuff before. We felt comfortable doing this.”
Traci feels the time and money has been well spent. “I can feel deep pressure in my legs. I think it is a combination of the stem cells, neuromassage and physical therapy,” she states. “And since the last trip, I have movement in my hips, pelvis, low back and quad muscles. Also, my strength has increased.”
“They think I will make a full recovery!” Traci declares, noting that she has met others who, after having the procedure, have achieved this goal.
Between visits to Russia, Traci continues with her workout routine, which she has seen steady improvement with. “I am getting a lot stronger. We are very excited to see what this year holds for us. My goal is to get back to Russia in February or March.”
One recent accomplishment that Traci is quite proud of is losing 40 pounds, which she attributes primarily to now being able to perform a more strenuous workout.
Being experimental, Traci’s treatments in Russia are not covered by insurance or Medicaid. The income earned from running Fonda’s Fashions and Gifts has been specifically earmarked to fund her medical expenses. “Everything that the shop makes goes into inventory and what my insurance doesn’t cover,” she states.
Significant support
When she was 16, Traci first worked at Fonda’s for the original owner. When the store came up for sale in 1999, she and her family agreed that it would be “good therapy—physically and mentally.”
Traci describes her job in managing Fonda’s as “all about customer service.” She also enjoys making the crystal and silver beaded jewelry for sale at the shop.
“My mother does all the hard stuff,” she continues. “She does the books, finances, pays the bills. She is the backbone. My mom does a ton of stuff that she never gets credit for.”
Traci also has a deep appreciation for her family and friends who have provided needed emotional and spiritual support. One particular friend, Lanette Cox, steps in and manages Fonda’s when Traci and Carol are traveling for medical treatments.
Another friend who has provided encouragement for Traci has been Mickie Duncan of Red Oak. Traci explains that he is in the unique position of understanding what she is dealing with because he has is also challenged with a similar injury. The two met while at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas over nine years ago. “He is very inspiring,” Traci emphasizes. “He knows what it is like to be me and I know what it is like to be him. He has been a big part of my recovery in the last eight or nine months.”
One particular attribute of Mickie’s that Traci admires has been his ability to live independently, one of Traci’s own goals. He will be accompanying Traci and Carol on their next Russian visit.
When Traci has time to relax and socialize she loves to have friends over to watch movies, play games and eat pizza. She also enjoys singing and hopes to once again perform.
Traci returned to Navarro College and in 2003 earned her associates degrees in general studies. “Just the basics,” she grins. “School wasn’t my favorite thing. I’m more of a social butterfly.” She is a member of the Exchange Club of Rowlett and the Rowlett Chamber of Commerce. She notes that because of her health care demands, “I’m not as active as I would like to be.”
Although one of Traci’s goals now is to gain the ability to live independently, there is another one she is striving for. “Eventually I want to get married and have kids, but that will all come in God’s time.”
In the meantime, Traci works one day at a time on
her recovery process and enjoys coming in to Fonda’s
every day. “This business has been good to me,” she emphasizes. “People hang out
and stay a while. It feels like a family.”
Peggy Helmick - Richardson is a freelance writer.
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