Meet Bonnie

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Who was by your side when you celebrated a milestone?

For Bonnie Sickorez of Mashpee, MA, it was her Spaulding Cape Cod care team, surrounding her as she looked out the window at her husband and children on her 58^th birthday. Her physical therapist brought a cake, her kids had homemade signs, and it was a beautiful moment for Bonnie, who was recovering from a planned open-heart surgery—and an unexpected complication.

A social worker and busy mom of seven kids (five of whom she adopted), Bonnie was walking five miles a day and living a full and active life early last year. Then a routine physical led to a series of follow-up evaluations, and eventually to an operating room. She had a grueling seven-hour open-heart surgery, but it was successful.

And then she had two strokes.

With complex pain and severe weakness on her right side due to the strokes, Bonnie knew her recovery would be longer than she expected. And she knew she needed to be at Spaulding Cape Cod.

Spaulding’s donor community was there with her, too. Gifts to Spaulding Cape Cod provide resources and support to help patients like Bonnie get back to the lives they love.

“Spaulding’s reputation is that they ‘work you,’ and I was ready to get to work!” says Bonnie, who adds that her Spaulding clinical team worked together seamlessly to provide individualized, wrap-around care that ultimately “gave me my life back.” She worked hard, stayed positive and focused, and walked out of Spaulding using just a cane for support.

Bonnie has a new goal for the future, now: “I’m going to walk back into Spaulding unassisted, and go thank my care team.” For now, she’s keeping up with her therapy exercises at home and enjoying this meaningful time with her kids. Even after a challenging year, Bonnie and her family still have a lot more milestones left to celebrate together.