Determined to Serve & Protect A police officer credits the team at St. Luke’s for helping her return to work after spine surgery

Determined to serve & protect

ST. LUKE’S, A REGIONAL LEADER IN REHABILITATION

To many of area school children, Shannon Sampson is known as “Police PAL (Protect, Assist & Listen) Shannon.” Sampson is a Cedar Rapids police officer assigned to the Crime Prevention/Community Outreach division. Part of her job is making the rounds at local schools and teaching children about safety. It’s a job she loves but after having spine surgery a year ago some questioned if she’d be able to return to work.

“I woke up one morning and the toes on my right foot were numb,” says Sampson. “I got up and walked around thinking that they would wake up but it didn’t help. Eventually the toes on my left foot also went numb. Then the numbness

and tingling started working its way up my body. I was also having severe back pain every night. I saw several specialists and eventually it was determined I had a large tumor on my thoracic spine. I had it removed in February 2019.”

RECOVERY

After surgery, Sampson was discharged to St. Luke’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) inpatient unit to begin her recovery.

“On the day I arrived at St. Luke’s, my husband pushed me in a wheelchair,” recalls Sampson. “At that time, I told myself when it was time to go home — I would walk out of the hospital on my own. I was determined to work hard, get stronger and return to my job as quickly as possible.”

“Shannon had a very serious diagnosis and surgery,” shares Stanley Mathew, MD, St. Luke’s PMR medical director and physiatrist. “The spinal cord is the power cord of the body. Shannon had a large mass sitting on her power cord. When the tumor was removed, a significant bruise remained and initially caused significant weakness in her legs and coordination issues. If the tumor hadn’t been removed Shannon would have eventually lost function permanently.” Stanley Mathew, MD

“When I came to St. Luke’s I wondered if I would be able to walk a distance or even go back to being a police officer again,” recalls Sampson. “It was my focus when I talked to doctors. I told myself that I would not let this tumor end my 20-plus year career. I was willing to do whatever I had to do to build strength and regain my balance.”

“It was a big surgery, so pain was a limiting factor,” recalls Kevin Komenda, St. Luke’s physical therapist. “She was using a walker and was not able to walk far when we first started working together. To remove her tumor, surgeons had to cut through a lot of muscle, so we worked on abdomen strengthening, walking and balance. Shannon was very goal-oriented and worked hard to recover.”

St. Luke’s PMR offers an intense, comprehensive program that is individualized to meet each patient’s goals. “From the very beginning I just kept telling myself I am going to get better,” recalls Sampson. “I am going to get stronger, I am going to get back to work. I walked out of the hospital to go home and the team at St. Luke’s helped me accomplish that goal.”

REGIONAL LEADER

“Shannon did well,” says Dr. Mathew. “She regenerated a lot in recovery. Her determination to get better helped her tremendously as did coming to the right place for rehab. Not all rehab is the same. St. Luke’s is a regional leader in rehabilitation. We have the experts, tools and medications to help patients improve and get back to their lives.”

Sampson has returned to working as a Cedar Rapids police officer. She has not been cleared to get back in uniform, so she isn’t working in schools with students just yet as her body continues to heal but when she does, she’ll be a walking role model in determination.

“The team at St. Luke’s got me walking again and I am extremely thankful for that,” shares Sampson. “The PMR staff and therapists were so knowledgeable, compassionate, and understanding. I don’t think they will ever know how much I truly appreciate them and all they did to help get me to where I am today!”

We invite you to take a virtual tour of St. Luke’s Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Go to bit.ly/PMRTour to watch a video about the area’s leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation or call (319) 369-7331 to speak with someone about the program.

VIDEO

Watch Police PAL Shannon’s story on our YouTube Channel. To see her story, visit bit.ly/ PolicePalShannon.