Angela Vaslavsky was sledding in Unity on New Year's Eve when she was launched into two fallen trees, suffering a spinal cord injury that doctors initially classified as complete paralysis. The 44-year-old is continuing her recovery alongside a styling business she had built with a partner before the crash.
The accident happened around 8 p.m. on December 31, and EMS crews reached Vaslavsky around 9:30 p.m., after she had remained trapped for about an hour and a half, according to TribLIVE. She was transported to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville.
Doctors determined Vaslavsky had suffered a C7 vertebra displacement beneath the C6 vertebra, causing a spinal hematoma, and they initially ruled the injury to her spinal column complete, the report states. She spent 12 days at the Monroeville trauma center before being transferred to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, where she spent about six weeks in intensive rehabilitation before returning to Westmoreland County on February 24.
A Diagnosis That Changed
While Vaslavsky was in treatment, her doctors altered the initial diagnosis from a complete injury to an incomplete one. Medical literature distinguishes the two categories by whether nerve signals below the injury site are fully blocked or whether residual pathways remain intact, allowing for potential sensory and motor recovery over time, according to Flint Rehab. Incomplete tetraplegia is in fact the most common form of traumatic spinal cord injury nationally, accounting for roughly 47.4% of cases, while fewer than 1% of patients achieve full neurological recovery by the time they leave the hospital, per the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.
Vaslavsky can now move her arms and hands with some restrictions and has regained sensory feeling in her legs, the outlet reports. She navigates daily life in a wheelchair and works with physical therapists to rehabilitate and strengthen her torso, with a stated goal of eventually taking steps independently.
Her age at the time of injury, 44, aligns with a broader national shift: the average age of traumatic spinal cord injury patients in the U.S. has climbed to 43, up from 29 in the 1970s, as falls among older adults have become more common, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.
Building On a Business Already in Motion
Vaslavsky's recovery is unfolding alongside a business she and Unity neighbor Sarah Thompson, also 44, had already built together. The pair opened a House of Colour franchise in Unity in May 2025, months before the sledding accident, after traveling to Mount Lebanon for a joint self-care retreat centered on personal color analysis. House of Colour offers styling services.
Months after opening House of Colour, Vaslavsky and Thompson added Gypsy Indigo Boutique, offering what they describe as sustainable, affordable and high-end fashion.
A New Storefront, and a New Niche Business
Now the two businesses are expanding again. House of Colour and Gypsy Indigo Boutique will relocate on November 1 to a wheelchair-accessible former schoolhouse at 203 Old Route 30 in Hempfield Township, according to the outlet's reporting.
The same building will also house a brand-new venture: Revival by Indigo, a professional styling service the partners plan to launch to help people with medical conditions adapt their wardrobes to physical needs. Thompson said the service will work with people facing both visible and invisible barriers, per the report.
The global adaptive clothing market was valued at more than $4 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $35.27 billion by 2033, according to Coherent Market Insights.
For Vaslavsky, recovery continues alongside the businesses she and Thompson built before her accident upended her mobility.
