TOWER, Minn. ( KBJR /Gray News) - A first responder was paralyzed in a dunk tank accident at a community picnic in Soudan, Minnesota, this past summer.

Tower Ambulance Director Dena Suihkonen was taking a shift in a dunk tank fundraiser when the seat malfunctioned, flinging her backwards. The fall severed her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed.

“I just remembered telling them, call for ALS, call for Life Link,” Suihkonen said. “And he, Stephen, who’s one of the EMTs, said, ‘Can I ask why?’ And I said, because I can’t feel my legs. And then everything got crazy.”

Suihkonen’s EMT coworkers at the picnic jumped into action to provide emergency care before a helicopter arrived to fly her to Duluth for treatment.

After more than a month in rehabilitation, Suihkonen returned home, where he

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