STUDENT PROFILE JENNIFER BOU LAHOUD
Step by Step Jennifer Bou Lahoud aims to pursue research that will help others with spinal cord injuries. Jennifer Bou Lahoud walks confdently, with purpose, in front of her USC Dornsife classmates with her diploma in hand. In her mind’s eye, at least, she walks as she used to, before the accident—the way she dreams she’ll someday walk again. In 2008, the 16-year-old from West Covina, Calif., went on a ski trip with family and friends that took a tragic turn. Bou Lahoud skidded of her sled and slammed into a bed of rocks and packed snow. “The moment I landed, I felt paralyzed,” she says. “[After that] I knew everything was about to change.” Physicians frst predicted she might never regain use of her legs. But an MRI showed her spinal cord might still be intact, which meant a chance to walk again. She was hopeful, but after nine bolts, two steel rods, and a piece of her hipbone were fused to her vertebrae through a fve-hour surgery, she still couldn’t feel any sensation in the lower half of her body. “Just the day before I was running up and down the hill, and now I was facing life in a wheelchair,” she says. Bou Lahoud didn’t lose hope. Her spine was injured, but the determination and competitive spirit that made her a star athlete and straight-A student before the accident were stronger than ever. “Every morning when the therapists came in, I would say, ‘You will see me walk again,’” she remembers.
Through months of intensive physical therapy and strong support from her parents, sister and brother, Bou Lahoud eventually regained the ability to stand and take steps with assistance. Determined not to fall behind in classes, she fnished high school on time and in good academic standing. She was unsure how she could attend or aford college, though, until she found out about USC’s Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund, supported through the Swim with Mike program. The fund helps aspiring college students who’ve sufered serious illness or injuries. She jumped at the opportunity, applying both to USC and the scholarship program. “Within the same week, I got both acceptance letters and I knew that I was going to do whatever it took to make it work,” she says. A senior, Bou Lahoud is pursuing a double major in neuroscience and psychology, hoping to integrate the two felds into tangible research that will help other recovering spinal cord injury patients. She plans to attend grad school and earn a PhD in cognitive neuroscience, and continue to bring more awareness to the needs of those with spinal cord injuries. And she’s still working hard to realize her dream of walking again. To learn more about Bou Lahoud’s story, visit www.HelpJenWalkAgain.com. ALEX KANEGAWA
PHOTO BY ELIAS TAHAN
WHAT’S SWIM WITH MIKE? Friends of swimmer Mike Nyeholt ’78 started a swimming fundraiser in 1981 after he was paralyzed in a dirt-bike accident. The $58,000 raised was enough to specially equip a van for him and start USC’s Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. The next year, Nyeholt got into the pool to continue the fundraiser. The Swim with Mike swim-a-thon is now held every April at USC and at pools from Hawaii to Connecticut. It’s raised more than $14 million for more than 140 scholarships. To learn more or get involved, visit swimwithmike.org.
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