Meet Dee

When accidents and injuries derail our lives, the road back to health can feel daunting—but it’s one worth traveling, especially with skilled and caring partners cheering us on.

Everything changed in an instant for Deirdre Karle, who was hit by a car while walking in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood one winter night in 2019. The 57-year-old was thrown 20 feet in the air, landing on her head. She sustained a life-threatening traumatic brain injury, fractured her neck, and spent weeks intubated in a coma.

Dee survived, but her neurosurgeon advised her family that the busy executive and fitness enthusiast would never work again. She experienced significant muscle loss and extreme fatigue due to her injuries. But Dee was determined. She came to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston to get back on her feet—and back to her life.

“One of the first things I really remember after the accident was being in the inpatient gym at Spaulding,” Dee says. “The gym was a comfortable setting for me. That was when I ‘woke up.’”

Spaulding is known for making impossible recoveries possible. From physical therapy to occupational therapy, from therapeutic recreation to adaptive sports, everything we do is designed to help patients take the next step—sometimes literally—in their recoveries.

We accomplish this with support from our donor community, which helps make life-changing outcomes possible for Spaulding patients like Dee.

“My care team really got me,” says Dee. They helped her understand her traumatic brain injury, what it meant for her recovery, and what she would need to work on. “They engaged me from the minute I came through those doors. Spaulding doesn’t let you sit in that bed!”

After discharging home in late March, Dee continued outpatient therapy with Spaulding. She focused on speech, continued to build her strength and skills, and became recertified to drive. With help from her comprehensive and compassionate care team, Dee achieved the ambitious goal of returning to her meaningful job—just one year after the accident that changed her life.

Spaulding donors provide critical support for our incredible care teams and clinical and research programs, which help more than 84,000 patients each year on their rehabilitation journeys.

In 2023, Dee was ready to tackle another big challenge—running the Boston Marathon on Spaulding’s official charity team. She had the support of Spaulding once again, and her son Jack as her teammate. Mother and son were deeply committed to their goal, raising critical funds and celebrating together after crossing the finish line.

Finding ways to honor her progress and give back to the Spaulding community has become a driving force for Dee. She also shows her commitment through her personal philanthropy, as a member of the Pillars of Strength giving society. “It’s emotional for me,” she says. “I don’t know where I would be today without the people and the resources at Spaulding.”

These days, Dee is eager to keep giving back. She volunteers at Spaulding, serving on an advisory committee and speaking with patients and families with similar experiences. “I feel so much gratitude for where I am today,” she says. “I just want to help others now.”