The MIT freshman who plunged eight stories down an inactive chimney at the Sloan School on Thanksgiving weekend was transferred from Massachusetts General Hospital to the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital shortly before Christmas.
The student, a Pennsylvania resident, is making plans for the spring semester. "She is alert, quick-witted and on track for a complete recovery," said Senior Associate Dean Robert A. Randolph, who speaks with her regularly. Doctors expect her to make a slow but steady return to walking, he said. Her mobility is increasing and she is able to spend time in a wheelchair.
Campus Police said the student was on the roof with several friends when the accident occurred at about 3:30am on November 28. One of the friends told police that they went onto the roof to admire the view of the Boston skyline.
The student landed in a pile of soot at the foot of the shaft in the basement of the Sloan School of Management at 50 Memorial Drive. She was removed by the Cambridge Fire and Rescue Unit two hours later after they drilled an opening in the wall of the chimney and shoveled through the soot.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 12, 2000.
