September 10, 2025 • 38 mins
What draws someone back to the place where they experienced one of life's most challenging moments? For Becki Bushnell and Meredith Berkowitz, Craig Hospital represents not only where their spinal cord injury rehabilitation journey began, but also where their professional lives found purpose.
Becki, approaching her 17th anniversary as a clinical care manager, candidly shares how she "hated Craig" during her rehabilitation following an injury at age 15. She describes herself as "the most terrible patient ever," reluctant to participate in therapy and struggling with the adjustment. Yet a chance encounter in the waiting room years later led to a career opportunity that transformed her relationship with Craig entirely. Now, she uses her lived experience to help patients navigate the complex emotional and practical challenges of life after spinal cord injury.
Meredith brings a fresher perspective as the assistant DME coordinator who joined the staff in January after being a patient during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her journey highlights the stark realities of employment barriers for people with disabilities – from inaccessible workplaces to the revealing moment when she removed information about her paralysis from job applications and suddenly received more interview requests.
Both women offer powerful insights into what makes Craig Hospital unique: it's "a yes place" in what can often feel like "a world of no" for people with disabilities.
Ready to hear more stories from the halls of Craig Hospital? Subscribe to the Only at Craig podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado, is a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that specializes exclusively in the neurorehabilitation and research of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI). Craig is a not-for-profit, free-standing, national center of excellence that has treated more than 34,500 patients with SCI and BI since 1956. https://craighospital.org
For more Information visit: https://craighospital.org/onlyatcraigpodcast
Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. Craig Hospital is not affiliated with resources that may be referenced in this podcast. Craig Hospital assumes no liability for any third-party material or for any action or inaction taken as a result of any content or any suggestions made in this podcast and should not be relied upon without independent investigation. Any use of this content by a corporation or other revenue-seeking or -generating organization is prohibited unless first approved by Craig Hospital....
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_02 (00:04):
Welcome to the Only at Craig podcast, where we
discuss all things found only atCraig.
I'm Scott Adams, an internalcommunications specialist here
at Craig Hospital.
And I'm Tyler Smith, Craig'smedia production specialist, and
we're your hosts.
On this podcast, we shareinteresting, sometimes
unbelievable, and often funnystories about the history and
culture of Craig.
Craig Hospital, the halls arefilled with extraordinary
(00:25):
people.
People who sustain life-changinginjuries and turn their
experiences into somethinglarger.
SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
In this episode, we're speaking with team members
who have lived experience with aspinal cord injury, but also
know what it means to work atCraig.
SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
We're asking the big questions.
Why Craig?
Why choose to work here?
And maybe even more telling,what's kept them here?
We'll hear about the momentsthat stay with
SPEAKER_01 (00:45):
them,
SPEAKER_02 (00:45):
the challenges they faced, and the connections that
continue to inspire them eachday.
SPEAKER_01 (00:49):
These are stories of resilience, purpose, and the
deep sense of community thatmakes Craig Hospital more than
just a workplace.
It's a place where life afterinjury is redefined every single
day.
SPEAKER_02 (01:04):
And with that, we are joined by two Craig
graduates whom we are honored tonow call our peers, Becky
Bushnell and Meredith Berkowitz.
Thank you, ladies, for joiningus.
SPEAKER_00 (01:12):
Yeah, of course.
You're welcome.
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
Now, when Tyler and I got together and discussed
ideas for an episode that kindof ties in with the SCI
Awareness Month, which is inSeptember, we thought, you know,
there are so many Craig gradswho work at Craig and have been
here for years.
Let's find out why.
And so here we are with two ofthem.
And Becky, we'll start with you.
You're coming up on 17 years.
Congratulations.
Why don't you tell us first whatyou do here at Craig?
(01:34):
You're still like a
SPEAKER_01 (01:35):
newbie at 17 years.
SPEAKER_00 (01:37):
I'm still a newbie according to a lot of people
that I work with, yes.
What I do here, Craig, so I amwhat's called a clinical care
manager, CCM for short, and weare in our little suite
downstairs on the first floor.
We are all social workers slashcase managers, and what we do is
(01:58):
when patients come in for theirIOEs or in-to-outs, that kind of
stuff, then we talk After them,we do biopsychosocial
assessments on them.
We find out if they're havingany issues at home in regards to
either with getting into thehome or accessibility or
transportation and things likethat.
(02:20):
Hopefully, we can help themfigure out a way to either us
help them with our foundationfunds or find them a resource at
home that can be beneficial tohelp them.
SPEAKER_02 (02:30):
Wonderful.
Meredith, in your own words,describe your role here.
SPEAKER_03 (02:34):
I am the assistant DME coordinator, which is DME
means durable medical equipmentand the admin assistant in
wheelchair clinic.
So I help Meg Dimple, you know,keep things relatively
organized.
But my first part of my job, Ihelp coordinate patients
(02:55):
ordering durable medicalequipment.
Robin Engelbert, who is my bossand supervisor for DME side, all
the orders for all equipment,chairs, beds, lifts, bathroom
equipment, all of that goesthrough us and then we send it
to the appropriate parties.
SPEAKER_02 (03:12):
And you're one of the few people who's been here
for a shorter amount of timethan me.
You started way back in January,
SPEAKER_03 (03:18):
right?
Well, I started working here.
Working here.
Sorry.
But I've been here.
SPEAKER_01 (03:25):
How has the first eight months been?
SPEAKER_03 (03:31):
I guess the best way I can just, have you all seen
Wayne's World?
SPEAKER_01 (03:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They
SPEAKER_03 (03:35):
get the backstage pass at the Alice Cooper show.
I feel like the last eightmonths I've just been like, hey,
here's my badge.
SPEAKER_00 (03:46):
They actually pay me to be here now.
I do the opposite.
I hide my badge in my lap sothat people don't ask me
questions.
SPEAKER_03 (03:56):
When I was a patient here and I saw you, I knew you
were an employee.
You had this air about you and Iwas like, I saw you going down
the hall and I was like I'm I'mgonna be okay I'm good yeah
SPEAKER_00 (04:09):
look at that
SPEAKER_03 (04:09):
professional well look at that it's great
SPEAKER_00 (04:13):
yeah yeah I always hide my badge because you know
people always stop me andespecially when you know we have
people that are coming aroundthe hospital you look you know
looking for things and makingsure things are where they need
to go and stuff like that it'slike please don't ask me any
questions because I probablydon't know the answer to this so
that's why I don't wear my badgeI just keep it in my lap at all
times I think where our officesare for
SPEAKER_03 (04:34):
had a very different perspective
SPEAKER_01 (04:37):
I was gonna just say that as like your roles are very
unsung I think CCMs are nobodyknows about the full capacity
that you guys do the sheerworkload alone but just all the
behind the scenes stuff becauseus in marketing we come to CCMs
all the time and say hey we'rethinking about this patient for
(04:57):
a highlight what do you thinkand you have all this wisdom and
just I have a CCM video comingup actually because I've been
wanting to highlight CCMs andjust how great they are and then
the basement dwellers thatnobody knows I know we work in
(05:17):
the beast you're like my officehere where we don't have any
windows but it's one of thecoolest rooms in the entire
hospital is my opinion I lovethat hallway just the wheelchair
cage and how they buildeverything and if you ever need
a speakeasy uh the wheelchairclinic did a great they always
(05:42):
have there was a man cave forhalloween uh speakeasy last year
and then um
SPEAKER_03 (05:48):
the speedway the race
SPEAKER_01 (05:49):
car speedway yeah nice car pit stop or whatever
and yeah which is so fun
SPEAKER_03 (05:54):
i mean that could not have been more appropriate
SPEAKER_02 (05:56):
i remember walking through the wheelchair clinic
for the first time it was like ipictured just making one of
those 90s hip-hop videos whereyou got the cars and like all
the, you know, tricked out partsof them.
Yeah, I'm looking at all theseparts and I'm like, you know,
just hearing juvenile in my headand yeah, it was great.
SPEAKER_03 (06:11):
And it's such an unassuming hallway too.
SPEAKER_02 (06:14):
Yeah.
You're
SPEAKER_03 (06:14):
like, oh, this is, it's bare, it's hospitally and
then you open the cage door andit's just like,
SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
oh.
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
Yeah, it's just a hall with just doors.
SPEAKER_00 (06:26):
It's just a hall with just doors on it so you
don't really know.
And there's a party behind each
SPEAKER_03 (06:30):
one.
SPEAKER_01 (06:31):
Yeah, rehab engineering, there's a party
behind there.
All those 3D printers And I waslike, that's another one of my
favorite rooms.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (06:37):
And then you go to the very last one.
SPEAKER_02 (06:39):
Yeah.
One of the questions I wanted toanswer, I don't know, I try to
answer whenever I create anycontent here at Craig, is
answering the question, whyCraig?
What's kept you here for allthese years, for you all these
months too?
Yeah, why do you work here?
Why Craig?
Let's answer it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:54):
Why Craig was kind of just fell on my lap a little
bit.
A lot of people do know anddon't know.
