NEED TO KNOW

Dena Suihkonen, a 59-year-old EMT and ambulance director, suffered a spinal cord injury after what she describes as being launched out of a dunk tank during a 4th of July community celebration

As an Emergency Medical Service professional, she tells PEOPLE she immediately knew something was seriously wrong

“My rear end hit the ground, and it ended up bursting my T 12, which took out my spinal cord,” she says

What should have been a fun family outing turned into an EMT grandmother’s worst case scenario.

On July 6, Dena Suihkonen was spending the day with her four grandchildren — who range in age from 2 to 8 — at the annual Breitung Township Picnic in Minnesota.

Public service representatives, including Tower Area Ambulance Services Director Suihkonen, were all taking turns

See Full Page