Hope Restored | Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital

Athlete returns to competition after spinal cord injury

Jan 23rd, 2012 in Adaptive Sports, spinal cord injury | No Comments

Hittin' hard: Beth Redford back in the game after a spinal cord injury.

by Beth Redford

After a few days, I have recovered from playing in the recent Grand Rapids Wheelchair Sports Association (GRWSA) Tennis Fundraising Tournament at Ramblewood in Grand Rapids.

The weekend started with picking up three cases of tennis balls for tournament director and wheelchair tennis head coach, Lynn Bender, and delivering them to Ramblewood. After being part of the WZZM13 interview and helping to set up, I played a first round match in the 6.0 women’s bracket.

My partner, Karen …

Motorcycle Accident Victim Full of Hope and Optimism throughout Recovery

Jan 13th, 2012 in Patient Stories, spinal cord injury, Water Therapy | No Comments

"I've learned to hug my children tighter and to kiss my wife every time I leave them," Matthew says.

by Coertney Vanderhill

Blog manager’s note: While the blog post below about Matthew Sexton gives an overview of his accident and rehabilitation, I recommend you head straight to Matthew’s personal blog for a candid and poignant accounting of his accident and recovery.

Matthew Sexton was riding his motorcycle on his way to work early one morning. He was cruising down a two-lane road when he noticed an SUV heading straight toward him. As he veered to the …

Gravely injured in auto accident, patient depends on husband to choose rehabilitation facility

Jan 7th, 2012 in Brain Injury, spinal cord injury, TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury | 1 Comment

Mary Free Bed patient, Tammy Helton, with her husband Mike.

The right to choose: Because Tammy was in a coma following her car accident, she depended on her husband to research and choose a rehabilitation facility for treatment for her traumatic injuries.

It was the click she didn’t hear that turned Tammy Helton’s life upside down.

Last July 9, Tammy hopped into her Jeep to head to the home in Twin Lakes that she shared with her husband, Mike, and the youngest of their three children. The music was cranked, and Tammy doesn’t remember hearing the click …

Mary Free Bed’s new era

Dec 23rd, 2011 in News | Comments Off

A new year’s post from the Hope Restored blog manager, Sandra Mitchell

Leading the way: Kent Riddle, CEO, and Dr. John Butzer, Medical Director, partner up to lead Mary Free Bed into a new era.

A couple of months ago, I sat in a meeting with Mary Free Bed’s fearless CEO, Kent Riddle, going over a speech he’d written. When my eyes hit this sentence – “It’s a new era at Mary Free Bed” – it was obvious …

Baclofen pump helps two boys with severe spasticity

Dec 16th, 2011 in cerebral palsy, Outpatient Rehabilitation, Patient Stories, Pediatric Rehabilitation | Comments Off

By Mary Free Bed writer, Molly Cartwright

Kordell's baclofen pump alleviates his symptoms of spasticity, making him more comfortable and allowing him more movement.

Thirteen-year-old Kordell Rodrigues has cerebral palsy. Seven years ago, he suffered from such severe spasticity that his body was like a stiff board, according to his grandmother, Debra Rodrigues. Doctors recommended that Kordell have a baclofen pump surgically implanted into his abdomen to alleviate his spasticity.

Debra said the decision to get the baclofen pump – a programmable device that delivers medication to relieve severe spasticity – was a measure of last resort for …

Overcoming Barriers: MS Patient Face Challenges and Thrives

Dec 8th, 2011 in Patient Stories | 3 Comments

Multiple sclerosis patient, Nicky Lewis, regained mobility after her rehab at Mary Free Bed

Moving forward: Nicky Lewis finds her multiple sclerosis presents constant challenges, but her rehab and attitude allow her to adapt and keep living in the present.

by Chris Lewis

As a full-time social worker, Nicky Lewis has always placed the interests of others well before her own, grateful for the opportunity to regularly improve her patients’ lives.

Ironically, when diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) this past April, she suddenly became a patient herself.

Before her diagnosis, Nicky had experienced an array of usual MS symptoms, including dizziness …

5 year old overcomes eating struggles

Nov 28th, 2011 in feeding, Patient Stories | 1 Comment

Healthy eating: With the help of Mary Free Bed's Pediatric Feeding Program, Cerelle has overcome her feeding issues and is now eating everything from apples to chicken and rice

by Molly Cartwright

Like many kids, Cerelle is a bit of a picky eater. She loves to eat cake and ice cream, but won’t eat salty foods, such as French fries.

For Lynn and Pat Pohl, Cerelle’s parents, the fact she wants to eat at all is something to celebrate. For the past 4 years Cerelle has been unable to eat anything but baby food.

Since she was a baby, …

Sustained by His Faith, Avid Hunter Recovers from Tree Stand Fall

Nov 17th, 2011 in Patient Stories, spinal cord injury | Comments Off

Good advice for hunters from spinal cord injury patient: "Always wear a safety harness and remain connected to a safety line at all times while climbing a tree."

by Chris Lewis

As a Michigan native, Geoff Newmyer, along with a majority of his friends and family members, has been actively hunting since he was a child.

“My dad and uncles were avid hunters,” Geoff said. “As I grew up, I always looked forward to hunting with my dad.”

Geoff has been hunting on his own since he was 12-years-old. To this day, he vividly remembers some of the …

Rebuilding from the ground up

Nov 12th, 2011 in Aquatic Therapy, spinal cord injury, Water Therapy | Comments Off

Walk in water: Mary Free Bed spinal cord injury patient Jeff Block receives water therapy. The pool is a safe environment to work on increasing muscle strength and flexibility and for performing tasks that may not yet be possible to do on land.

by Amanda Larsen

A small business man in Kalamazoo for 34 years, Jeff Block, ended a long day of work on a rainy July evening with the routine job of emptying his truck bed of the day’s debris.

Jeff heaved the trash into the dumpster …

Mary Free Bed Announces Strategic Alliance with The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

Nov 2nd, 2011 in News | Comments Off

Blog manager’s note: At a special reception on Tuesday, November 1, Mary Free Bed and The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago announced a new strategic alliance. Below are remarks made at the event by Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle.

Kent Riddle, CEO, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, and JoAnne Smith, MD, CEO, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

Joining forces: CEOs from Mary Free Bed and The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Kent Riddle and Joanne C. Smith, MD, announce to Mary Free Bed employees a new strategic alliance

Friends,

This past June, a …

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