I was a patient here 38 yearsago, injured at 15 years old.
old, you know, lived herelocally, so came here to Craig
to, you know, do my re-avows anddo, come for clinic appointments
and stuff like that, and I wassitting in the waiting room one
(07:16):
day just waiting for anappointment, and another CCM
that was, ended up being my casemanager, saw me in the clinic
waiting area, and she asked mewhat I was doing, and I said,
hey, I'm here for a cliniccheck, and, you know, got some
things going on, and she said,well, and I just graduated from
college and she said well do youhave a job yet and I said well
(07:37):
no not really I'm still lookingand and she said well we're
looking for someone for PRN inour department and back then it
was called follow-up servicesand she said what do you think
about working for us until youfind something I was like hey
sure I'm not doing anything youknow and just to be honest I
hated Craig I was 15 years old Iwas injured I didn't want to do
(08:01):
anything upstairs do mat classwake up early to get dressed you
know I was the most terriblepatient here ever and so I was
last thing I was thinking I wasever coming to Craig to work and
so since it was outpatient Isaid sure I'll try it and see
how it goes and I started PRNfor about nine months and I was
(08:23):
PRN and then being able toconnect with connect with people
and patients and families andhelping them as much as I could
and things like that and and youknow you see the good the bad
and the ugly of every ofpatients and everything.
And so I thought maybe I couldbe, you know, be helpful of
being in the same situation as alot of patients.
So I applied for the job andended up getting it.
(08:45):
And ever since then, I've beenhere for 16 years now.
So I think, I guess, long storyshort is why Craig is because I
thought I could be beneficial tohelp someone in the same
situation that I have been in.
Whether you've been injuredyoung, whether you've been
injured middle age, whetheryou've been injured elderly,
whatever it is that I could helpin some way, you know, be able
(09:09):
to, you know, kind of just kindof be able to help them a little
bit, get through the trauma, getthrough the, you know, the very
first beginning of, of whatthey're going through.
SPEAKER_01 (09:19):
So I just love hearing the whole legacy piece
of why, why people come to Craigand everybody's story is just so
unique, but it made me laugh,laugh that you said that you
were like the worst Craigpatient ever.
I was like, I don't think you'rethe worst, but
SPEAKER_03 (09:37):
I love that you were a
SPEAKER_00 (09:38):
patient because I was not, you know, not very
acceptable to, you know, wantedto doing a lot of things, you
know, and I had a very hardtime.
I was living in Texas at thetime of my injury, really had a
hard time coming from lowaltitude to high altitude.
And so I had a really hard timewith dizziness and stuff like
(09:59):
that.
So I was here a little bitlonger than I probably should
have been.
because I was having a very hardtime with being able to sit up
upright and do therapy and stufflike that.
So, so in that case, you know,it was, and then things got
better as the, you know, as, asit went along, but it just all,
all together, you know, age anddizziness and everything that
(10:22):
you're, you know, you're goingthrough and it just all came,
you know, together.
And then it just was like, Ijust don't want to do anything,
but I got over it, grew up.
And now I'm, I'm here at Craighelping other people.
I
SPEAKER_01 (10:37):
hate growing up.
SPEAKER_00 (10:39):
It's called adulting.
SPEAKER_01 (10:40):
I don't like adulting.
Grow up, Peter.
How about you, Meredith?
Why Craig?
SPEAKER_03 (10:47):
Um...
It's so hard to explain exactlywhy, because there's so much
nuance to the process of gettingback into the workforce
post-injury.
But I will say, I remember beingan inpatient and I was laying in
bed and I looked at the scarfthat I just tie-dyed and I just
(11:08):
said, I'm going to work here oneday.
I am.
I know this is the right placefor me.
I had been during eight hours oftherapy a day.
It was during COVID, too.
My inpatient stay was duringCOVID.
So my team became my world.
(11:30):
Your team became
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
family.
SPEAKER_03 (11:32):
They did.
They became my best friends.
They became my family.
They became everything.
They didn't let family in, didthey?
So my parents love me a lot.
And apparently my dad was ratherconvincing.
and got the rules to change alittle bit so that him and my
(11:53):
mom could alternate days so oneof them at a time was in every
day gotta
SPEAKER_01 (12:00):
love our parents
SPEAKER_03 (12:00):
we love our parents my dad is he's such a good dad
my mom is such a good mom mystepmom is incredible i mean my
parents just they they justshowed up and they were not
about to like let these covidrules stand in the way but yeah
i I mean, I had the bestinpatient team and I really
(12:22):
bonded.
Like I bonded extremely hardwith them, like probably more
than the average person does.
I mean, we're all females, allaround the same age, all kind of
going through this together.
One of them was pregnant, whichhas actually some parallels to
like being injured.
So we were kind of both goingthrough these things together.
But they made me laugh so hardthat I was like, I don't want to
(12:45):
be around anyone else.
I always make a joke.
that I got some good core returnbecause I laughed so much in
therapy.
It's a good workout, yeah.
It is a good workout.
I knew I was supposed to be heremore like I wanted to be here.
I was injured in St.
Louis and I just had not thestrongest desire to return to
(13:08):
that and so I stayed here forsix months.
I did inpatient for three andthen I got accepted to NRN so I
got to do three months ofoutpatient and then I went back
to St.
Louis for like five months andit wasn't it.
It just, it didn't feel likehome anymore.
Didn't feel right.
So I came back to Colorado,started therapy again.
(13:28):
And then I also didn't know whatto do career wise.
My background's in graphicdesign and I was still doing
therapy full time.
I didn't know, like, I reallyhadn't crossed that barrier of
really stretching those, thosetech skills yet.
And then I, you know, I starteda, like a night class and I I
(13:48):
got my certificate in UX design.
I knew that intensively for sixmonths while doing therapy
full-time and tried to jump intothis incredibly competitive
field of UX design, having notworked and having just become
quadriplegic.
So I was facing a ton ofbarriers and it was almost
(14:11):
impossible to narrow down whatcan I alter here to get more in
to get more things going on.
I actually removed a lot ofinformation about my paralysis
from my portfolios and LinkedInand everything.
And I did get a few moreinterviews.
So I got a few more interviewsfor that.
(14:31):
And then I remember going to oneinterview in particular, and
this building was just notaccessible whatsoever.
And I was one of the lastcandidates they were
interviewing.
I was like in the top three.
And the moment I left theoffice, I was like, I'm not
getting that job because they'dhave to completely rebuild their
(14:52):
bathroom.
Like there wasn't even ahandicap stall in their
bathroom.
And so I think we all left beinglike, not going to work out.
But then, you know, in themeantime, I'm always looking for
appropriate roles here at Craig.
My inpatient PT actually textedme and she was like, hey,
(15:12):
there's this opening and And Ithink you might be a little
overqualified for it, but youshould go for it.
And I was like, done.
And so then I redid a resumethat was appropriate for it.
And then they had closed it.
And I was like, wait, wait, canyou guys open it?
I got real quick.
And so they let me apply andwent into the interview.
(15:34):
And it's like two or threepeople there I'd actually done
therapies with.
And it was great.
And everything moved forward.
And I think my stepmom put itbetter.
but she was like, this is soamazing because you're not going
to be special there.
And I was like, wait, wait,wait, let me rephrase that for
you.
(15:54):
I'm not going to be specialbecause I'm in a wheelchair.
I'm going to be special becauseI have a beautiful personality.
And so, but that was kind of, itall kind of fell into place.
Like, So I'd always had my eyeson Craig and I just kind of
waited for the right, the rightopening and pounced.
SPEAKER_01 (16:16):
And that's so interesting.
You're talking about, youscrubbed your resume and then,
and then you go into the officeand it's like that people just,
it's like,
SPEAKER_04 (16:24):
Oh,
SPEAKER_01 (16:26):
and it's the eyeline.
It's, it's the, it's the tone.
It's, it's the whatever it is.
SPEAKER_03 (16:31):
Yeah.
Even doing, you know, zoominterviews.
No one knows that I'm, IActually, going back to my UX
design course, that was all overZoom.
And we worked with a client forthree weeks.
And after the project was alldone, they were like, well,
let's all go around and sharesomething.
(16:54):
We work together.
We should know things about eachother.
And I was like, oh, this isdelicious.
This is so yummy.
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
Did you just roll back?
SPEAKER_03 (17:02):
Well, no.
I said, well, I'm quadriplegic.
And they were like, what?
And I was like...
Yeah.
And I like put my hands up.
It's like, I am.
And then I rolled back.
But I first wanted to like, andyou just see all of their eyes.
Like, you know, they're like,did I say anything inappropriate
or, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (17:24):
I was just going to read this one stat just so
audience kind of knows, but thisis from our Unstoppable episode.
But people with a disabilityaccounted for about 13% of the
population in 2023.
According to the U.S.
Department of Labor, 22.5% ofthe people with a disability
were employed, the highestrecorded ratio since comparable
data were first collected in2008.
(17:44):
Similarly, the employmentpopulation ratio for those
without a disability was 65.8%.
It's just mind-boggling.
And then accommodations.
People's accommodationdefinition is bonkers.
SPEAKER_03 (18:03):
Absolutely.
People always get blown out ofthe water when I tell them that
it's actually not requiredwithin Denver to have an
automatic door button.
SPEAKER_01 (18:13):
It is not by law.
Or grandfathered in because it'sa historic and
SPEAKER_03 (18:17):
it's crazy.
If your bathroom is untouchedfrom like 1970-something, don't
quote me on the year, but ifit's untouched, they don't have
to update it.
SPEAKER_00 (18:29):
I
SPEAKER_02 (18:30):
was today years old when I learned that.
SPEAKER_00 (18:32):
Well, one person's accessibility is not another
person's accessibility.
Completely different.
Amazing.
Yeah, me too.
When you call places, if youwant to go to a hotel because
you're going on vacation and itsays accessible, you really need
to call that hotel to really getan idea.
What does the bathroom looklike?
Can you take pictures?
Can you send me this?
Because just saying that it'saccessible on a website or on a
(18:57):
door or whatever, it's just not.
Every time.
There's always a little lip tothe door.
