Casey’s Story
NCEFT Board Chair and Physical Therapy Client
In 1994, when I was introduced to the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT), I immediately fell in love with its mission and services. So, of course, when I was invited to join the board of directors, I jumped at the opportunity to support this important organization in a leadership role.
It was not until 2012 that I fully grasped the impact of NCEFT’s healing powers and vital role in the world of rehabilitative health and therapeutic wellness. On September 1, 2011, I was in a horse accident and fractured my neck. I was air-lifted to a trauma center in Reno, Nevada, paralyzed from the chest down to my toes. I spent a week in ICU on a ventilator, and a few more weeks in a neurology unit. I eventually flew back home to San Jose where I spent a few months in a spine treatment facility and was discharged with a prognosis of “wheelchair access to the community for life.”
Thankfully, as part of my rehabilitation treatment and therapy, I became an NCEFT client. After intensive therapy with NCEFT’s talented staff and horses, I was walking again and even riding independently. My time as a client at NCEFT was truly transformative. I often wonder how different my life would be if I hadn’t received these life-changing services.
I know I am not alone in my gratitude for NCEFT because miracles happen every single day at the Center. From a bereavement workshop participant who leans on our equine friends—sometimes quite literally—to the parent of a disabled child receiving physical or occupational therapy utilizing equine movement, one thing is for certain: each and every client experiences the horses, hope, and healing that makes NCEFT so unique.
But the NCEFT of today is not the same one I first encountered 29 years ago. It has grown and flourished, serving hundreds of clients in need each year. Our Mental Health and Resilience Programs help fill a critical gap in our community that allow even more people to experience the healing power of the human-horse relationship.
