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Patient Stories

As a national leader in rehabilitative care, Spaulding Rehabilitation helps patients find their strength every day. But it's the words and experiences of our patients that best describe what our services can really do.

Our patient stories provide a look inside the outstanding rehabilitative services available through our network of world-class providers. We invite you to read these compelling and unforgettable stories — and learn how our rehabilitative care has changed people's lives.

Don't bet against our patients' will and determination.

Gifts to Spaulding support our patients and families as they build new futures. Throughout Spaulding’s history, we have improved the lives of thousands of people. Together, and with your generous donations, we will continue to discover and deliver the best care possible — today and tomorrow.

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  • Patient Story

    Meet Robert Lewis, Jr. | A Spaulding Story of Strength

    COVID-19 survivor and Spaulding patient Robert Lewis, Jr. shares his journey: from diagnosis with the novel coronavirus through his rehabilitation at Spaulding Hospital Cambridge—and what it means to him to be back at work at the community outreach organization he founded in Boston. My COVID-19 Recovery—As Told by Robert Lewis, Jr. I’m not sure how I expected to feel when I turned 60 years old last spring, but I didn’t anticipate a trip to the emergency department. I certainly didn’t expect to be sedated, intubated, and wake up 12 days later. But on March 22—my 60th birthday— that’s what happened. It was the beginning of my COVID-19 journey. It was an intense and frightening time. When I was moved to Spaulding Hospital Cambridge for rehabilitation after three weeks of acute care, I had to relearn…everything: how to breathe without an oxygen tank; how to walk; how to touch my nose and tie my sneakers. I had to get my strength back. What struck me about Spaulding was the incredible treatment that I—and my family—received from everyone there, from the moment I arrived until I walked out just one week later. There’s a culture of love and compassion and excellence that radiates from every person. Trust

  • Patient Story

    Meet Martha and the “Spaulding Sisters”

    The self-titled “Spaulding Sisters” made the most of 2020. The group of women met at Spaulding Boston over the past several years, bonding over their shared love of aquatic therapy. When the COVID-19 pandemic closed our community water fitness classes, the Sisters came together to support each other and their health in a whole new way. The ladies are avid participants in the Spaulding Adaptive Sports Program’s virtual classes (launched in response to the pandemic), “meeting” several times a week to exercise virtually together from the safety of their homes. They are among the more than 1,000 participants who have benefitted from virtual classes like yoga, boxing, exercise for stroke and TBI, dance with Parkinson’s, and more. In 2020, donations were used to pivot Spaulding adaptive sports programming to be entirely virtual—supporting the health and wellness of an even broader community, when so many were isolated and unable to participate in their regular fitness and community activities. Martha Starr, “Spaulding Sister,” patient, and volunteer, says the virtual programs have been a true lifesaver in 2020. And so have the Sisters’ weekly Friday Zoom calls to check in on one another. They share resources and coping strategies, discuss their conditions, and laugh together. Martha

  • Patient Story

    Meet Lauren and Tracey: From Rehab to the Finish Line

    Spring 2023 Watch this special story of a mother and daughter who both underwent outpatient rehabilitation therapy with Spaulding, and recently achieved an incredible feat — running the Boston Marathon on Spaulding's Race for Rehab Team. Their journey is a testament to the power of healing and perseverance. Join us in celebrating their

  • Patient Story

    Meet Jake: Finding a New Purpose at Spaulding

    Fall 2023 | Oct 19, 2023 After a long battle with drugs and depression, Jake Haendel received a serious diagnosis: He had a terminal central nervous system disorder. His condition degenerated quickly, and he became “locked in” — aware of his surroundings, but unable to move or communicate. When Jake’s doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital noticed signs of awareness, he called in a Spaulding Rehabilitation speech-language pathologist to teach Jake nonverbal communication using blinking and a letterboard. So when his clinical team discussed Jake’s readiness for rehabilitation care at Spaulding, Jake was able to spell, “I can do it.” “When you lose your speech or language ability and then it comes back — even in a nonverbal form — it is very powerful,” says Jake, who is now able to speak with his voice. “It’s a special thing when you can communicate with someone, and it creates a deep bond.” He feels this bond with his Spaulding therapy team, who he credits with giving him the foundation for his recovery. When he progressed enough to work on walking, Jake received special donor-provided splints from Spaulding’s Brace Clinic. Jake paid it forward by donating them back to be refurbished and given to another patient in

  • Patient Story

    Meet Hannah: Charting a New Course After Brain Injury

    Leer esta historia en español. Spring 2022 Because of Spaulding, patients like Hannah Strom have a new path forward. While traveling to a training session with her college rowing team in 2020, a devastating car accident left then-19-year-old Hannah with a collapsed lung, broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. She was airlifted from a hospital in Florida to Massachusetts General Hospital in a medically induced coma. After her treatment at Mass General, Hannah would spend the next 100 days at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Hannah came to Spaulding unable to walk, talk or get out of bed. She was admitted to Spaulding’s Disorders of Consciousness Program, directed by Dr. Joseph Giacino. Grounded in deep research, this program had Hannah’s whole rehab team working together to design special assessments to determine her level of self and environmental awareness and establish an effective means of communication. Research is critical to discovering new and improved therapies to enhance recovery and quality of life for people with severe brain injuries, like Hannah. By helping us invest in leading-edge rehabilitation technology and equipment, clinical training on innovative therapy approaches and ground-breaking research, donations to Spaulding have an impact on our patients today and for years to come. Hannah made steady progress, starting with tracking objects with her