There's always something thatdoesn't make it accessible, but
a lot of people don't know thatthat aren't that aren't around
people in chairs don't knowanybody in chairs or even person
even person that walks you knowambulatory person that walks
with a walker even that a littlestep like that could be you know
(19:20):
could be detrimental everybody'sdefinition of accessibility is
totally totally different
SPEAKER_02 (19:25):
which is like a special connection you feel with
the other Craig grads here
SPEAKER_00 (19:30):
I've hung out with a couple of grads here I don't do
it a lot but I do every once ina while you know get together we
you know go out hang out andthat kind of stuff but I mostly
hang out with you know peoplethat are that I work with
normally and regularly but I dohave a little bit of a
(19:51):
connection with some of the someof the grads here but you know
Craig is getting so big now thatsometimes we don't know who gets
hired we don't know a personthat gets hired that's in a
wheelchair or walks with thewalker or whatever or has leg
braces you know so we We don'tknow a lot of times, you know,
because there's so manydifferent roles now at Craig
(20:13):
than there once was even when Istarted here.
Someone will say, hey, did youhave you met so and so?
I'll be like, because we allknow each other.
Just because we're in a chairdoesn't mean we know each other.
Becky
SPEAKER_03 (20:24):
actually just learned today that I'm in a
chair.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (20:27):
I mean, it's first time I've known, you know, I've
met Meredith and she's in achair.
So, you know, even though I'veemailed, you know, I've seen her
name, but I've Craig has justgotten so big that I think
everybody just assumes that weall know each other.
We all go and hang out.
And sometimes we do.
But sometimes we don't.
(20:49):
We don't know other people thathave been hired here.
Even volunteer.
We have a lot of volunteers thatare in chairs also.
SPEAKER_01 (20:55):
This episode is coming out in September, which
is SCI Awareness Month.
What is one thing that you wouldwant to tell the world about
SCI?
SPEAKER_00 (21:08):
Probably that your life doesn't stop.
It can still go on.
Yeah.
You may think it stops when youfirst get injured, but life
doesn't have to stop.
SPEAKER_03 (21:19):
I think it's also important kind of building off
of that is to be able toacknowledge that this injury,
these circumstances, they suck.
They are bad.
They're terrible.
They're never easy.
Your best day, you're stillgoing to be paralyzed, but you
can still have a really, reallybest day.
(21:41):
You know, both can be true atonce is what I'm trying to say,
is you don't have to like begrateful for your injury or
twist it like that.
You can still be upset with itand still enjoy your life.
SPEAKER_01 (21:55):
What would you tell to people at Craig about SCI and
having this lived experience?
Staff, patients, anyone thatcomes through the doors?
SPEAKER_00 (22:06):
That's a hard one.
I'd probably say to patientsjust injured here at Craig that
There's always people that aregoing to be there to help you
and that you're not by yourself.
You don't have to do this alone.
(22:28):
Whether it's therapists, whetherit's your parents, whether it's
your spouse, whether it's yourchildren, there's always going
to be someone there that will beable to support you.
They may not understand thesituation that you're in, but
they'll be there to support youand get you through the hard
times because you're going tohave plenty of hard times, but
(22:49):
hopefully can get you throughthat
SPEAKER_03 (22:51):
yeah I would say you are in a place where if you want
to be able to figure out how todo something that you did before
like a hobby or sport this isthe place to ask If you have
questions about how to dosomething, this is your ticket
because there is going to besomeone here to help you figure
(23:12):
out how to do exactly what youwant and continue to allow you
to be who you are.
All those things that build whoyou are, figure out how to do
them in your new body.
Figure out how to do them here.
These are the people who aregoing to get you to that point.
SPEAKER_00 (23:28):
And that can be whether driving, learning how to
– learning how to swim again,scuba, tennis, bow and arrow,
whatever.
SPEAKER_03 (23:39):
Your world might even expand.
I think that's what a lot ofpeople don't realize here is
that I had skied a handful oftimes and I went on an adaptive
ski trip and I love skiing morethan ever.
And that was a huge reason thatI wanted to live in Colorado
(24:02):
because all of these adaptivesports programs were here and
like those opportunities livehere.
And my world expanded.
It totally opened up.
SPEAKER_00 (24:12):
And I went on my first cruise a couple years ago
and I've been injured 38 yearsand never thought I'd be able to
do that.
So I went on my first cruise andit was totally accessible, but I
wouldn't have done that unless,you know, I had talked to other
people like Craig, you know,that told me that, no, it's
fine.
It's accessible.
You should have a problem.
So I kind of just jumped inthere and did that so I
SPEAKER_03 (24:34):
mean it is such a yes place here and which in a
world that you know of no for uswhen you become disabled you're
you live in a world of no andhere at Craig you get to hear
yes a whole lot more frequently
SPEAKER_01 (24:51):
you can do 10,000 things in your life and if you
have an injury of any sort maybeyou can't do a thousand of those
so do you want to dwell on thethousand things you can't do you
want to dwell on the 9,000 otherthings you can do.
That's like my favorite quote.
Scott's mind just blew.
SPEAKER_03 (25:10):
It's all over the wall.
SPEAKER_02 (25:10):
All right.
I want to get to a surpriselightning round with both of
you.
These are just questions off thecuff.
Just go ahead and answer asquickly as you can.
I clapped.
Answer as quickly as you can.
I know
SPEAKER_00 (25:20):
I just clapped.
I don't know if my brain worksthat fast.
Oh, sure it
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
does.
Okay.
First off, coffee or tea?
SPEAKER_03 (25:26):
Coffee.
SPEAKER_02 (25:26):
Coffee.
How much coffee have you hadtoday, Meredith?
Three cups.
Three cups.
Zero.
Zero?
Zero.
Whoa, Becky, you're an afternooncoffee
SPEAKER_00 (25:34):
drinker?
I am only a coffee drinker whenI'm cold.
SPEAKER_02 (25:37):
Oh.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:39):
It helps warm me up.
Other than that, I don't justdrink it for fun or for waking
up or anything like that.
SPEAKER_02 (25:45):
You're a fair weather coffee drinker.
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
I am.
SPEAKER_02 (25:49):
Morning person or night owl?
SPEAKER_03 (25:51):
Night owl.
I'm a late to bed, early to riseperson.
I've been sleeping more in themornings lately.
I don't know why, but yeah.
I kind of do both.
I kind of go through phases.
SPEAKER_02 (26:07):
Tyler, just so you feel included, go
SPEAKER_01 (26:11):
ahead.
I'm in your boat.
I've been trying to have bettersleep hygiene, but I'm like 11,
12, and then I get up at 5.
Got it.
SPEAKER_03 (26:20):
Sleep hygiene.
Oh, yeah.
I
SPEAKER_01 (26:22):
like that phrasing.
I've never heard of it.
I mean, you got to have yourgood sleep hygiene.
I know.
SPEAKER_03 (26:27):
Well, I think part of the reason I've been sleeping
more is because I've actuallybeen going, I've been putting
myself to bed.
SPEAKER_01 (26:31):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (26:32):
Actually, I can't take full credit.
My cat makes me go to bed.
SPEAKER_02 (26:38):
Yeah.
Tell us about the cat.
Let's unpack that a little bit.
Unpack it.
Oh, God.
SPEAKER_03 (26:42):
Yes, she is actually my emotional support animal.
I love her more than I think anyother living creature on this
planet.
Her name is Suki.
She's a little tuxy.
Well, okay, she's not little,but she is a tuxy.
She is just, oh my God, she cameinto my life right at the
(27:03):
perfect time as our animals.
And she had actually come from ahouse that had a wheelchair
user.
And so when I got her, she wasalready very used to
wheelchairs.
She lives
SPEAKER_01 (27:17):
on
SPEAKER_03 (27:17):
my
SPEAKER_01 (27:17):
lap.
On your lap.
I just did a patient story theexact same way.
SPEAKER_03 (27:20):
Oh my God.
She, I like, she, I can roll,it's so, great because I'm a
perma lap right I just rollaround the apartment she stays
on my lap yesterday I wish I hadgotten a picture of this but and
she's really really into beingon my lap and I have like
laundry to do she lets me pilethe laundry on top of her and
(27:42):
she'll just stay on your lapshe'll just stay on my lap
perfect unfazed she's like Iknow what we're doing here
SPEAKER_02 (27:48):
how did you know she was going to be okay with you
putting laundry on top of her
SPEAKER_03 (27:53):
well what I'm not going to do is push her off of
my lap oh okay
SPEAKER_00 (27:57):
so so it's either stand or lap or oh okay okay
yeah i'm giving the option toher
SPEAKER_03 (28:02):
yeah like we have to do laundry you're either you're
either in this or you're notyeah and she was like sign me up
SPEAKER_02 (28:11):
love it
SPEAKER_03 (28:11):
just
SPEAKER_00 (28:12):
blow me up yeah
SPEAKER_02 (28:13):
i would love for one like zoom all staff zoom call to
just have us all with our catsor our dogs or our pets
SPEAKER_00 (28:19):
yeah she would be right here yeah a lot of people
did yeah yeah
SPEAKER_01 (28:23):
yeah although staff meetings because I did
SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
all these things.
People's dads would walk acrosstheir keyboards.
SPEAKER_01 (28:29):
My
SPEAKER_00 (28:29):
cat
SPEAKER_02 (28:29):
saw
SPEAKER_03 (28:30):
this.
Suki won't walk across thekeyboard because she's too busy
being in my lab.
In your lab.
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
Back to my lightning round that's been derailed, but
it's okay.
What is one word that yourcoworkers would use to describe
you?
SPEAKER_03 (28:44):
One?
SPEAKER_02 (28:44):
How about two?
Three words?
Three.
