May 28, 2015
Rachel Hall Temple Strong/Facebook
Rachel Hall celebrates with fellow Temple lacrosse teammates.
Rachel Hall, the recent Temple University graduate who was injured in a late April hit-and-run incident, has been transported to a rehabilitation center, where doctors will attempt to wake her from her unconscious state and begin the next phase of treatment.
Hall, 22, was riding her bicycle near Temple's campus at around 7:25 p.m. on April 29 when she was struck by a car that fled the scene. Rashan Roberts, 18, was later arrested and charged in the incident.
Since the incident, Rachel's mother, Kathy Hall, has been keeping friends, family and strangers up-to-date on Rachel's medical progress via the Facebook page Rachel Hall Temple Strong.
On Wednesday, she posted the news that Rachel will be transported to Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia, where she will receive physical, occupational and speech therapy daily.
"I feel she is moving in the right direction. Temple University Hospital treated her physical trauma and now Magee is treating her head trauma. I feel confident in the doctors and staff at Magee to bring Rachel through this difficult time."
Kathy Hall also attended the university's May 8 graduation ceremony in place of her daughter to accept her diploma. Rachel was a student-athlete and a member of Temple's women's lacrosse team.
Kathy Hall posted the following photo of Rachel on Facebook and wrote that it showed her daughter working out at the Temple University weight room.
"After 4 weeks of being in the hospital and being sedentary, Rachel has lost almost all her muscle mass that she obtained from training daily for 4 years in college as an athlete," Kathy Hall wrote on the Rachel Hall Temple Strong Facebook page. "She is going to have to work really hard in physical therapy to obtain it back. But right now Rachel needs to focus on getting her mind functioning which leads to her body functioning.
Currently, Rachel has a tracheal tube in her neck to assist with her breathing and a feeding tube in her stomach. She is not coherent, cannot speak or communicate which is extremely frustrating.
Rachel’s progress is very slow. Every little thing she does is a great accomplishment. Just seeing her bite her lip one day, and yawning twice the next day feels so positive. I know I need to be patient and take one day at a time by appreciating each daily accomplishment.
This will take months of inpatient rehab and even more months of out-patient rehab, and I hate to think in terms of years. Rachel, her dad, her brother, and I, our lives have been altered by this event. It consumes every minutes of every day. It’s hard to find joy when a family member is in so much distress. Only 4 weeks into Rachel’s recovery and I can see this is going to be a very long emotional road for the 4 of us."
