Spotlight: Isabel Vitkin

Twenty-two-year-old Isabel Vitkin was busy planning her professional future. She had finished her undergrad in history and was now enrolled in Teachers College at Western University.

“I’m one year into the program and after my first placement at a high school, I found that I was really enjoying it,” Vitkin says.

In January 2023, black ice on the 401 highway and a horrible collision put a swift halt to those plans. Vitkin was returning to her student house in London, Ont., after a visit home in Toronto when the weather took a turn for the worse.

Due to slippery weather conditions, the car lost control and spun into two trucks as well as a third car. The entire car was mangled and eventually ended up on the shoulder.

She was rushed to Victoria Hospital where she spent the first week intubated before moving to the trauma ward to recover from injuries to her jaw, vertebrae, ribcage, wrists, and a traumatic brain injury. After three weeks, Vitkin was released from acute care, but her recovery was far from over.

A new learning environment

Suddenly, Vitkin had to shift from learning at university to relearning at West Park Healthcare Centre.

“I had to basically relearn all of the things I had taken for granted,” she says.

This included walking, speaking, as well as navigating the many hurdles that came from her severe brain injury including sensitivity to sound, low energy, mental-health challenges, and dizziness. When she first arrived at West Park, Vitkin spent many of her days in bed, as standing up would quickly make her dizzy. But with her positive attitude, patience, and the help of her care team, she soon made great strides in her recovery.

“In regard to physio, I feel so incredibly lucky to have worked with Denise Stremler. She made it attainable that we could meet certain steps in my recovery,” says Vitkin. “I can walk again, and I can even do stairs, which was unimaginable when I first arrived.”

Vitkin also spent her days working with Occupational Therapist Cassandra Sforza and her team to test her cognitive abilities, such as with memory tests, facial recognition, and problem-solving scenarios. Additionally, speech-language pathology experts helped to restore her speech and communication skills.

“The support you receive when you’re here, not only from the people you have appointments with, but the other staff like the nurses and the unit clerk, Sandra Campos, is so amazing,” Vitkin says. “West Park’s motto is Get Your Life Back, and it’s true! Words can’t even describe how thankful I am to West Park for getting me to this stage in my recovery.”

Vitkin left the hospital in March and continues to recover at home. Recovering from a severe brain injury can take a long time, and can come with lifelong challenges, but Vitkin is once again planning out her future – now from a different perspective. She says since the accident, she has been taking time to marvel at the simple things in life.

“Even going outside, when I went for a walk at West Park, I was just revelling in it. I used a walker, and it was my first time outside in about two months – that was a huge milestone for me,” she says.