SPEAKER_00 (28:47):
Extroverted.
All
SPEAKER_02 (28:50):
right, Becky.
SPEAKER_00 (28:51):
Two or three words?
I would say punctual Greatpersonality.
That's two words.
Personality.
That's all I can think of.
I just feel like this wouldactually be such– I hate talking
about myself.
It's really hard to say thingsabout yourself.
But you're so
SPEAKER_03 (29:10):
awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (29:10):
I know.
I know, but it's hard for me totalk about myself.
You know what I mean?
I know.
It's just hard.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (29:17):
I get it.
SPEAKER_03 (29:18):
This would be a really good time to have a phone
a friend in opportunity.
Oh, man.
Yeah.
I would call Meg in a heartbeatand be like, lay it on them.
Give them the two words.
SPEAKER_02 (29:27):
I'd call Becky Nolan.
speaking of Becky Knowles we'regoing to take another break from
the lightning round tell meabout A1 Steak Sauce Becky talk
to me about that
SPEAKER_00 (29:37):
oh god okay so we me and Becky Knowles who is our
social security resourcecoordinator in our office she's
worked here I think 50 years nowshe has been my godsend in that
office since I started and shecomes with me to help me to the
(30:03):
Grand Junction Outreach Clinicand we do this every year and
it's a free clinic for anybodywho has an SCI in the Grand
Junction area that needsassistance needs help with
either you know positioning andthings like that or bowel
bladder questions we need totalk to the need to talk to the
doctor about medications orneuropathic pain people call us
(30:25):
we sign them up and then we havea day that we stay there and
have the clinic.
Well, on the day of the clinic,we always all go out to dinner
with each other or together at anice restaurant.
And let's just say because ofthe medications I take, preface
that, it's a very nicerestaurant in Grand Junction.
(30:48):
I feel very uncomfortable askingthe waiter for A1 for my steak.
So because I I did get a dirtylook the first time, the first
year we did this.
So we started having BeckyKnowles bring A1 steak sauce
(31:09):
bottle in her purse to bring itto the restaurant.
So now every year, we alwaysbring a bottle of steak 1A sauce
to the restaurant so that whenpeople aren't looking, she can
help me pour it on the steak andno one will see it and no one
will know.
And I won't get a dirty look.
I
SPEAKER_01 (31:28):
normalize this for everyone because there are two
people in my family that onebrings sriracha and one brings
Tallulah.
So this is a completely normalthing.
You keep that thing on you.
SPEAKER_00 (31:39):
Exactly.
So, and everybody's like, youknow, my God, this is the most
greatest, great steak ever.
Why in the hell are you puttingsteak sauce on the steak?
And I'm like, I need somethingto, my mouth is dry.
I need something to take withit, you know, to make it not as
dry, which I know the steak isnot probably dry, but for me,
me, it's dry.
(32:00):
From now on, every year we'vebeen bringing steak sauce to
this very nice, very expensiverestaurant in Grand Junction.
If
SPEAKER_03 (32:11):
nothing else, those of us who work at Craig are all
solution-based.
SPEAKER_00 (32:17):
Most of us are great problem solvers.
SPEAKER_01 (32:19):
You've been here for 19 years,
SPEAKER_00 (32:21):
right?
Roughly
SPEAKER_01 (32:23):
1,000.
SPEAKER_03 (32:28):
I I mean, I've been here since 2020.
I've been around since
SPEAKER_02 (32:31):
2020.
SPEAKER_01 (32:33):
Can I take a break from the lightning round, too,
and go to my own trivia game, oryou got something else?
The
SPEAKER_02 (32:39):
rest of my questions are just kind of, whatever,
yeah, let's do it.
SPEAKER_01 (32:43):
I love trivia.
I have a surprise for all ofyou, too, that Scott doesn't
know about.
And you all need to worktogether for this.
He always has surprises.
I have multiple choices, or it'sa true or false, and so I'm not
going to give you the optionsunless you really need it.
All right.
Ready?
Ready.
(33:03):
Craig Hospital began in 1907when founder
SPEAKER_03 (33:07):
Frank
SPEAKER_01 (33:09):
Craig pitched a single tent in Lakewood to help
people with tuberculosis.
Early tents at Craig wereactually wooden structures with
canvas walls, shingle roofs, andwood floors.
Considered one of the firstexamples of pre-fab buildings.
What was the original name?
SPEAKER_02 (33:26):
I
SPEAKER_01 (33:27):
know a colony is
SPEAKER_02 (33:28):
in there somewhere, isn't
SPEAKER_01 (33:28):
it?
Colony is in there.
All right.
SPEAKER_00 (33:31):
First colony?
SPEAKER_01 (33:31):
A, Craig Clinic.
B, Brotherly Relief Colony.
C, the Rocky Mountain TentColony.
D, Denver TB Camp.
SPEAKER_03 (33:43):
The Brotherly, yeah.
B?
SPEAKER_01 (33:44):
B.
Correct.
SPEAKER_03 (33:48):
Oh.
I do, I feel better now thatonce we heard it, we all knew
it.
Because when you asked thatquestion, I was like, I don't
know if I've ever been told.
SPEAKER_01 (33:56):
This one does not have multiple choice.
You should have learned all ofthis in orientation.
You're the freshest in
SPEAKER_03 (34:05):
orientation.
If you could talk to the peoplewho I was in orientation with,
you would have a whole otherpodcast.
SPEAKER_01 (34:13):
Next episode.
This is Guess the Year.
In what year did Craigofficially focus exclusively on
spinal cord and brain injuryrehabilitation?
SPEAKER_03 (34:23):
I'm looking at Becky.
SPEAKER_01 (34:26):
Tyler, were you there?
When it opened?
Yeah.
My mom was not even alive.
Whoa.
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (34:33):
Okay.
So Becky knows it's been here atleast 50 years.
At least.
50 and six months.
I see.
That's really smart.
So when would that be?
I'd probably say 1967.
Very
SPEAKER_01 (34:46):
close.
That was pretty good.
Really?
It's 1957.
Whoa.
Under medical director JohnYoung.
Wow.
Well done.
Well done.
Well done.
SPEAKER_04 (34:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (34:56):
Craig became one of the original SEI model system
centers in 1965, 1973, 1985,1998.
85.
Was that one of the answers?
That was.
Yes.
But it's not it.
I just threw it out.
What were the answers again?
SPEAKER_03 (35:12):
What were
SPEAKER_01 (35:13):
the options?
1965, 1973, 1985, 1998.
73.
SPEAKER_03 (35:17):
What?
SPEAKER_01 (35:18):
Oh, really?
SPEAKER_02 (35:19):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (35:19):
73.
Okay.
I'm overruled.
73.
I think it's on the building.
It's right
SPEAKER_02 (35:26):
behind me, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03 (35:26):
It's actually on your forehead.
SPEAKER_01 (35:30):
This one is for Becky and then I have one for
Meredith.
You ready?
Okay.
Craig celebrates employees withlong tenure.
We're just teasing you aboutbeing a newbie.
Becky has been here for 16 yearsgoing on 17, which Craig's stat
is closest to the percentage ofemployees who have been here for
at least a decade.
(35:50):
20%, 38%, 50%.
At least
SPEAKER_00 (35:54):
a decade?
SPEAKER_01 (35:55):
At least a decade.
SPEAKER_00 (35:56):
What am I options again?
20,
SPEAKER_01 (35:58):
38, 50.
Say 38.
Bingo.
And how many people are above50?
Just one.
Just Becky.
There's 117 last I checked thatare 30 years or more, which is
bonkers.
That's so wild.
(36:19):
That's awesome.
All right.
Meredith's Newbie Challenge.
True or false?
So that's great.
It's just two options.
SPEAKER_03 (36:26):
How can you tell I'm
SPEAKER_01 (36:29):
nervous?
50-50.
None of the above?
I would say I could see thesweat, but But...
SPEAKER_03 (36:35):
Hey,
SPEAKER_01 (36:35):
it's 50-50.
It's always better when youexplain the
SPEAKER_02 (36:38):
joke.
True or false?
No, they both.
SPEAKER_01 (36:39):
Everybody else got it in the audience.
All right.
Meredith joined Craigstaff inthe same year Craig celebrated
its 34th consecutive U.S.
News and World Report Top 10Rehab Ranking.
True or false?
True.
True! Oh, come on.
I would have said true.
Okay, fine.
Okay.
(36:59):
Bonus question for you that youdefinitely will not get and you
will need to phone a friend.
Excellent.
I hope you know Becky's phonenumber.
Okay.
In 1970, Craig connected SwedishHospital via a tunnel.
Okay?
The original tunnel was what?
What was it nicknamed?
(37:22):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (37:25):
Oh, what's really bad is I think I have been told
this before.
SPEAKER_02 (37:28):
Oh, wow.
Well, I
SPEAKER_03 (37:29):
have a bit of a fascination with this tunnel.
Whoa.
SPEAKER_02 (37:32):
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (37:33):
Just because I like...
spooky stories and things.
SPEAKER_02 (37:37):
Awesome.
It's pretty spooky.
SPEAKER_00 (37:40):
You know more than I do than being a newbie because I
didn't even know it had a name.
SPEAKER_01 (37:43):
You're going to tease our Halloween episode.
I don't know if it's stillnickname this because it says
the original tunnel.
SPEAKER_03 (37:49):
Right.
Yeah.
No, you're going to have to tellme.
I'm not going to be able to pullthis one out.
SPEAKER_01 (37:53):
Yeah, come on.
Option A, the Den of Inequity,the Spinal Super Highway, and
the Craig Crawl Space.
Indiana Jones movies.
