Ellen Goldstein

An avid runner, I was out running in Prospect Park on 12/7/17 when a very troubled young man drove his car directly at me and hit me at full speed from behind. I suffered Level I trauma, with injuries to my hip and spine. I was very lucky to survive and to retain my ability to walk, but with multiple breaks in my hip and two spine fractures, I was told by my surgeons and at rehab (neither at HSS) that I would never run again. Grateful for my recovery, I was nevertheless so sad to think that something I really enjoyed and made me feel so strong and happy was just over. Before accepting this entirely, I decided to seek help at HSS, as I knew they worked with injured athletes like myself. I saw physiatrist Dr. Ellen Casey, and she told me there was no physical reason I could not run, but I needed to get stronger first. She referred me for physical therapy at the Sports Rehabilitation Center. After working with excellent therapists Michelle Cilenti and Michelle Yang, I am back to running my standard 5M without pain, and completed a 10K in August. The attached photo (that is me on the right) shows me before completing in the Prospect Park Turkey Trot, the last race I did before I was injured. Amazing to be out there again! THANK YOU HSS!!