In life, nobody escapes experiences they'd rather not have. What seems small to some are viewed as huge by others, and vice versa. I could name several situations here, but I'm sure you all know what I mean.
When I heard about Michaela Neuzil, D.C., the practicing Chiropractor in West Concord, I couldn't even imagine what she went through in her personal life. But even more so, what she has done to alleviate at least some of the tragedies she suffered last year.
In a small town, news gets around fast. For those of you who haven't heard her story, it is not only tragic, but also triumphant. In my eyes, she is a hero in her own right.
Michaela grew up in Spring Grove, a small town in southeast Minnesota. She attended Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa and graduated in 2020. After working as an associate chiropractor in Red Wing for a few years she was looking for something closer to her home outside of West Concord. That was when she found that the Rapp Chiropractic office in West Concord was for sale. She purchased the business from Dr. Curtis Rapp in June of 2024 and set out to mirror the excellent quality of care that Dr. Curt and his son Nick are known for. Chiropractic care has always been her passion and she was excited to serve the community. Michaela became involved in the West Concord Fire and Rescue Department to offer her skills.
In September of 2024, her fiancée, David Buck, passed away in a work related accident in Faribault. A few months later, she was moving his farm vehicles to a shed to await auction when the UTV she was driving failed to turn into the driveway, and instead rolled into a ditch, pinning her body underneath it. She laid in the ditch for around 40 minutes before a neighbor passing by saw the accident and called 911. She suffered a spinal cord injury in that accident. The doctors at the Mayo Clinic gave her a likely prognosis of being paralyzed from the neck down.
Being a chiropractor herself, she understood her injuries and how severe they were. She could connect the dots as to why her arm wasn't working, etc., and knew it would be a long road to recovery. She stayed at St. Mary's ICU for ten days, and started her recovery, getting daily doses of occupational therapy for several months, and on to outpatient, recovering better than anyone expected. Even knowing what she knew about the injuries suffered and the doctor’s prognosis, she never gave up. Michaela told herself to not sit around and be miserable, but to get active and serve the community. For the time she is living in Spring Grove and completing weekly physical therapy, while seeing clients a couple afternoons a week. During the time she was convalescing, Dr. Rapp came back out of retirement to see patients and keep the office open for her. Michaela still has some numbness in her hands and the arm that was injured in the accident and is working through the weakness and tiredness as her body heals. She is working each week to rebuild her core and strength. She credits the support of friends and family, her office staff Chris and Dr. Curt Rapp with helping her to recover like she has.
The West Concord community reached out to her to help in any way they could. The West Concord Fire Dept. put together a fundraiser to help offset the medical bills, and this summer, the Scott Hodgman Memorial gifted her the proceeds from their Classic Car Show.
