Overcoming Obstacles

When Peter Beierwaltes (‘12) left campus over a year ago after suffering a paralyzing fall at the apartments above what was then Sabor Latino, he had no idea when he would be able to return to Luther. Having broken his neck in the cervical seven vertebrae and being paralyzed from the neck down, Beierwaltes was offered a 40-60 percent chance of full recovery within the next two to three years. Today, Beierwaltes is back at Luther with one goal in mind: to walk again.

Beierwaltes, who spent his first three months of recovery in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic, recalls the first time he moved anything below his neck when his right foot twitched.

“From there it kept getting better and better,” Beierwaltes said.

Leaving Mayo, Beierwaltes moved home to Michigan where he continued the recovery process and took a summer course from a local college.

Throughout this time, Beierwaltes continually recieved support from his family and friends.

“I never really had a time I felt depressed,” he said. “Part of it is that I’m always getting stuff back. I never thought I’d be able to walk again.”

Now, Beierwaltes is working on just that. With the help of Luther’s athletic training staff, he works on his stretching and strength, always trying to get more mobility and response in his body.

“It was incredible to see the change from when he was first injured and could hardly move his hands, to now ,when he can walk with a walker,” said Anna Zaffarano (‘11), his friend since freshman year.

With Beierwaltes’ positive attitude, the transition back to Luther has gone smoothly, aided by countless staff and faculty members who are continually becoming more aware of ways to make Luther a truly handicap accessible campus.

Luther is required to meet certain standards created by the American Disability Act that call for the typical access needs like ramps, automatic doors and elevators. But is this enough to make a busy college campus truly accessible?

Oftentimes, the biggest struggles in accessibility lie in areas one might not think about unless they were in a wheelchair, on crutches or in need of special assistance.

In many cases, interior doors are not automatic, the CFL has no elevator to the second floor, many classrooms have stadium seating that a wheelchair cannot negotiate and, in most dorms, a student in a wheelchair could only live on the ground floor.

Gwen Van Gerpen, director of the Student Academic Support Center, has worked closely with Beierwaltes in his transition back to Luther and wants to do more.

Equal access is a goal for the Luther campus because while all the buildings are ADA compliant, only some are truly equally accessible.

Van Gerpen believes everyone should have equal opportunity and has taken part in establishing the Disabilities Services Task Force.

“The Disabilities Services Task Force is prioritizing a list of needs and areas of focus right now to create a long-term plan of things that need to be done now, within the next two years and within the next five years,” said Van Gerpen.

Heading up this task force is the recently hired Tom Counters, who has previously worked with handicap accessibility and will help evaluate the needs of individual students with both physical and learning handicaps. Luther is continuing to seek ways to improve the campus.

“I think the campus is very committed to making things more accessible,” said Van Gerpen.

As Beierwaltes continues his pursuit of recovery, Luther continues to pursue accesibility for the handicapped.