Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Fund set up for paralyzed USI student
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A medical fund has been set up at Fifth Third Bank for a USI freshman paralyzed by an accident on Reitz Hill on December 23. Social work major Jodi Linette, 21, was riding an inner tube down the popular sledding spot when she hit a ramp, flew eight to ten feet, and landed on her head, according to her mother, Mary Linette. “Her eighth vertebrae shattered, the seventh is fractured, and the chip that broke off of it embedded into her spinal cord, causing the paralysis,” she said. Jodi is currently in the rehabilitation center at St. Mary’s Medical Center, but her mother is unsure if she will be allowed to stay there. She may have to stay at home or in a nursing facility until a decision can be made about what sort of treatment and care she will need. The fall 2004 semester was Jodi’s first at USI. She is a Master’s Commission ministry program graduate and is employed by the Potter’s Wheel, an inner-city ministry of Oak Hill Christian Center. “She really wants to work with the needy and felt that she needed to get a social work degree. She has a real heart for young people and for needy people,” her mother said. Mary Linette was forced to withdraw Jodi from her classes this semester, but signed her up for an online English class. “Jodi’s grades the first semester were totally awesome and we don’t want her to lose sight of her goal,” she said. She praised University staff, including Sandra Hermann, instructor of English, Renee Rowland, University Division advisor, and Robert Parrent, vice president for Student Affairs, for helping her through the process. “Everyone at USI has been very kind and awesome in the midst of it all. It made it a whole lot easier. I really want to commend the school because they’ve done a really good job.” Donations may be made to the Jodi Linette Medical Fund, set up by Pam Kneer, youth pastor at Oak Hill Christian Center, at any branch of Fifth Third Bank. Cards and letters may be sent to the Linette family at 3801 Hartford Place, Evansville, Indiana, 47725. |
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