Lewes man reclaims his life after disabling accident

Gordon Boslet was moving his lawn furniture in June 2008, as a storm approached and one of those freak accidents happened - the kind of accident that changes one’s life forever.

A huge branch from one of his 80-foot swamp maples in his Lewes backyard broke loose in the wind and fell on him, pinning him to the ground and irreparably damaging his rugged 72-year-old body.

It was months before he understood that Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company came to his rescue, cutting and removing the web of limbs of the old branch and then transporting him to Beebe Medical Center’s Emergency Department. By coincidence, his son Gordon Boslet Jr. is a ladder captain with the company and found his friends were working to save his father’s life.

Paralyzed from the waist down, Boslet was in and out of a specialized medical center for five months. When his health had stabilized, he was sent to Beebe Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Services Department, where he began both occupational therapy and physical therapy.

“When I came here, I couldn’t move,” he said during a recent physical therapy session at Beebe Medical Center. “Now my goal is to pick up my body with my arms so I can transfer from my bed to my wheelchair more easily. I’m working at getting into the electric wheelchair I bought from the Scooter Store.”

Boslet, a retired business owner from New York, had taken up carpentry as a hobby several years before the accident. Today he is retooling his workbench to fit his electric wheelchair, which can be raised and lowered. He’s making Adirondack chairs as gifts - something he did not think he would ever do again.

“I always liked woodworking and carved for many years,” he said, noting he carved a half-size carrousel horse about 10 years ago after visiting the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum in New York.

“He’s been an inspiration,” said occupational therapist Alice Workman, OTR-L, who works at the Baylis Rehabilitation Center at the Beebe Health Campus in Rehoboth Beach. Workman’s role is to help patients learn new ways to care for themselves after suffering a disabling illness or injury. She has worked regularly with Boslet.

When he started coming to the center, he noticed she had organized the gardening project to help her patients and it brought joy into their days. “Gardening is an important activity in the lives of many people,” she said, “and for the patients who have traditionally enjoyed gardening, we wanted to teach them a way that they could continue to do it.”

Boslet noticed the plants needed to be in a contained area. Despite his own disability, he was determined to build a garden box that could then be placed next to the window and hold all the plants in one special place.

He built a garden box and included some three-dimensional carved flowers, as well as a painted sign dedicated to Alice Workman - Alice’s Gardenland - for all she had done for him and for the other patients. Boslet’s wife found a birdhouse to include and painted the flowers. Beebe staff member Natalie Strayer and her husband Jackie later built and decorated a cream-colored base for the garden box.

“Mr. Boslet became inspired and has inspired everyone around him,” said Camilla T. Carter, PT, Baylis Rehabilitation Center manager. She said the garden has become a focal point in the room, with patients taking part in the garden or just enjoying its beauty.

Boslet, who is no longer getting occupational therapy, continues to work with a physical therapist to strengthen his upper body. He is determined to do as much as he can and is enjoying his time with his family.