{"id":71265,"date":"2023-08-16T08:12:15","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T14:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=71265"},"modified":"2024-02-05T12:37:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T19:37:12","slug":"freak-pickleball-accident-left-him-paralyzed-recovering-after-spinal-cord-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/freak-pickleball-accident-left-him-paralyzed-recovering-after-spinal-cord-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"A freak pickleball accident left him paralyzed. He found meaning thanks to parents who survived the Holocaust."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Dr.
Dr. Bill Silvers holds a photo of his parents, Helena and Leo Silvers, Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust. The drawing on the right commemorates their marriage. Each considered their wedding date a second birthday. His parents’ courage has inspired Silvers to find meaning and recover after a devastating spinal cord injury. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The moment the retired doctor\u2019s head crashed into the net, snapped backwards and sent him flying through the air, he knew he had suffered a spinal cord injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was the first time Dr. Bill Silvers, then 72, ever had played pickleball and just 10 minutes into his first game.<\/p>\n

Spring was dawning on April 23, 2022, the last day of Passover \u2014 the Jewish holiday that celebrates freedom and survival. Silvers had spent the morning at his synagogue\u2019s Saturday services and visited a friend who offered to teach him pickleball. They had just started playing on tennis courts at the friend\u2019s condo south of Denver. Wires that hold up tennis nets are more taut than typical pickleball nets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went for a shot at the net. I tripped. I had just had a left knee replacement. I hit the net with my head, hyperextended and fractured my C4,\u201d said Silvers, a semi-retired allergist.<\/p>\n

He felt no pain, but time seemed to stop as Silvers hovered for an eerily long moment in the air.<\/p>\n

His life was about to change, and he knew it.<\/p>\n

Putting tragedy into perspective: He\u2019s the son of Holocaust survivors<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As soon as Silvers\u2019 body crumpled onto the court, he took command of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cCall 911. I have a spinal cord injury,\u201d he told his friend.<\/p>\n

When an ambulance crew arrived, Silvers updated the paramedics on his health status. They wanted to take him to a nearby suburban hospital. But Silvers knew he had suffered a very dangerous injury that likely would leave him paralyzed. He knew he would need a team of experienced pros. So, he insisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake me to the University,\u201d he said, referring to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The University of Colorado School of Medicine<\/a> also had been Silvers\u2019 academic home for decades. Along with serving countless Colorado patients through his allergy practice, Silvers was a beloved medical professor<\/a>. And the Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a> is the place where Silvers helped create and endowed a groundbreaking Holocaust bioethics program that educates all health sciences students about genocide and the prevention of medical abuses like those that were pervasive during the Nazi regime.<\/p>\n

Silvers is the son of Polish Jews who survived Auschwitz and Dachau, then endured separate Holocaust death marches before miraculously reconnecting at a Red Cross shelter after the war.<\/p>\n

Many German medical professionals were complicit in the Nazi extermination of more than 6 million Jewish people. That history has prompted Silvers to dedicate his life to educating young people about genocide and other atrocities.<\/p>\n

Before the freak pickleball accident, Silvers was partially retired, had met his partner of five years, Sara Jo Fischer, and the two were enjoying an active life full of travel and sports.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Bill Silvers, right, with his partner, Sara Jo Fischer. The two were in a relatively new relationship when Silvers suffered a freak pickleball accident. Photo courtesy of Sara Jo Fischer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was a huge skier, cyclist and tennis player. A month and a half before the accident, I was trying out my new knee on black diamond slopes in Vail,\u201d Silvers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all of the risky things I\u2019ve done in my life \u2014 from skiing to driving too fast \u2014 I may have deserved to have an accident. But pickleball was not my idea of a high-risk activity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To cope with the challenging aftermath of his accident, Silvers has drawn inspiration from his parents and his deep Jewish faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving this kind of life-changing injury is not fun or easy at all. But it\u2019s nothing like the experiences of the Holocaust. I look at my life through the lens of my parents\u2019 experiences. That gives me perspective to address this situation as positively as I can,\u201d Silvers said.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are moments of frustration and deep loss, but Silvers is determined to serve as a \u201cmensch,\u201d a Yiddish word that means being a person of integrity, dignity and morality.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod must have had a plan for me,\u2019\u2019 Silvers said.<\/p>\n

