Patient Success Stories

Robbie

Worked Hard To Get Better

Robbie is a previous college football player. He played inside linebacker years ago and has always had a love for sports and health. He took that passion and converted it into a career becoming a Health and Phys Ed teacher in his hometown. Robbie loved teaching his students and working with them to help them grow. He had to have a surgery on an old football injury and it became problem some. The surgery left Robbie with osteomyelitis and a foot ulceration. Robbie was diagnosed with Parkinsons shortly after that surgery. The diagnosis cut his teaching career shorter than he would have liked but he kept his spirits up and kept moving forward. Recently he required a repeat surgery on his foot and was found to be appropriate to come to Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital for intensive therapy and physician management throughout his rehab. Robbie was very thankful for his time at Mercy Health and said “he would recommend anyone needing this level of care to come here (to Mercy Health) first. The people are all so nice, and the therapists, especially Levi and Keith, helped him to stay motivated and on task”. Therapy worked on Robbie’s upperbody strength, walking and getting him ready to go home. Our physicians focused on his medicinal needs and keeping him stable to do therapy.

Robbie, being a teacher, knew every student’s name that he taught. He knows the name of each person who helped him at Mercy Health as well, but we don’t have enough space to put every one of the outstanding team members he mentioned in this success story.

The day Robbie admitted to Mercy Health Rehab it was unclear if he would be able to go directly home or need to go to stay with his sister, Tammy, before returning to his own home. Robbie worked hard and was diligent about getting better and was able to discharge directly home after graduating from his rehabilitation program.

Tammy, Robbie’s sister, advocated for Robbie to come to Mercy Health Rehab Hospital. She was a big part of his rehab and she visited him almost daily. Tammy and Robbie are openly thankful for the experience and results they received and would highly recommend Mercy Health Rehab Hospital as their top choice in our area.

Darrel

Beating the Odds!

It was a beautiful Florida day in February 2024 when Darrel began his daily 10-mile bicycle ride. The ride was normal and uneventful until the very last turn to get into his housing allotment. A young driver was texting and not paying attention and slammed into Darrell making his daily ride anything but uneventful while causing him severe spinal cord damage. This accident will stay with him for years and fill his recovery road with miraculously blessed interventions requiring his persistent determination and faith.

Darrel was taken to a level 1 trauma hospital in Orlando. After the surgical team stabilized him, he was told he had a 3% chance to ever walk again. That is not news anyone receives well, but Darrel kept his mind right and believed he would do everything he could to prove that statistic wrong. He had gone from being an independent person, golfing, bicycling, and boating to someone who needed help with literally every facet of his life.

After a short time in a rehab facility in Florida he returned home. His wife Theresa was very involved in his care being there for him every step of the way.  Darrel had his bedroom modified to accommodate a special shower, a Hoyer lift, and a sink. His insurance had just cut him, and he was going through the last week of his covered outpatient therapy when another opportunity appeared. Mercy Health Rehabilitation Hospital needed patients to work with in order to qualify for their Medicare certification. Dr. Puet had referred Darrel for the program, and Darrel and Theresa jumped at the chance to continue his therapy. 

Darrel admitted using a motorized wheelchair to get around and requiring Hoyer lifts to get in and out of bed. Our therapy team was able to professionally apply the therapy techniques along with the brand-new state-of-the-art equipment and help him realize immediate gains. No more Hoyer lifting, no more motorized wheelchairs. Along with that came more independence, which made Darrel more excited and gave him real hope. Dan Dray, our Director of Therapy, worked with Darrel quite often. Dan took the time to get to know Darrel, find out what his challenges were and develop a plan to help Darrel achieve real, lasting results from his time with the rehab.  Darrel learned more than 10 things he uses every day to continue to make gains. He is back to bicycling, and he pedals it about 10 miles per day in his neighborhood.

Darrel is happy to get back to a higher quality of life with his wife and 3 sons. He looks forward to each day because it means he has a chance to make more progress than he did yesterday. Darrell did not use the Hoyer lift, the special shower, or the wheelchair when he went home from rehab. He confidently told me he never thinks he will have a need for them again.

I have no doubt that someday soon I will see Darrel at the golf course without his walker, or perhaps on the lake with his pontoon boat. I can say today you can see him cycling through his neighborhood with a smile from ear to ear.