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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.

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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 Pierce

    Para leer esta historia en español, visite nuestra página en el Internet. Who was by your side when you achieved a major goal? For Pierce Scroggins, it was his Spaulding physical therapist Eric, who ran with Pierce as he completed a 5K race in his hometown of Pembroke, MA. It was an important milestone for 25-year-old Pierce, who had lost all ability to move, speak, or eat just two years before. Our donor community was with Pierce, too. Gifts to Spaulding provides resources and support to help patients like Pierce achieve their goals. In 2018, just after Pierce graduated college with a mechanical engineering degree, a severe headache uncovered an extremely rare, cancerous tumor at his brain stem. He spent the next eight months in hospitals, including Spaulding Cambridge and Boston, undergoing multiple brain surgeries and chemotherapy. Pierce was determined to get better. He relearned to walk. He went home. And then the cancer came back. Suddenly, Pierce had a new goal: get strong enough to receive a life-saving bone marrow transplant and subsequent proton radiation. He achieved that critical milestone with the help of his Spaulding outpatient therapy team and then began the work to get back to his pre-cancer activities. “In addition to running a

  • Patient Story

    Conozca a Matt: Un viaje de sanación y esperanza para el futuro

    Read this story in English. Primavera 2022 Gracias a Spaulding, pacientes como Matt Fitzgerald tienen una segunda oportunidad en la vida. En el Día de los Padres de 2019, Matt conducía para visitar a su familia en Rhode Island y experimentó un terrible accidente automovilístico. Lanzado fuera de su vehículo, Matt sufrió lesiones graves, incluyendo ruptura en la columna. Estaba paralizado de la cintura para abajo y le dijeron que podía morir por complicaciones significativas de una herida quirúrgica masiva. Matt estaba decidido a vivir. Se transfirió al Hospital General de Massachusetts (Massachusetts General Hospital) para recibir atención aguda continua, luego vino al Hospital Spaulding de Cambridge para comenzar su largo viaje de recuperación. Matt pasó más de dos años sanándose en Spaulding Cambridge y Spaulding Brighton. “Hice amigos y familia para toda la vida en Spaulding”, dijo Matt. Las conexiones ayudaron en su proceso de curación, que fue extenso. Las cirugías que extrajeron el tejido necrosado de su cuerpo lo dejaron con una herida que necesitó atención continua hospitalizado para sanar. Al mismo tiempo, Matt necesitaba terapia física y ocupacional para tratar su lesión en la médula espinal. Fue un proceso equilibrado lento y delicado, complicado aún más por la pandemia de COVID-19. Con el tiempo, la

  • 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 Lindsey

    Music helps us heal in countless ways. Our favorite songs lift our spirits, regardless of the challenges we are facing that day. For lifelong performers—even those who only sing in the shower—music is both a treatment and a goal during rehabilitation. The right song can give us the motivation to race one more mile — or to take just one more step. At Spaulding, music plays a role in our approach to caring not just for the patient, but for the whole person.  When Lindsey Santiago was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 25, she didn’t realize how much her life would change. While she has experienced happy milestones — marrying her long-time boyfriend, giving birth to their now-3-year-old, Max — Lindsey’s condition has also progressed and presented new challenges. Spasticity is a common symptom of MS, affecting her feet and legs and requiring Lindsey to use assistance to walk — and to rely on others to carry her toddler son. “I have balance issues,” she says. “When you’re holding a child, you don’t want to fall.” After her stay at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Lindsey now participates in Spaulding’s outpatient neurologic music therapy program to gain steadiness on her feet. She works

  • 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

    Johnny: Perseverance and Inspiration

    Leer esta historia en español. Fall 2022 For Johnny, his Spaulding story began when he went into respiratory failure during a routine procedure before a planned surgery. The complications were severe. Johnny spent weeks in critical care at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), intubated and on multiple antibiotics. With a developmental disability and lifelong history of musculoskeletal developmental problems that made him medically fragile, Johnny needed specialized care and advocacy during his rehabilitation. Spaulding Hospital Cambridge was there for him. Creative, fun therapy approaches motivated Johnny in his recovery. Johnny was in a fragile state — but built his strength daily at Spaulding. When it became apparent Johnny would need a specialized ventilator mask to support his oxygen levels overnight, his Spaulding pulmonologists and respiratory therapists dedicated their time and resources to finding him just the right fit for his unique anatomy and needs. It was a long process; but in the meantime, Johnny was able to have the heart valve repair operation he desperately needed. “The perseverance of the Spaulding team to work with Johnny and his MGH doctors, find solutions, and get him to a much better place — that’s the success story,” says his devoted brother and caregiver, Phil. Like many of our patients,

  • Patient Story

    Conozca a Gary

    Read this story in English. Otoño 2021 ¿Cómo empezarías a reconstruir décadas de su vida? Gary Brennan de Centerville conducía al trabajo un día cuando la última cosa que se acuerda fue que se estaba despertando en un centro de trauma. Él le pidió a su equipo clínico que alertara a la familia de su prometida: él y Lynne planeaban casarse en unos pocos meses. Gary pensó que era 1974. No sabía que ahora tenía 59 años y que llevaba casado con Lynne durante casi 40 años. Un conductor había chocado por detrás de la camioneta de Gary, lo que resultó en una Lesión Cerebral Traumática (LCT) que borró décadas de su memoria. “Mi vida se convirtió en queso suizo”, dijo Gary. "El galán estaba allí, pero lleno de agujeros". Lynne y él necesitaban reconstruir todos los aspectos de su vida. Ayudar a Gary a llenar esos agujeros era una de las metas de su equipo de rehabilitación en Spaulding Cape Cod.  Él recibió un tratamiento intensivo para abordar los déficits causados ​​por la LCT, fortaleciendo sus habilidades cognitivas, el equilibrio y sus cuidados-personales. Después de su rehabilitación hospitalaria y semanas de atención domiciliaria, él regresó a Spaulding para recibir terapia ambulatoria para trabajar hacia una

  • 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

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