As he fights to regain as much movement as possible and works to learn lessons from his accident, Silvers focuses relentlessly on cherishing the beauty of life, serving people and encouraging others to do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as you\u2019re breathing, you have the chance to do good in your life. As long as you\u2019re alive, you have the potential to grow, to help others and to be the best person you can be,\u201d Silvers said in his deep, soothing voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have bad moments,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I never have bad days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"After
After suffering a devastating spinal cord injury, Dr. Bill Silvers has become a pro at using his wheelchair. He can lean back to rest his muscles and can operate his phone to stay in touch with many friends. He approaches each day with purpose and positivity. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018From the moment my head was in his hands, I knew I was safe\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Silvers\u2019 insistence that paramedics take him to University of Colorado Hospital turned out to be prophetic.<\/p>\n

Minutes after paramedics brought him to the ER, Silvers spotted a familiar face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor who held my head was Jeff Druck. I had worked with him,\u201d said Silvers, who felt relief wash over him as tears welled in his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew from the moment my head was in his hands that I was safe,\u201d Silvers said.<\/p>\n

An emergency medicine physician, Druck also worked with Silvers on projects at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities<\/a> where Silvers\u2019 Holocaust Genocide Contemporary Bioethics Program is headquartered.<\/p>\n

Druck had visited Silvers\u2019 home, and the two had met over Zoom many times during the early days of the pandemic. Druck was just starting his shift that Saturday afternoon when he learned that a doctor had come to the ER after a pickleball accident. Druck rushed into the room and was heartbroken to see that his patient was also a friend and colleague.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a devastating injury,\u201d said Druck, who has been an ER doctor for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

While he has never seen a pickleball injury like the one Silvers suffered, Druck has cared for patients with similar spinal cord injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen it in a patient who fell down the stairs and with other falls,\u201d said Druck, who is now the vice chair for faculty advancement, diversity, equity, inclusion, and well-being for the University of Utah Department of Emergency Medicine.<\/p>\n

As unlucky as Silvers was to have suffered such a severe pickleball injury, he was lucky about the precise spot where he snapped his neck.<\/p>\n

Had he injured his spinal cord just a couple of centimeters higher, it\u2019s likely that Silvers would have been unable to breathe, and the accident could have killed him.<\/p>\n

Silvers also was lucky that he didn\u2019t fully sever his spinal cord; instead, he suffered a severe bruise. That left open the possibility that he might regain some movement over time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Early signs of hope: shrugging his shoulders, wiggling his toes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When Silvers arrived at the hospital, he couldn\u2019t move anything below his chin, but he was breathing on his own and was able to express his wishes.<\/p>\n

Druck was struck by Silvers\u2019 remarkable attitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was talking about the important things and people in his life,\u201d Druck said. \u201cHe has done so many amazing things and has helped so many people. He\u2019s been such a force for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Silvers was in very dire shape, some small signs of hope emerged within the first 24 hours. The accident had rendered Silvers a quadriplegic (also known as a tetraplegic) \u2014 meaning that the paralysis was affecting all four of his limbs and his torso \u2014 but he did have some movement in his extremities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI began to be able to shrug my shoulders and wiggle my toes. I had a neurological connection to the lower part of my body. That\u2019s all I could really do for the first month, but it was something,\u201d Silvers said.<\/p>\n

Druck and the ER team stabilized Silvers, then transferred him to critical care and neurosurgery experts.<\/p>\n

Their mission was to relieve pressure on his spinal column as quickly as possible and to stave off infection.<\/p>\n

First, however, Silvers had to cope with an immediate complication: a potentially fatal blood clot.<\/p>\n

\"Before
Before his accident, Dr. Bill Silvers and his partner, Sara Jo Fischer, enjoyed adventures around the world, including a trip to Machu Pichu. Photo courtesy of Sara Jo Fischer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Waiting for a clot to clear and contemplating the meaning of life \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Silvers\u2019 team was eager to do surgery as quickly as possible, but doctors found a blood clot that had formed in Silvers\u2019 vertebral artery. These clots are common in patients who have suffered spinal cord injuries. But they force delays in vital surgeries and can be very dangerous since clots can travel to the lungs, heart or brain.<\/p>\n

To break up the clot, doctors gave Silvers blood thinners and anxiously monitored their patient.<\/p>\n

Silvers, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to ponder his legacy.<\/p>\n

