She Runs for Life

Physical fitness helped Gwen Berger recover from two devastating accidents

On the Road Again - Gwen Berger of Kutztown, Pa., suffered two catastrophic accidents in three years. Thanks to her fitness level and excellent emergency care, she’s running marathons again.

As a physical therapist, Gwen Berger of Kutztown, Pa., knows the value of being fit. She runs marathons and lifts weights. She never dreamed it might help save her life not once, but twice.

Berger and her dog were heading out for a six-mile run in November 2005. She never saw the van that hit her going 45 mph. She was thrown 50 feet and woke up with her face in the dirt, unable to move.

"I remember lying on the ground struggling to breathe," she says. "I could taste blood and hear my breath rattling. When I heard the helicopter, I knew it was bad."

She was lucky to be alive. She had broken seven ribs, her pelvis and lumbar spine, and suffered a punctured lung, lacerated spleen and liver. Her beloved dog had also been hit, and later died.

Berger spent five days in Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest's trauma intensive care unit while the team worked on stopping internal bleeding and getting her stabilized. Her recovery continued for another five days on a medical floor. As she was being preparing to transfer to a rehabilitation unit, a test revealed a potentially fatal blood clot. After another day in the hospital, she went home and began a self-directed rehabilitation program.

"My goal was to reach my prior level of function," Berger, 39, says. "I had run marathons before and I was determined to run them again. I ran a full marathon 11 months after the accident."

Thanks to the expert medical care she received at the scene and at the hospital, Berger recovered fully. She was back to running and working out, training that would help her survive a head-on collision two years later.

She was on her way to work one snowy morning when a van skidded out of control and slammed into her car. This time she awoke to the sound of a saw cutting her out of the car. She arrived at the Lehigh Valley Health Network with a broken neck, foot and forearm, a severely sprained ankle and a concussion. Following surgery to repair her arm, she went home after two days to begin another rehabilitation regimen. She ran her next marathon in seven months.

After seeing the car, Berger’s husband was amazed she lived. Some say it's a miracle. Berger has another explanation.

"A strong musculoskeletal system will protect you the same way pads and a helmet protect a football player," she says. "Strong muscles surrounding strong bones absorb impact and can lessen severity of injury. If everyone takes steps to build physical activity into their lives, we will have fewer injuries and easier recovery when something does happen."

The experiences have also given her a new perspective on life.

"My experience as a patient and a caregiver has shown me how the level of care at Lehigh Valley Health Network is above and beyond anywhere else," she says. "I've told my husband that if anything else happens, I don't want to go anywhere but here."

This page last updated 10/21/09 10:51 AM