Diane Lundmark is on a journey of courage.

“This whole thing has taught me so much about patience, humility and presence,” she declares.

In September, Diane, 59, of Minnetonka and her husband Kirk were visiting their son in Montana.

In the bathroom, he passed out, hitting his head on a counter, triggering a spinal injury.

“Basically, her C5 (vertebrae) dislocated and hyperextended over the top of C6 and that affected the spinal nerve,” Kirk explained.

That impact left Diane, an active cyclist and former volunteer adaptive ski instructor at Allina Health Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, paralyzed from the chest down.

Now, he’s back as a patient.

“I can only imagine what it took to get them up the ski hill,” says Diane. “And now I’m living it, because I know how long it lasts.”

For five weeks, five hours a day, she has been receiving physical and occupational therapy, plus speech therapy to project her voice and work on her diaphragm at the Courage Kenny Clinic at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Allina Health.

An electric machine helps to stimulate the muscles and the nervous system.

“He’s doing really well,” explains Dr. James Spendley, a spinal cord injury rehabilitation specialist at the Courage Kenny Institute. “There are always speed bumps in anyone’s recovery, and that’s why she’s in the Abbott Acute Rehabilitation Center.”

Diane says she still has no feeling from the chest down.

But he moves his arms more and can feel the muscle sensation during the stretch and in his abdominal muscles.

“We’re on this train with her,” Kirk declares. “She’s going to take it as far as she can, and we’re just here to support her 100 percent.”

Diane says she’s not sure how far her recovery will go, but she’s already making plans to be even more of an advocate for others with spinal cord injuries.

A tough journey, yes, but Diane, surrounded by her family and care team, shows no signs of slowing down.

“I see the light at the end of the tunnel because I know I will continue to get stronger. Continue to maybe become a little more independent,” she says. “But I know I have a journey to make before I get there.”

You can learn more about a crowdfunding effort to help with Lundmark’s medical expenses Here.