In the months before the accident, by chance, Silvers had started writing what\u2019s known as an \u201cethical will.\u201d It\u2019s not a will that parses out property. Rather, it\u2019s a document that lays out a person\u2019s beliefs and values. People who write ethical wills reflect on the meaning of their lives in order to pass wisdom down to family members and their communities.<\/p>\n

Faced with paralysis, imminent surgery and a fresh reminder of his mortality, Silvers decided to immediately finish his ethical will. With the help of Nancy Sharp, who advises people about ethical wills<\/a>, Silvers wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo those whose lives I may have touched: I have tried to be a mensch and live a meaningful life as a dedicated physician, a son of Holocaust survivors and a committed Jew,\u201d Silvers wrote. \u201cI have been given many blessings, some I didn\u2019t appreciate at the time, but given a long life, I do now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have suffered, struggled and persevered. I have loved, lost, and short of having no children, beyond an adopted daughter, I have tried my best to lead a life of integrity and to leave a legacy, to help those I could and to make the world a better place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Silvers went on to write about how his parents\u2019 courage and their remarkable survival during World War II motivated him.<\/p>\n

A daring escape from the Nazis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Silvers\u2019 parents were both born in Radom, Poland. His mom\u2019s parents were well-to-do owners of a brick factory.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe grew up with a horse-drawn carriage that took her to private school,\u201d Silvers wrote.<\/p>\n

His father was the son of textile merchants who lived in an apartment above the store they owned.<\/p>\n

Silvers\u2019 father was due to start medical school in Warsaw on Sept. 1, 1939, the exact day when German troops invaded Poland, triggering the start of World War II<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alas, Silvers\u2019 dad never made it to medical school. But he survived, making Silvers\u2019 life possible and planting the seed for his son to someday become a doctor.<\/p>\n

During the war, Silvers\u2019 parents endured unthinkable atrocities, but survived thanks to a daring escape from the Nazis.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents knew one another before the war, but it was only during the three-day \u2018aktion\u2019 in the Radom ghetto, Aug. 14-16, 1942, that they bonded for life,\u201d Silvers wrote in his ethical will.<\/p>\n

After raiding the Radom ghetto, Nazis sent 30,000 of 33,000 Jewish residents to the Treblinka death camp.<\/p>\n

Silvers\u2019 parents would have been among them had Silvers\u2019 dad not made a heroic move to save his future wife\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe threw her over the wall into\u00a0the Aryan side (of Radom) outside the ghetto.\u00a0He then followed her. When the Germans left, (my parents) returned\u00a0to the ghetto and married\u00a0on Aug. 16 in the family shul (synagogue), with only a few\u00a0family members present.\u201d<\/p>\n

His dad was 22, and his mom 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey felt if they were to be\u00a0deported, at least they would go together,\u201d Silvers wrote.<\/p>\n

Surviving Auschwitz and Dachau, then a miraculous train station reunion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

After dodging the Treblinka camp in 1942, both of Silvers\u2019 parents were later sent to Auschwitz in August 1944. It was the deadliest of the extermination camps. Nazis killed more than 1.1 million people at Auschwitz. Silvers\u2019 mom survived by working in a sewing shop; his dad toiled on a latrine crew. Nazis sent Silvers\u2019 dad to other camps, and while on a forced death march from Dachau in early May 1945, Silvers\u2019 father was liberated by American service members. His mother remained at Auschwitz until January 1945, when she, too, was forced to leave on a death march and was later liberated in Germany.<\/p>\n

Separated at the end of the war, each heard that the other had survived. They crisscrossed Europe for weeks searching for one another and finally reunited at a Red Cross aid center at the Prague railway station in August 1945.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheirs was a real love story,\u201d Silvers said. \u201cMy father survived the camps in hopes of being reunited with my mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the war, because Silvers\u2019 father spoke multiple languages, he was able to get a job as a supply clerk with the United National Relief and Rehabilitation, which helped support war refugees<\/a>. The work was good, but the trauma of all that the couple had endured hung over them.<\/p>\n

When Silvers\u2019 mom became pregnant, she and her husband connected with family in Indiana and arranged for a move to the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was critically important to my parents that I was not born on German soil,\u201d Silvers wrote.<\/p>\n

His parents wanted him to have the freedom and rights of being an American citizen and not to be in danger should Germans ever relaunch their systematic persecution and extermination of Jewish people.<\/p>\n