Is
SPEAKER_03 (38:03):
it the Super Highway?
It's
SPEAKER_01 (38:05):
A.
It's
SPEAKER_00 (38:06):
A.
It's
SPEAKER_03 (38:06):
the dead.
SPEAKER_00 (38:07):
Okay.
I've never heard that in my
SPEAKER_01 (38:09):
life.
If you want to find out more,you need to go to the history of
Craig on the craighospital.orgwebsite.
And then at the very bottom isthat history of Craig book, that
Herb Tabak, if I'm saying thatright.
He wrote this book.
All the answers are in there.
So if you want to double checkme.
When it's a name, you say the H.
I know, he's right.
(38:31):
Can you please stop me, Scott,in the episode?
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (38:36):
We've had so much fun having you both on today.
Becky, Meredith, thank you somuch for joining us.
And thank you to everyone who'slistening and tune in next time.
Welcome to the Only at Craig podcast, where we
discuss all things found only atCraig.
I'm Scott Adams, an internalcommunications specialist here
at Craig Hospital.
And I'm Tyler Smith, Craig'smedia production specialist, and
we're your hosts.
On this podcast, we shareinteresting, sometimes
unbelievable, and often funnystories about the history and
culture of Craig.
Craig Hospital, the halls arefilled with extraordinary
(00:25):
people.
People who sustain life-changinginjuries and turn their
experiences into somethinglarger.
SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
In this episode, we're speaking with team members
who have lived experience with aspinal cord injury, but also
know what it means to work atCraig.
SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
We're asking the big questions.
Why Craig?
Why choose to work here?
And maybe even more telling,what's kept them here?
We'll hear about the momentsthat stay with
SPEAKER_01 (00:45):
them,
SPEAKER_02 (00:45):
the challenges they faced, and the connections that
continue to inspire them eachday.
SPEAKER_01 (00:49):
These are stories of resilience, purpose, and the
deep sense of community thatmakes Craig Hospital more than
just a workplace.
It's a place where life afterinjury is redefined every single
day.
SPEAKER_02 (01:04):
And with that, we are joined by two Craig
graduates whom we are honored tonow call our peers, Becky
Bushnell and Meredith Berkowitz.
Thank you, ladies, for joiningus.
SPEAKER_00 (01:12):
Yeah, of course.
You're welcome.
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
Now, when Tyler and I got together and discussed
ideas for an episode that kindof ties in with the SCI
Awareness Month, which is inSeptember, we thought, you know,
there are so many Craig gradswho work at Craig and have been
here for years.
Let's find out why.
And so here we are with two ofthem.
And Becky, we'll start with you.
You're coming up on 17 years.
Congratulations.
Why don't you tell us first whatyou do here at Craig?
(01:34):
You're still like a
SPEAKER_01 (01:35):
newbie at 17 years.
SPEAKER_00 (01:37):
I'm still a newbie according to a lot of people
that I work with, yes.
What I do here, Craig, so I amwhat's called a clinical care
manager, CCM for short, and weare in our little suite
downstairs on the first floor.
We are all social workers slashcase managers, and what we do is
(01:58):
when patients come in for theirIOEs or in-to-outs, that kind of
stuff, then we talk After them,we do biopsychosocial
assessments on them.
We find out if they're havingany issues at home in regards to
either with getting into thehome or accessibility or
transportation and things likethat.
(02:20):
Hopefully, we can help themfigure out a way to either us
help them with our foundationfunds or find them a resource at
home that can be beneficial tohelp them.
SPEAKER_02 (02:30):
Wonderful.
Meredith, in your own words,describe your role here.
SPEAKER_03 (02:34):
I am the assistant DME coordinator, which is DME
means durable medical equipmentand the admin assistant in
wheelchair clinic.
So I help Meg Dimple, you know,keep things relatively
organized.
But my first part of my job, Ihelp coordinate patients
(02:55):
ordering durable medicalequipment.
Robin Engelbert, who is my bossand supervisor for DME side, all
the orders for all equipment,chairs, beds, lifts, bathroom
equipment, all of that goesthrough us and then we send it
to the appropriate parties.
SPEAKER_02 (03:12):
And you're one of the few people who's been here
for a shorter amount of timethan me.
You started way back in January,
SPEAKER_03 (03:18):
right?
Well, I started working here.
Working here.
Sorry.
But I've been here.
SPEAKER_01 (03:25):
How has the first eight months been?
SPEAKER_03 (03:31):
I guess the best way I can just, have you all seen
Wayne's World?
SPEAKER_01 (03:34):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They
SPEAKER_03 (03:35):
get the backstage pass at the Alice Cooper show.
I feel like the last eightmonths I've just been like, hey,
here's my badge.
SPEAKER_00 (03:46):
They actually pay me to be here now.
I do the opposite.
I hide my badge in my lap sothat people don't ask me
questions.
SPEAKER_03 (03:56):
When I was a patient here and I saw you, I knew you
were an employee.
You had this air about you and Iwas like, I saw you going down
the hall and I was like I'm I'mgonna be okay I'm good yeah
SPEAKER_00 (04:09):
look at that
SPEAKER_03 (04:09):
professional well look at that it's great
SPEAKER_00 (04:13):
yeah yeah I always hide my badge because you know
people always stop me andespecially when you know we have
people that are coming aroundthe hospital you look you know
looking for things and makingsure things are where they need
to go and stuff like that it'slike please don't ask me any
questions because I probablydon't know the answer to this so
that's why I don't wear my badgeI just keep it in my lap at all
times I think where our officesare for
SPEAKER_03 (04:34):
had a very different perspective
SPEAKER_01 (04:37):
I was gonna just say that as like your roles are very
unsung I think CCMs are nobodyknows about the full capacity
that you guys do the sheerworkload alone but just all the
behind the scenes stuff becauseus in marketing we come to CCMs
all the time and say hey we'rethinking about this patient for
(04:57):
a highlight what do you thinkand you have all this wisdom and
just I have a CCM video comingup actually because I've been
wanting to highlight CCMs andjust how great they are and then
the basement dwellers thatnobody knows I know we work in
(05:17):
the beast you're like my officehere where we don't have any
windows but it's one of thecoolest rooms in the entire
hospital is my opinion I lovethat hallway just the wheelchair
cage and how they buildeverything and if you ever need
a speakeasy uh the wheelchairclinic did a great they always
(05:42):
have there was a man cave forhalloween uh speakeasy last year
and then um
SPEAKER_03 (05:48):
the speedway the race
SPEAKER_01 (05:49):
car speedway yeah nice car pit stop or whatever
and yeah which is so fun
SPEAKER_03 (05:54):
i mean that could not have been more appropriate
SPEAKER_02 (05:56):
i remember walking through the wheelchair clinic
for the first time it was like ipictured just making one of
those 90s hip-hop videos whereyou got the cars and like all
the, you know, tricked out partsof them.
Yeah, I'm looking at all theseparts and I'm like, you know,
just hearing juvenile in my headand yeah, it was great.
SPEAKER_03 (06:11):
And it's such an unassuming hallway too.
SPEAKER_02 (06:14):
Yeah.
You're
SPEAKER_03 (06:14):
like, oh, this is, it's bare, it's hospitally and
then you open the cage door andit's just like,
SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
oh.
SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
Yeah, it's just a hall with just doors.
SPEAKER_00 (06:26):
It's just a hall with just doors on it so you
don't really know.
And there's a party behind each
SPEAKER_03 (06:30):
one.
SPEAKER_01 (06:31):
Yeah, rehab engineering, there's a party
behind there.
All those 3D printers And I waslike, that's another one of my
favorite rooms.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (06:37):
And then you go to the very last one.
SPEAKER_02 (06:39):
Yeah.
One of the questions I wanted toanswer, I don't know, I try to
answer whenever I create anycontent here at Craig, is
answering the question, whyCraig?
What's kept you here for allthese years, for you all these
months too?
Yeah, why do you work here?
Why Craig?
Let's answer it.
SPEAKER_00 (06:54):
Why Craig was kind of just fell on my lap a little
bit.
A lot of people do know anddon't know.
I was a patient here 38 yearsago, injured at 15 years old.
old, you know, lived herelocally, so came here to Craig
to, you know, do my re-avows anddo, come for clinic appointments
and stuff like that, and I wassitting in the waiting room one
(07:16):
day just waiting for anappointment, and another CCM
that was, ended up being my casemanager, saw me in the clinic
waiting area, and she asked mewhat I was doing, and I said,
hey, I'm here for a cliniccheck, and, you know, got some
things going on, and she said,well, and I just graduated from
college and she said well do youhave a job yet and I said well
(07:37):
no not really I'm still lookingand and she said well we're
looking for someone for PRN inour department and back then it
was called follow-up servicesand she said what do you think
about working for us until youfind something I was like hey
sure I'm not doing anything youknow and just to be honest I
hated Craig I was 15 years old Iwas injured I didn't want to do
(08:01):
anything upstairs do mat classwake up early to get dressed you
know I was the most terriblepatient here ever and so I was
last thing I was thinking I wasever coming to Craig to work and
so since it was outpatient Isaid sure I'll try it and see
how it goes and I started PRNfor about nine months and I was
(08:23):
PRN and then being able toconnect with connect with people
and patients and families andhelping them as much as I could
and things like that and and youknow you see the good the bad
and the ugly of every ofpatients and everything.
And so I thought maybe I couldbe, you know, be helpful of
being in the same situation as alot of patients.
So I applied for the job andended up getting it.
(08:45):
And ever since then, I've beenhere for 16 years now.
