12 Years After a Car Crash Paralyzed Her, Mom Has New Life Changing Moment

A woman who has been quadriplegic for 12 years after a car accident has taken a major step after taking part in a clinical trial.Disability advocate Jessie Owen, 39, lives in Seattle, where she is a mother to twins and regularly shares snippets of her life to her TikTok account @ItsWheelyJess.As she put it to Newsweek: "I talk about life with a spinal cord injury, accessibility and, apparently, the unexpected thrill of opening jars."After becoming quadriplegic in a "life-altering" 2012 car accident which tragically took the lives of both her parents, Owen has "focused on rebuilding—not just for myself, but in advocating for a world that doesn't make disabled life harder than it needs to be."Now Owen has gone viral for showing how a recent clinical trial helped her regain something lost for over a decade: the ability to open a jar by herself.In a TikTok video posted on March 13 and viewed over 1.7 million times, she told the camera "this is something I haven't been able to do in a very long time. Hold the jar with one [hand], and open it with the other hand."Recording just in case she succeeded, and planning to send the video to her occupational therapist, Owen first struggled to open the jar before implementing the age-old trick of banging it on the counter to loosen the lid.And it worked, as Owen managed to open the jar of peanut butter, grinning and telling the camera: "Oh my gosh, I did it."Owen wrote in the caption: "Hide your pickle collections, world! The future of spinal cord injury treatment isn't just being written—we're opening doors (and jars) to new possibilities."Spinal cord injuries can involve damage to the spinal cord itself, or damage to nerves at the end of the spinal cord. As the spinal cord sends and receives messages between the brain and the body, an injury to it can cause permanent changes in strength or feeling in the body, according to the Mayo Clinic.Owen explained to Newsweek that she participated in Onward Medical's transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation, "a non-invasive therapy that helps reconnect signals between the brain and body by applying electrical stimulation over the skin."This, paired with intensive occupational therapy, is "not a magic fix", but Owen has seen "meaningful improvements in grip strength and coordination—hence the viral jar-opening victory."CEO of Onward, Dave Marver, told Newsweek: "We are gratified by the impact our breakthrough therapies are having on Jessie and others with spinal cord injury."Helping her perform tasks that many take for granted—opening a jar or preparing food for her children—that's when our work becomes real. Jessie is a shining light for the spinal cord injury community, and we are proud to play a role in helping her regain independence and quality of life."TikTok users were awed at the video, with one writing: "As an OT [occupational therapist] I think this is AMAZING.""Every pickle jar out there just had a chill run down their spine," another joked. "I love when videos of people accomplishing their goals pop up on my page."One admitted they were "literally shouting my support like this was my Super Bowl," adding: "YOU ARE AMAZING."Many commenters asked for more information about the clinical trial or how to take part, as they or a loved one also have spinal cord injuries.And in positive news, Owen told Newsweek the trial "isn't just some research lab curiosity anymore—it's officially available across the US, meaning more people with spinal cord injuries can actually get their hands on it without needing to be part of a clinical trial."She warned, however, that "disability innovation is happening, but access is still a fight.""Cutting-edge treatments don't mean much if people can't afford them or if insurance won't cover them. I hope sharing my experience helps push those conversations forward."Do you have a tip on a health story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about spinal cord injuries? Let us know via [email protected].