The text of all three ads is reproduced below.
How lifting a broom handle became the start of a remarkable recovery
Dan Worsop needed heart surgery and he needed it fast. Surgeons replaced a heart valve and then performed a double bypass. After surgery Dan lapsed into a coma that lasted for several weeks.
When his doctor referred him to Southwest Rehab, Dan was still hazy. He couldn’t sit up, dress himself or even brush his teeth. But during his ten-week stay at Southwest Rehab, Dan made remarkable progress.
“The first day I went to physical therapy the therapists explained to me that I would be lifting weights. I thought they were crazy!” Dan recalls. “The first ‘weight’ they gave me to lift was a broom handle—I worked my way up from there.”
Last summer was an active one for Dan. He can walk now with only the help of a cane. A retiree, he spent his time doing a lot of fishing and visiting with neighbors. He also built a summer patio for his home. Dan went from total dependence on others to self-sufficiency. For Dan rehabilitation worked.
Since 1958 Southwest Rehab has been the designated regional medical rehabilitative care facility for Southwestern Michigan. Doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists and counselors work as a team to help each patient return to his or her maximum level of activity.
Southwest Rehab also helps outpatients with services for amputees, stroke, spinal cord injuries, speech and hearing difficulties and many other disabilities. These services are available to adults and children alike.
Call or write us for more information. We’d be glad to talk with you about how we can help people rebuild their independence through specialized care.
[LOGO]
Rebuilding Independence Through Specialized Care
183 West Street
Battle Creek, MI 49017
(616) 965-3206
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Playing the piano again was more than music to her ears
For Grace Patterson, playing the piano again was the culmination of a three-month-long effort that followed the most frightening events of her life.
She and her husband were just settling into retirement. Even so, Grace decided to continue to teach piano and organ to students at her home.
Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, she suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage. When Grace reached the hospital, her muscles were so rigid she was unable to move any part of her body.
“I was completely helpless,” she remembers. “I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t even swallow. I wanted to close my eyes and never wake up again.”
After Grace’s doctor referred her to Southwest Rehab, the rehab team of specialists went to work. Physical therapists helped her strengthen and relax her muscles. Although she hadn’t lost her ability to use words, a speech therapist had to help Grace learn to use her throat muscles all over again. Occupational therapists assigned her simple tasks at first and more complex ones later as her coordination improved. Step-by-step, Grace returned to full independence and yes, even to her music.
Since 1958 Southwest Rehab has been the designated regional medical rehabilitative care facility for Southwestern Michigan. Doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists and counselors work as a team to help each patient return to his or her maximum level of activity.
Southwest Rehab also helps outpatients with services for amputees, stroke, spinal cord injuries, speech and hearing difficulties and many other disabilities. These services are available to adults and children alike.
Call or write us for more information. We’d be glad to talk with you about how we can help people rebuild their independence through specialized care.
[LOGO]
Rebuilding Independence Through Specialized Care
183 West Street
Battle Creek, MI 49017
(616) 965-3206
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He paints a picture of hope after death was so near
John Kenyon’s motorcycle collided with a car. Instantly, he was paralyzed from the chest down. John also suffered multiple fractures of the arms and legs. Few expected him to live.
But John survived, and after a few weeks his bones mended. With the healing, however, came a terrifying realization. John had been athletic, an outdoorsman, artistic, a painter. In short, he had been a vital, young man. Now, a fracture of the cervical spine had left him permanently disabled.
“I just felt fear,” he recalls. “Cold awful fear. All I could think about was Linda and the kids. My home and my family were the most important things to me. I was afraid I’d never go home again.”
When John’s doctor referred him to Southwest Rehab, John was told that rehabilitation would not enable him to walk again. But, it could help him learn to live with his disabilities.
The first step was to get used to sitting upright after months of lying down. John had regained only limited movement in his arms and shoulders. But weightlifting helped him strengthen them, so they could be used to their fullest. Later, his fingers, which had been virtually useless, were fitted with a hand splint which allowed him to grasp things. Finally, after seven months, John was ready to go home.
John has been back home with his family for a long time now. He still paints once in a while and has won some awards for his pencil drawings. Having earned a degree in social work, he helps others who are disabled. And he drives a special van to get to those he counsels.
Since 1958 Southwest Rehab has been the designated regional medical rehabilitative care facility for Southwestern Michigan. Doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists and counselors work as a team to help each patient return to his or her maximum level of activity.
Southwest Rehab also helps outpatients with services for amputees, stroke, spinal cord injuries, speech and hearing difficulties and many other disabilities. These services are available to adults and children alike.
Call or write us for more information. We’d be glad to talk with you about how we can help people rebuild their independence through specialized care.
[LOGO]
Rebuilding Independence Through Specialized Care
183 West Street
Battle Creek, MI 49017
(616) 965-3206
KURT COBB — freelance writer 