So I think, I guess, long storyshort is why Craig is because I
thought I could be beneficial tohelp someone in the same
situation that I have been in.
Whether you've been injuredyoung, whether you've been
injured middle age, whetheryou've been injured elderly,
whatever it is that I could helpin some way, you know, be able
(09:09):
to, you know, kind of just kindof be able to help them a little
bit, get through the trauma, getthrough the, you know, the very
first beginning of, of whatthey're going through.
SPEAKER_01 (09:19):
So I just love hearing the whole legacy piece
of why, why people come to Craigand everybody's story is just so
unique, but it made me laugh,laugh that you said that you
were like the worst Craigpatient ever.
I was like, I don't think you'rethe worst, but
SPEAKER_03 (09:37):
I love that you were a
SPEAKER_00 (09:38):
patient because I was not, you know, not very
acceptable to, you know, wantedto doing a lot of things, you
know, and I had a very hardtime.
I was living in Texas at thetime of my injury, really had a
hard time coming from lowaltitude to high altitude.
And so I had a really hard timewith dizziness and stuff like
(09:59):
that.
So I was here a little bitlonger than I probably should
have been.
because I was having a very hardtime with being able to sit up
upright and do therapy and stufflike that.
So, so in that case, you know,it was, and then things got
better as the, you know, as, asit went along, but it just all,
all together, you know, age anddizziness and everything that
(10:22):
you're, you know, you're goingthrough and it just all came,
you know, together.
And then it just was like, Ijust don't want to do anything,
but I got over it, grew up.
And now I'm, I'm here at Craighelping other people.
I
SPEAKER_01 (10:37):
hate growing up.
SPEAKER_00 (10:39):
It's called adulting.
SPEAKER_01 (10:40):
I don't like adulting.
Grow up, Peter.
How about you, Meredith?
Why Craig?
SPEAKER_03 (10:47):
Um...
It's so hard to explain exactlywhy, because there's so much
nuance to the process of gettingback into the workforce
post-injury.
But I will say, I remember beingan inpatient and I was laying in
bed and I looked at the scarfthat I just tie-dyed and I just
(11:08):
said, I'm going to work here oneday.
I am.
I know this is the right placefor me.
I had been during eight hours oftherapy a day.
It was during COVID, too.
My inpatient stay was duringCOVID.
So my team became my world.
(11:30):
Your team became
SPEAKER_01 (11:31):
family.
SPEAKER_03 (11:32):
They did.
They became my best friends.
They became my family.
They became everything.
They didn't let family in, didthey?
So my parents love me a lot.
And apparently my dad was ratherconvincing.
and got the rules to change alittle bit so that him and my
(11:53):
mom could alternate days so oneof them at a time was in every
day gotta
SPEAKER_01 (12:00):
love our parents
SPEAKER_03 (12:00):
we love our parents my dad is he's such a good dad
my mom is such a good mom mystepmom is incredible i mean my
parents just they they justshowed up and they were not
about to like let these covidrules stand in the way but yeah
i I mean, I had the bestinpatient team and I really
(12:22):
bonded.
Like I bonded extremely hardwith them, like probably more
than the average person does.
I mean, we're all females, allaround the same age, all kind of
going through this together.
One of them was pregnant, whichhas actually some parallels to
like being injured.
So we were kind of both goingthrough these things together.
But they made me laugh so hardthat I was like, I don't want to
(12:45):
be around anyone else.
I always make a joke.
that I got some good core returnbecause I laughed so much in
therapy.
It's a good workout, yeah.
It is a good workout.
I knew I was supposed to be heremore like I wanted to be here.
I was injured in St.
Louis and I just had not thestrongest desire to return to
(13:08):
that and so I stayed here forsix months.
I did inpatient for three andthen I got accepted to NRN so I
got to do three months ofoutpatient and then I went back
to St.
Louis for like five months andit wasn't it.
It just, it didn't feel likehome anymore.
Didn't feel right.
So I came back to Colorado,started therapy again.
(13:28):
And then I also didn't know whatto do career wise.
My background's in graphicdesign and I was still doing
therapy full time.
I didn't know, like, I reallyhadn't crossed that barrier of
really stretching those, thosetech skills yet.
And then I, you know, I starteda, like a night class and I I
(13:48):
got my certificate in UX design.
I knew that intensively for sixmonths while doing therapy
full-time and tried to jump intothis incredibly competitive
field of UX design, having notworked and having just become
quadriplegic.
So I was facing a ton ofbarriers and it was almost
(14:11):
impossible to narrow down whatcan I alter here to get more in
to get more things going on.
I actually removed a lot ofinformation about my paralysis
from my portfolios and LinkedInand everything.
And I did get a few moreinterviews.
So I got a few more interviewsfor that.
(14:31):
And then I remember going to oneinterview in particular, and
this building was just notaccessible whatsoever.
And I was one of the lastcandidates they were
interviewing.
I was like in the top three.
And the moment I left theoffice, I was like, I'm not
getting that job because they'dhave to completely rebuild their
(14:52):
bathroom.
Like there wasn't even ahandicap stall in their
bathroom.
And so I think we all left beinglike, not going to work out.
But then, you know, in themeantime, I'm always looking for
appropriate roles here at Craig.
My inpatient PT actually textedme and she was like, hey,
(15:12):
there's this opening and And Ithink you might be a little
overqualified for it, but youshould go for it.
And I was like, done.
And so then I redid a resumethat was appropriate for it.
And then they had closed it.
And I was like, wait, wait, canyou guys open it?
I got real quick.
And so they let me apply andwent into the interview.
(15:34):
And it's like two or threepeople there I'd actually done
therapies with.
And it was great.
And everything moved forward.
And I think my stepmom put itbetter.
but she was like, this is soamazing because you're not going
to be special there.
And I was like, wait, wait,wait, let me rephrase that for
you.
(15:54):
I'm not going to be specialbecause I'm in a wheelchair.
I'm going to be special becauseI have a beautiful personality.
And so, but that was kind of, itall kind of fell into place.
Like, So I'd always had my eyeson Craig and I just kind of
waited for the right, the rightopening and pounced.
SPEAKER_01 (16:16):
And that's so interesting.
You're talking about, youscrubbed your resume and then,
and then you go into the officeand it's like that people just,
it's like,
SPEAKER_04 (16:24):
Oh,
SPEAKER_01 (16:26):
and it's the eyeline.
It's, it's the, it's the tone.
It's, it's the whatever it is.
SPEAKER_03 (16:31):
Yeah.
Even doing, you know, zoominterviews.
No one knows that I'm, IActually, going back to my UX
design course, that was all overZoom.
And we worked with a client forthree weeks.
And after the project was alldone, they were like, well,
let's all go around and sharesomething.
(16:54):
We work together.
We should know things about eachother.
And I was like, oh, this isdelicious.
This is so yummy.
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
Did you just roll back?
SPEAKER_03 (17:02):
Well, no.
I said, well, I'm quadriplegic.
And they were like, what?
And I was like...
Yeah.
And I like put my hands up.
It's like, I am.
And then I rolled back.
But I first wanted to like, andyou just see all of their eyes.
Like, you know, they're like,did I say anything inappropriate
or, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (17:24):
I was just going to read this one stat just so
audience kind of knows, but thisis from our Unstoppable episode.
But people with a disabilityaccounted for about 13% of the
population in 2023.
According to the U.S.
Department of Labor, 22.5% ofthe people with a disability
were employed, the highestrecorded ratio since comparable
data were first collected in2008.
(17:44):
Similarly, the employmentpopulation ratio for those
without a disability was 65.8%.
It's just mind-boggling.
And then accommodations.
People's accommodationdefinition is bonkers.
SPEAKER_03 (18:03):
Absolutely.
People always get blown out ofthe water when I tell them that
it's actually not requiredwithin Denver to have an
automatic door button.
SPEAKER_01 (18:13):
It is not by law.
Or grandfathered in because it'sa historic and
SPEAKER_03 (18:17):
it's crazy.
If your bathroom is untouchedfrom like 1970-something, don't
quote me on the year, but ifit's untouched, they don't have
to update it.
SPEAKER_00 (18:29):
I
SPEAKER_02 (18:30):
was today years old when I learned that.
SPEAKER_00 (18:32):
Well, one person's accessibility is not another
person's accessibility.
Completely different.
Amazing.
Yeah, me too.
When you call places, if youwant to go to a hotel because
you're going on vacation and itsays accessible, you really need
to call that hotel to really getan idea.
What does the bathroom looklike?
Can you take pictures?
Can you send me this?
Because just saying that it'saccessible on a website or on a
(18:57):
door or whatever, it's just not.
Every time.
There's always a little lip tothe door.
There's always something thatdoesn't make it accessible, but
a lot of people don't know thatthat aren't that aren't around
people in chairs don't knowanybody in chairs or even person
even person that walks you knowambulatory person that walks
with a walker even that a littlestep like that could be you know
(19:20):
could be detrimental everybody'sdefinition of accessibility is
totally totally different
SPEAKER_02 (19:25):
which is like a special connection you feel with
the other Craig grads here
SPEAKER_00 (19:30):
I've hung out with a couple of grads here I don't do
it a lot but I do every once ina while you know get together we
you know go out hang out andthat kind of stuff but I mostly
hang out with you know peoplethat are that I work with
normally and regularly but I dohave a little bit of a
(19:51):
connection with some of the someof the grads here but you know
Craig is getting so big now thatsometimes we don't know who gets
hired we don't know a personthat gets hired that's in a
wheelchair or walks with thewalker or whatever or has leg
braces you know so we We don'tknow a lot of times, you know,
because there's so manydifferent roles now at Craig
(20:13):
than there once was even when Istarted here.