  • Patient Story

    Meet Ethan | A Spaulding Story of Strength

    Para leer esta historia en español, visite nuestra página en el Internet. Who was by your side when you achieved a major life goal? For Ethan Wang, it will be a community of family, friends, and caregivers cheering for him (virtually) as he walks at his Boston University graduation this year. It’s a significant milestone for Ethan, who sustained a spinal cord injury while studying abroad—paralyzing him from the neck down and derailing his junior year of college. In Bali in March 2019, Ethan was critically injured while swimming in the ocean. He needed immediate life-saving surgery, followed by a medical evacuation and more surgeries in Singapore, before he could return home to Massachusetts. Then came the long journey of rehabilitation. Our donor community has been with Ethan on this journey, too. Gifts to Spaulding provide resources and support to help patients like Ethan achieve their goals. “Our family’s main source of strength is the amazing support we have received,” says Ethan’s father, Willis. “There is so much strength in community, and that is what has helped us.” Paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury (SCI) is an intense, life-changing event. Ethan spent 148 days as an inpatient at Spaulding Boston, achieving a new physical milestone

  • Patient Story

    Meet Clifton: Surviving Stroke: There and Back Again

    Spring 2023 Life often comes full circle. Clifton Singletary’s Spaulding Rehabilitation story began while he was serving our patients. When he returned to Spaulding as a patient himself, his desire to give back grew stronger. Clifton’s first visit to Spaulding was in July 2013 to escort the Boston Pops as they performed for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings. Clifton, a decorated Boston police officer, was invited to Spaulding in recognition of his service that day, when he helped load the wounded into ambulances. Clifton never imagined that he would return to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston almost 10 years later, following a hemorrhagic stroke. Unable to walk on his own and struggling with post-stroke coordination, sensory, and cognitive symptoms, he found that his Spaulding team was determined to get him back on his feet. “This is beyond professionalism,” he says. “There’s a level of dedication the people have here that is beyond comprehension.” Spaulding’s personalized approach to care has Clifton not only walking again but inspired to return to the hospital to help others. Part of his efforts include participating in a research study testing a virtual reality–linked treadmill to improve gait performance for stroke survivors like himself. One in four people will have a

  • Patient Story

    Together We Celebrate Spaulding Charlestown, 10 Years Later

    Spring 2023 From fragile first encounters to final goals achieved, rehabilitation is a team sport—and together we celebrate every milestone. This year our team marks a special milestone at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, which moved from our former neighborhood in Boston and opened at our new location in Charlestown 10 years ago in 2013. Since then, Spaulding has helped thousands of patients find their strength through their toughest moments. From recovering after the Boston Marathon bombings to a global pandemic that radically changed medicine as we know it, our commitment to our patients, their families, and the communities we serve has been unwavering. Together we celebrate: 10 years of compassionate clinical care and incredible recoveries 10 years of groundbreaking research and innovative treatments 10 years of disability rights advocacy through programs, partnerships, and universal design 10 years of training and educating future leaders in rehabilitation medicine Across Spaulding Rehabilitation, our goal is to help people get one day better, every day. And whatever triumphs and challenges await, our dedicated team will be there, with your support. Generous donors will help improve the quality of life for each person who comes through Spaulding’s doors in the decade ahead. Thank you for your

  • Patient Story

    Meet Tim: From Stroke Survivor to Marathon Runner

    Winter 2022 In October 2019, Tim Rafferty entered the gym, like he did most days. An active lifestyle was core to who he was — he loved running, snowboarding, bike riding and CrossFit. But that day at the gym, his life would change forever. Tim experienced a hemorrhagic stroke that resulted in paralysis of his left side. He was rushed to acute care, where the prognosis was grim. He was told it was unlikely he’d ever regain movement in his left side. It was a heartbreaking time for the 36-year-old and his family. But then Tim was admitted to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, where he met Dan, Elise and Pauline – three people he would spend the next year of his life with. People who would restore Tim’s hope and help him achieve previously unimaginable goals. “They were with me every step of the way,” Tim says. “Seeing other patients working so hard to achieve their goals, and seeing the clinicians matching that effort, made me inspired and determined in my own recovery.” After his time as an inpatient at Spaulding, Tim was walking very cautiously and slowly, with a cane for support. He told Dan about his goal to return to his active lifestyle, listing his favorite

  • Patient Story

    Meet Tammy: Getting Mom Back After a Motorcycle Accident

    A compassionate, dedicated care team can change the path of your rehabilitation journey — and impact your entire life. In September 2023, Tammy was in a severe motorcycle accident near her home in New Hampshire. She sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and required an amputation of her left leg. The mother of three needed long term acute care and rehabilitation, so her adult daughters turned to Spaulding Hospital for Continuing Medical Care Cambridge for Tammy’s recovery. “We were nervous because she had never been away from us,” says Tammy’s daughter Gabby. “But the Spaulding staff was so communicative. They called us with updates when we couldn’t be there. They treated us like family.” Tammy’s recovery was complex. Her TBI affected her behavior, requiring intensive interventions with the nursing staff. Tammy connected with her nurse, Sam, who helped Tammy become more independent and eventually ready to discharge home. “Sam was my best friend. She kept me in line,” says Tammy with a laugh. “She made sure I did what I was supposed to do, got me to eat, helped my family learn how to care for me.” Donations help Spaulding invest in the incredible staff and clinicians, like Sam, who make our care so

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