Rahsaan's Story

Rahsaan Wise is a 44-year-old right-handed man who was injured by GSW on 5/26/21 in Philadelphia, PA. He was taken to a local trauma hospital with a diagnosis of a T2-T4 SCI. He underwent surgery and had two strokes during surgery. He was discharged five months later and transferred to a local rehabilitation hospital where he had inpatient rehab for 30 days. He was unable to live on his own, so he moved to Georgia in 2022 to live with his mother who had to quit work to help him with his personal care.

Rahsaan was working in a warehouse at the time of the shooting. He is single and has five children living up north, ages 14 to 24. When Rashaan was admitted to the GA RSVP Clinic in November of 2022, he was independent with upper body ADLs but needed help with all lower body. He had no bowel and bladder control and used briefs. His skin was intact although he did have pressure wounds while in the hospital. He was able to transfer from bed to wheelchair independently but needed some help with car transfers. He had just received a power wheelchair for mobility, and we helped to get a ramp to get in and out of the house. Rahsaan's goals were to get counseling for his PTSD due to the random shooting and adjusting to his new injury), be more independent in his care and understand resources for doing more in the community. While Rashaan did receive inpatient rehabilitation, he did not feel he was ready to hear and actively participate due to his emotional challenges. Rahsaan was on several medications for hypertension, pain, sleep, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Rahsaan is now independent with all his ADL's but needs some assistance with car transfers due to HO in his knee. He has a bowel and bladder program that has been successful and no longer uses briefs. He has a PCP and is following up regularly with Urology and Orthopedics for his HO. He is now going to the gym three times a week and using Marta Mobility for his transport or an UBER. He is applying for funds for a manual chair so he can go out with his friends and potentially go back to work. He has attended a pre-employment course and is working individually with a vocational counselor. Rashaan has been a leader and motivator in developing relationships with other SCI clients and provides a lot of peer support with new clients while in the clinic.