Someone will say, hey, did youhave you met so and so?
I'll be like, because we allknow each other.
Just because we're in a chairdoesn't mean we know each other.
Becky
SPEAKER_03 (20:24):
actually just learned today that I'm in a
chair.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (20:27):
I mean, it's first time I've known, you know, I've
met Meredith and she's in achair.
So, you know, even though I'veemailed, you know, I've seen her
name, but I've Craig has justgotten so big that I think
everybody just assumes that weall know each other.
We all go and hang out.
And sometimes we do.
But sometimes we don't.
(20:49):
We don't know other people thathave been hired here.
Even volunteer.
We have a lot of volunteers thatare in chairs also.
SPEAKER_01 (20:55):
This episode is coming out in September, which
is SCI Awareness Month.
What is one thing that you wouldwant to tell the world about
SCI?
SPEAKER_00 (21:08):
Probably that your life doesn't stop.
It can still go on.
Yeah.
You may think it stops when youfirst get injured, but life
doesn't have to stop.
SPEAKER_03 (21:19):
I think it's also important kind of building off
of that is to be able toacknowledge that this injury,
these circumstances, they suck.
They are bad.
They're terrible.
They're never easy.
Your best day, you're stillgoing to be paralyzed, but you
can still have a really, reallybest day.
(21:41):
You know, both can be true atonce is what I'm trying to say,
is you don't have to like begrateful for your injury or
twist it like that.
You can still be upset with itand still enjoy your life.
SPEAKER_01 (21:55):
What would you tell to people at Craig about SCI and
having this lived experience?
Staff, patients, anyone thatcomes through the doors?
SPEAKER_00 (22:06):
That's a hard one.
I'd probably say to patientsjust injured here at Craig that
There's always people that aregoing to be there to help you
and that you're not by yourself.
You don't have to do this alone.
(22:28):
Whether it's therapists, whetherit's your parents, whether it's
your spouse, whether it's yourchildren, there's always going
to be someone there that will beable to support you.
They may not understand thesituation that you're in, but
they'll be there to support youand get you through the hard
times because you're going tohave plenty of hard times, but
(22:49):
hopefully can get you throughthat
SPEAKER_03 (22:51):
yeah I would say you are in a place where if you want
to be able to figure out how todo something that you did before
like a hobby or sport this isthe place to ask If you have
questions about how to dosomething, this is your ticket
because there is going to besomeone here to help you figure
(23:12):
out how to do exactly what youwant and continue to allow you
to be who you are.
All those things that build whoyou are, figure out how to do
them in your new body.
Figure out how to do them here.
These are the people who aregoing to get you to that point.
SPEAKER_00 (23:28):
And that can be whether driving, learning how to
– learning how to swim again,scuba, tennis, bow and arrow,
whatever.
SPEAKER_03 (23:39):
Your world might even expand.
I think that's what a lot ofpeople don't realize here is
that I had skied a handful oftimes and I went on an adaptive
ski trip and I love skiing morethan ever.
And that was a huge reason thatI wanted to live in Colorado
(24:02):
because all of these adaptivesports programs were here and
like those opportunities livehere.
And my world expanded.
It totally opened up.
SPEAKER_00 (24:12):
And I went on my first cruise a couple years ago
and I've been injured 38 yearsand never thought I'd be able to
do that.
So I went on my first cruise andit was totally accessible, but I
wouldn't have done that unless,you know, I had talked to other
people like Craig, you know,that told me that, no, it's
fine.
It's accessible.
You should have a problem.
So I kind of just jumped inthere and did that so I
SPEAKER_03 (24:34):
mean it is such a yes place here and which in a
world that you know of no for uswhen you become disabled you're
you live in a world of no andhere at Craig you get to hear
yes a whole lot more frequently
SPEAKER_01 (24:51):
you can do 10,000 things in your life and if you
have an injury of any sort maybeyou can't do a thousand of those
so do you want to dwell on thethousand things you can't do you
want to dwell on the 9,000 otherthings you can do.
That's like my favorite quote.
Scott's mind just blew.
SPEAKER_03 (25:10):
It's all over the wall.
SPEAKER_02 (25:10):
All right.
I want to get to a surpriselightning round with both of
you.
These are just questions off thecuff.
Just go ahead and answer asquickly as you can.
I clapped.
Answer as quickly as you can.
I know
SPEAKER_00 (25:20):
I just clapped.
I don't know if my brain worksthat fast.
Oh, sure it
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
does.
Okay.
First off, coffee or tea?
SPEAKER_03 (25:26):
Coffee.
SPEAKER_02 (25:26):
Coffee.
How much coffee have you hadtoday, Meredith?
Three cups.
Three cups.
Zero.
Zero?
Zero.
Whoa, Becky, you're an afternooncoffee
SPEAKER_00 (25:34):
drinker?
I am only a coffee drinker whenI'm cold.
SPEAKER_02 (25:37):
Oh.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:39):
It helps warm me up.
Other than that, I don't justdrink it for fun or for waking
up or anything like that.
SPEAKER_02 (25:45):
You're a fair weather coffee drinker.
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
I am.
SPEAKER_02 (25:49):
Morning person or night owl?
SPEAKER_03 (25:51):
Night owl.
I'm a late to bed, early to riseperson.
I've been sleeping more in themornings lately.
I don't know why, but yeah.
I kind of do both.
I kind of go through phases.
SPEAKER_02 (26:07):
Tyler, just so you feel included, go
SPEAKER_01 (26:11):
ahead.
I'm in your boat.
I've been trying to have bettersleep hygiene, but I'm like 11,
12, and then I get up at 5.
Got it.
SPEAKER_03 (26:20):
Sleep hygiene.
Oh, yeah.
I
SPEAKER_01 (26:22):
like that phrasing.
I've never heard of it.
I mean, you got to have yourgood sleep hygiene.
I know.
SPEAKER_03 (26:27):
Well, I think part of the reason I've been sleeping
more is because I've actuallybeen going, I've been putting
myself to bed.
SPEAKER_01 (26:31):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (26:32):
Actually, I can't take full credit.
My cat makes me go to bed.
SPEAKER_02 (26:38):
Yeah.
Tell us about the cat.
Let's unpack that a little bit.
Unpack it.
Oh, God.
SPEAKER_03 (26:42):
Yes, she is actually my emotional support animal.
I love her more than I think anyother living creature on this
planet.
Her name is Suki.
She's a little tuxy.
Well, okay, she's not little,but she is a tuxy.
She is just, oh my God, she cameinto my life right at the
(27:03):
perfect time as our animals.
And she had actually come from ahouse that had a wheelchair
user.
And so when I got her, she wasalready very used to
wheelchairs.
She lives
SPEAKER_01 (27:17):
on
SPEAKER_03 (27:17):
my
SPEAKER_01 (27:17):
lap.
On your lap.
I just did a patient story theexact same way.
SPEAKER_03 (27:20):
Oh my God.
She, I like, she, I can roll,it's so, great because I'm a
perma lap right I just rollaround the apartment she stays
on my lap yesterday I wish I hadgotten a picture of this but and
she's really really into beingon my lap and I have like
laundry to do she lets me pilethe laundry on top of her and
(27:42):
she'll just stay on your lapshe'll just stay on my lap
perfect unfazed she's like Iknow what we're doing here
SPEAKER_02 (27:48):
how did you know she was going to be okay with you
putting laundry on top of her
SPEAKER_03 (27:53):
well what I'm not going to do is push her off of
my lap oh okay
SPEAKER_00 (27:57):
so so it's either stand or lap or oh okay okay
yeah i'm giving the option toher
SPEAKER_03 (28:02):
yeah like we have to do laundry you're either you're
either in this or you're notyeah and she was like sign me up
SPEAKER_02 (28:11):
love it
SPEAKER_03 (28:11):
just
SPEAKER_00 (28:12):
blow me up yeah
SPEAKER_02 (28:13):
i would love for one like zoom all staff zoom call to
just have us all with our catsor our dogs or our pets
SPEAKER_00 (28:19):
yeah she would be right here yeah a lot of people
did yeah yeah
SPEAKER_01 (28:23):
yeah although staff meetings because I did
SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
all these things.
People's dads would walk acrosstheir keyboards.
SPEAKER_01 (28:29):
My
SPEAKER_00 (28:29):
cat
SPEAKER_02 (28:29):
saw
SPEAKER_03 (28:30):
this.
Suki won't walk across thekeyboard because she's too busy
being in my lab.
In your lab.
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
Back to my lightning round that's been derailed, but
it's okay.
What is one word that yourcoworkers would use to describe
you?
SPEAKER_03 (28:44):
One?
SPEAKER_02 (28:44):
How about two?
Three words?
Three.
SPEAKER_00 (28:47):
Extroverted.
All
SPEAKER_02 (28:50):
right, Becky.
SPEAKER_00 (28:51):
Two or three words?
I would say punctual Greatpersonality.
That's two words.
Personality.
That's all I can think of.
I just feel like this wouldactually be such– I hate talking
about myself.
It's really hard to say thingsabout yourself.
But you're so
SPEAKER_03 (29:10):
awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (29:10):
I know.
I know, but it's hard for me totalk about myself.
You know what I mean?
I know.
It's just hard.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (29:17):
I get it.
SPEAKER_03 (29:18):
This would be a really good time to have a phone
a friend in opportunity.
Oh, man.
Yeah.
I would call Meg in a heartbeatand be like, lay it on them.
Give them the two words.