Silvers was born in 1949 in Indiana and always carried his parents\u2019 hopes with him. From the time he was a young boy, he decided to become a doctor so he could live out his father\u2019s unfulfilled dream.<\/p>\n

\u2018Between a rock and a hard place:\u2019 Surgery was urgent, but had to be delayed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Decades later, Silvers had achieved far more than he or his parents ever could have imagined. He grew up in Indiana, went to medical school at Indiana University, did his medicine residency at Emory University and trained to become an allergist at National Jewish Health in Denver.<\/p>\n

He loved teaching allergy and immunology to multiple generations of students at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt it was an important part of giving back,\u201d Silvers said.<\/p>\n

He anchored his allergy practice in Greenwood Village south of Denver and also had a satellite practice in Vail.<\/p>\n

Silvers adopted the color green as his signature personal and professional color. Long before consultants taught business leaders to use consistent colors in branding, Silvers figured it all out.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreen is my color. It\u2019s a great color. When I began my practice, it was in Greenwood Medical Center on Orchard Road in Greenwood Village,\u201d Silvers said.<\/p>\n

Blessed with athleticism and good looks, Silvers always wore green for work and loved sporting a bright green tie to the many charitable events he attended.<\/p>\n

Life was grand.<\/p>\n

He had achieved professional success, felt lucky to live in Colorado, embraced the outdoors as a skier and served as a pillar of the Jewish community.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bizarre accident had rendered this self-sufficient, accomplished man powerless and paralyzed. Far more used to assisting patients than being one, Silvers found himself stuck in a hospital bed.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Bill Silvers’ bought a home in Denver a few years ago that happened to have an elevator. Now that he’s recovering from a spinal cord injury, the elevator has proven to be invaluable. The painting is by an Israeli artist. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An unflinching determination to survive<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Silvers\u2019 surgeons were eager to act, but had to be patient.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could not do surgery without causing him to bleed out,\u201d said Dr. Jens-Peter Witt,<\/a> Silvers\u2019 chief neurosurgeon. \u201cIt was a very, very tough time for him and for us because we were afraid that he would lose more function.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witt said the spinal cord swells after being injured \u2014 just like any other organ \u2014 and surgery is vital to give the spinal cord space to heal after a traumatic accident.<\/p>\n

Finally, after six days, Witt was able to do surgery, but another clot developed, and Silvers\u2019 condition worsened again.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the first surgery, we had to go in again and clean out another clot,\u201d Witt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were between a rock and a hard place for sure. It took a good two weeks before we knew that we were on a recovery course,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Witt said it was vital that Silvers received care at an academic medical center with a full team of experts who could help him. They included intensive care experts, neurologists, neurosurgeons and vascular experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat allowed us to tap all of these skills and experiences immediately,\u201d Witt said. \u201cThis was a very complicated situation. We resolved it by putting our heads together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witt also credited his very motivated patient. With his medical knowledge and experience, Silvers knew all along how precarious his prognosis was. Nonetheless, he was unflinching in his determination to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith any procedure we did for him, we always had a discussion: \u2018What are the possible consequences? What are the risks and benefits? Should we go this far? Should we go to the next step?\u2019\u201d Witt recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe kept telling us to do whatever had to be done. He felt like he had prepared his mind to go through the worst of complications,\u201d Witt said.<\/p>\n

As Silvers navigated each new obstacle, he connected warmly with each of his caregivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a \u2018Dr. Bill\u2019 specialty,\u201d Witt said, referring to everyone\u2019s nickname for Silvers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe exudes strength. He conveyed that to all of our students and residents and staff and colleagues,\u201d Witt said.<\/p>\n

Following the complications with blood clots, Silvers also endured two frightening episodes of sepsis \u2014 severe infections that can be deadly as they cause patients\u2019 organs to shut down.<\/p>\n

Mother\u2019s Day on May 8 was especially bleak. To keep friends, former patients and colleagues updated on Silvers\u2019 condition, his partner, Sara Jo Fischer, started posting updates on CaringBridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among the many people and resources that Fischer was connecting with was the \u201cSuperman\u201d foundation. Back in 1995, famed Superman actor Christopher Reeve broke his neck and became a quadriplegic following a devastating equestrian accident.<\/p>\n

