The Penn State varsity cheerleader who fell about 39 feet in October spoke to media in Kentucky for the first time Tuesday about her rehab process and her health, according to a press release issued by KentuckyOne Health.
Paige Raque, 19, of Louisville, Ky., will be discharged from the Frazier Rehab Institute today after undergoing physical and occupational therapy for 16 days, according to the release. Raque suffered a severe brain injury and a broken pelvis after falling from a fifth-floor window in the Calder Commons apartment complex in October.
Raque will begin outpatient therapy three times per week starting Dec. 10 in the Frazier Rehab NeuroRecovery Network.
Dr. Darryl Kaelin, Raque’s physician, said that the typical recovery time for an injury like the cheerleader sustained would run about three months, but Raque has achieved the same status in only two, according to the release.
Raque thanked the Penn State community that continued to support her throughout the recovery process and said she hopes to return to the university.
“I absolutely want to go back, possibly in the fall, but I don’t want to set any deadlines for myself,” she said.
Shortly after her fall, the Penn State community banded together to offer support to the cheerleader through the hashtag “prayforpaige” on Twitter and a prayer vigil in Rec Hall.
The State College Police Department continues to investigate whether alcohol may have been in a factor in what police deemed an accident.
Police were granted a search warrant to examine Raque’s blood alcohol content test results when she was treated at Mount Nittany Medical Center.
There has been no further information released from police, as the investigation is ongoing.