SPEAKER_02 (29:27):
I'd call Becky Nolan.
speaking of Becky Knowles we'regoing to take another break from
the lightning round tell meabout A1 Steak Sauce Becky talk
to me about that
SPEAKER_00 (29:37):
oh god okay so we me and Becky Knowles who is our
social security resourcecoordinator in our office she's
worked here I think 50 years nowshe has been my godsend in that
office since I started and shecomes with me to help me to the
(30:03):
Grand Junction Outreach Clinicand we do this every year and
it's a free clinic for anybodywho has an SCI in the Grand
Junction area that needsassistance needs help with
either you know positioning andthings like that or bowel
bladder questions we need totalk to the need to talk to the
doctor about medications orneuropathic pain people call us
(30:25):
we sign them up and then we havea day that we stay there and
have the clinic.
Well, on the day of the clinic,we always all go out to dinner
with each other or together at anice restaurant.
And let's just say because ofthe medications I take, preface
that, it's a very nicerestaurant in Grand Junction.
(30:48):
I feel very uncomfortable askingthe waiter for A1 for my steak.
So because I I did get a dirtylook the first time, the first
year we did this.
So we started having BeckyKnowles bring A1 steak sauce
(31:09):
bottle in her purse to bring itto the restaurant.
So now every year, we alwaysbring a bottle of steak 1A sauce
to the restaurant so that whenpeople aren't looking, she can
help me pour it on the steak andno one will see it and no one
will know.
And I won't get a dirty look.
I
SPEAKER_01 (31:28):
normalize this for everyone because there are two
people in my family that onebrings sriracha and one brings
Tallulah.
So this is a completely normalthing.
You keep that thing on you.
SPEAKER_00 (31:39):
Exactly.
So, and everybody's like, youknow, my God, this is the most
greatest, great steak ever.
Why in the hell are you puttingsteak sauce on the steak?
And I'm like, I need somethingto, my mouth is dry.
I need something to take withit, you know, to make it not as
dry, which I know the steak isnot probably dry, but for me,
me, it's dry.
(32:00):
From now on, every year we'vebeen bringing steak sauce to
this very nice, very expensiverestaurant in Grand Junction.
If
SPEAKER_03 (32:11):
nothing else, those of us who work at Craig are all
solution-based.
SPEAKER_00 (32:17):
Most of us are great problem solvers.
SPEAKER_01 (32:19):
You've been here for 19 years,
SPEAKER_00 (32:21):
right?
Roughly
SPEAKER_01 (32:23):
1,000.
SPEAKER_03 (32:28):
I I mean, I've been here since 2020.
I've been around since
SPEAKER_02 (32:31):
2020.
SPEAKER_01 (32:33):
Can I take a break from the lightning round, too,
and go to my own trivia game, oryou got something else?
The
SPEAKER_02 (32:39):
rest of my questions are just kind of, whatever,
yeah, let's do it.
SPEAKER_01 (32:43):
I love trivia.
I have a surprise for all ofyou, too, that Scott doesn't
know about.
And you all need to worktogether for this.
He always has surprises.
I have multiple choices, or it'sa true or false, and so I'm not
going to give you the optionsunless you really need it.
All right.
Ready?
Ready.
(33:03):
Craig Hospital began in 1907when founder
SPEAKER_03 (33:07):
Frank
SPEAKER_01 (33:09):
Craig pitched a single tent in Lakewood to help
people with tuberculosis.
Early tents at Craig wereactually wooden structures with
canvas walls, shingle roofs, andwood floors.
Considered one of the firstexamples of pre-fab buildings.
What was the original name?
SPEAKER_02 (33:26):
I
SPEAKER_01 (33:27):
know a colony is
SPEAKER_02 (33:28):
in there somewhere, isn't
SPEAKER_01 (33:28):
it?
Colony is in there.
All right.
SPEAKER_00 (33:31):
First colony?
SPEAKER_01 (33:31):
A, Craig Clinic.
B, Brotherly Relief Colony.
C, the Rocky Mountain TentColony.
D, Denver TB Camp.
SPEAKER_03 (33:43):
The Brotherly, yeah.
B?
SPEAKER_01 (33:44):
B.
Correct.
SPEAKER_03 (33:48):
Oh.
I do, I feel better now thatonce we heard it, we all knew
it.
Because when you asked thatquestion, I was like, I don't
know if I've ever been told.
SPEAKER_01 (33:56):
This one does not have multiple choice.
You should have learned all ofthis in orientation.
You're the freshest in
SPEAKER_03 (34:05):
orientation.
If you could talk to the peoplewho I was in orientation with,
you would have a whole otherpodcast.
SPEAKER_01 (34:13):
Next episode.
This is Guess the Year.
In what year did Craigofficially focus exclusively on
spinal cord and brain injuryrehabilitation?
SPEAKER_03 (34:23):
I'm looking at Becky.
SPEAKER_01 (34:26):
Tyler, were you there?
When it opened?
Yeah.
My mom was not even alive.
Whoa.
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (34:33):
Okay.
So Becky knows it's been here atleast 50 years.
At least.
50 and six months.
I see.
That's really smart.
So when would that be?
I'd probably say 1967.
Very
SPEAKER_01 (34:46):
close.
That was pretty good.
Really?
It's 1957.
Whoa.
Under medical director JohnYoung.
Wow.
Well done.
Well done.
Well done.
SPEAKER_04 (34:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (34:56):
Craig became one of the original SEI model system
centers in 1965, 1973, 1985,1998.
85.
Was that one of the answers?
That was.
Yes.
But it's not it.
I just threw it out.
What were the answers again?
SPEAKER_03 (35:12):
What were
SPEAKER_01 (35:13):
the options?
1965, 1973, 1985, 1998.
73.
SPEAKER_03 (35:17):
What?
SPEAKER_01 (35:18):
Oh, really?
SPEAKER_02 (35:19):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (35:19):
73.
Okay.
I'm overruled.
73.
I think it's on the building.
It's right
SPEAKER_02 (35:26):
behind me, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03 (35:26):
It's actually on your forehead.
SPEAKER_01 (35:30):
This one is for Becky and then I have one for
Meredith.
You ready?
Okay.
Craig celebrates employees withlong tenure.
We're just teasing you aboutbeing a newbie.
Becky has been here for 16 yearsgoing on 17, which Craig's stat
is closest to the percentage ofemployees who have been here for
at least a decade.
(35:50):
20%, 38%, 50%.
At least
SPEAKER_00 (35:54):
a decade?
SPEAKER_01 (35:55):
At least a decade.
SPEAKER_00 (35:56):
What am I options again?
20,
SPEAKER_01 (35:58):
38, 50.
Say 38.
Bingo.
And how many people are above50?
Just one.
Just Becky.
There's 117 last I checked thatare 30 years or more, which is
bonkers.
That's so wild.
(36:19):
That's awesome.
All right.
Meredith's Newbie Challenge.
True or false?
So that's great.
It's just two options.
SPEAKER_03 (36:26):
How can you tell I'm
SPEAKER_01 (36:29):
nervous?
50-50.
None of the above?
I would say I could see thesweat, but But...
SPEAKER_03 (36:35):
Hey,
SPEAKER_01 (36:35):
it's 50-50.
It's always better when youexplain the
SPEAKER_02 (36:38):
joke.
True or false?
No, they both.
SPEAKER_01 (36:39):
Everybody else got it in the audience.
All right.
Meredith joined Craigstaff inthe same year Craig celebrated
its 34th consecutive U.S.
News and World Report Top 10Rehab Ranking.
True or false?
True.
True! Oh, come on.
I would have said true.
Okay, fine.
Okay.
(36:59):
Bonus question for you that youdefinitely will not get and you
will need to phone a friend.
Excellent.
I hope you know Becky's phonenumber.
Okay.
In 1970, Craig connected SwedishHospital via a tunnel.
Okay?
The original tunnel was what?
What was it nicknamed?
(37:22):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (37:25):
Oh, what's really bad is I think I have been told
this before.
SPEAKER_02 (37:28):
Oh, wow.
Well, I
SPEAKER_03 (37:29):
have a bit of a fascination with this tunnel.
Whoa.
SPEAKER_02 (37:32):
Okay.
SPEAKER_03 (37:33):
Just because I like...
spooky stories and things.
SPEAKER_02 (37:37):
Awesome.
It's pretty spooky.
SPEAKER_00 (37:40):
You know more than I do than being a newbie because I
didn't even know it had a name.
SPEAKER_01 (37:43):
You're going to tease our Halloween episode.
I don't know if it's stillnickname this because it says
the original tunnel.
SPEAKER_03 (37:49):
Right.
Yeah.
No, you're going to have to tellme.
I'm not going to be able to pullthis one out.
SPEAKER_01 (37:53):
Yeah, come on.
Option A, the Den of Inequity,the Spinal Super Highway, and
the Craig Crawl Space.
Indiana Jones movies.
Is
SPEAKER_03 (38:03):
it the Super Highway?
It's
SPEAKER_01 (38:05):
A.
It's
SPEAKER_00 (38:06):
A.
It's
SPEAKER_03 (38:06):
the dead.
SPEAKER_00 (38:07):
Okay.
I've never heard that in my
SPEAKER_01 (38:09):
life.
If you want to find out more,you need to go to the history of
Craig on the craighospital.orgwebsite.
And then at the very bottom isthat history of Craig book, that
Herb Tabak, if I'm saying thatright.
He wrote this book.
All the answers are in there.
So if you want to double checkme.
When it's a name, you say the H.
I know, he's right.
(38:31):
Can you please stop me, Scott,in the episode?
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (38:36):
We've had so much fun having you both on today.
Becky, Meredith, thank you somuch for joining us.
And thank you to everyone who'slistening and tune in next time.
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