Reeve and his wife set up a foundation to support research and advocacy for people coping with spinal cord injuries. It\u2019s now called the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During a raw moment, as Silvers fought through sepsis, Fischer shared an update that would give rise to a new nickname.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur beloved SuperMenschMan needs your prayers,\u201d Fischer wrote on May 13. \u201cThis has been another day of setbacks and instabilities due to an infection\u2026Bill is fighting to keep on keeping on.\u201d<\/p>\n

From then on, Silvers became everyone\u2019s \u201cSuperMenschMan.\u201d A friend designed a special T-shirt for team Silvers. It\u2019s green \u2014 of course. And it shows a caped superhero cruising around in a wheel chair. Nancy Sharp, who had assisted with Silvers\u2019 ethical will, created bracelets that read: \u201cBe a Mensch.\u201d They, too, are green, of course.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Bill Silvers was unable to move anything below his chin after he suffered a spinal cord injury while playing pickleball. He has been working to regain movement. He can fist-bump with visitors. And friends made him T-shirts and bracelets highlighting his determination to live a good life and be a “mensch.” Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first month after the accident was extremely difficult, but hope was on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a rocky course,\u201d Silvers said. \u201cThankfully, I don\u2019t remember a lot of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Destiny: They were meant to be together<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While much of the immediate aftermath of the accident was a blur for Silvers, Fischer, on the other hand, remembers those first days all too well. She had been out of town at a wedding when she received news of the crazy accident. She flew home and quickly tried to digest a myriad of frightening and overwhelming medical details.<\/p>\n

Silvers and Fischer had been in a relatively new relationship at the time. A friend of Silvers\u2019 met Fischer back in 2017 and declared that she and his friend, Silvers, would be \u201cbashert.\u201d It\u2019s a Yiddish word that means they were destined to be soulmates.<\/p>\n

There was a spark right away in a yin and yang sort of way.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Bill Silvers and his partner, Sara Jo Fischer, kayaking together in the Galapagos Islands. Said Fischer of Silvers’ freak pickleball accident: “We had many great adventures. This was not what we expected. But it’s another adventure.” Photo courtesy of Sara Jo Fischer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A yoga lover who had spent time with Ram Dass, the guru of modern yoga, Fischer is an art curator who had lived for years in Santa Fe. She followed her heart all of her life, enjoying life\u2019s zigs and zags. Many moons ago, she worked as a cook and crew member on yachts so she could travel. Silvers, on the other hand, had followed a carefully planned path all of his life.<\/p>\n

Back in 2016, Silvers had sold his home and retired from his allergy practice. He was traveling extensively and was considering a move to Israel.<\/p>\n

During an extended stay there in 2018, Silvers ruptured his Achilles tendon. He came home to Denver for surgery and recovered at Fischer\u2019s rental home.<\/p>\n

Their relationship deepened, and Fischer\u2019s kindness as a caregiver foreshadowed the same selflessness and strength she would tap after the wrenching pickleball accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe enjoyed one another\u2019s company. We had great conversations. She cared for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Added Fischer: \u201cI love to cook. Food is medicine to me. I use organic ingredients and cook from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their bond was sealed. They were, indeed, bashert.<\/p>\n

When Silvers recovered from the Achilles injury, the couple traveled together to places like Machu Pichu, the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands and to snorkel at Australia\u2019s Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n

They loved far-flung adventures and immersing themselves in cultures around the world.<\/p>\n

Then came their entirely unexpected detour. Following the accident, Fischer instantly became Silvers\u2019 No. 1 supporter and advocate. Her sister is a nurse and helped her begin to figure out the complex medical world.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy skill set and my soul have grown,\u201d said Fischer, 68. \u201cIt\u2019s given me the opportunity to grow as a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recovering and seeing the future in a new light\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Doctors at University of Colorado Hospital work closely with rehabilitation specialists at Craig Hospital in Englewood, teaming up on research to maximize healing for patients.<\/p>\n

Craig is one of the world\u2019s top hospitals for people with spinal cord injuries, and by late May, Silvers was able to transition to Craig for a two-month inpatient stay.<\/p>\n

The work was extremely intense with full days of multiple kinds of therapies.<\/p>\n

Silvers and Fischer were both eager learners as they embraced their new reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI view this as a new life ahead, starting from total dependency on others\u2026 to hopeful self-sufficiency and independence in the future,\u201d Silvers wrote on May 28 on his CaringBridge site.<\/p>\n