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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 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

    Conozca a Larry

    Read this story in English. Otoño 2021 La vida puede cambiar en un instante, generalmente cuando menos lo esperas. Larry Dicara estaba haciendo su caminata diaria con un querido amigo, respetando el distanciamiento social cuando fue atropellado por una camioneta que viajaba a 60 millas por hora. El conductor había sufrido un infarto y se salió de la carretera hacia la acera. Larry fue trasladado de urgencia a cuidados intensivos, habiendo sufrido un grave traumatismo que incluía lesión cerebral, laceración del bazo e hígado y fracturas en el brazo, el pie, la pelvis y la columna vertebral. Sus médicos no esperaban que volviera a caminar. Ahí es donde Spaulding entró. Larry pasó más de cuatro meses rehabilitándose en múltiples ubicaciones de Spaulding durante la pandemia de COVID-19, y el generoso apoyo de los donantes ayudó a mantenerlo a él y a su equipo de atención a salvo. Las donaciones nos permitieron comprar equipo de terapia adicional para crear gimnasios temporales en cada unidad en Spaulding Brighton, permitiendo así a los médicos tratar a pacientes como Larry más cerca de sus habitaciones para reducir cualquier posible transmisión de virus. Después de semanas de terapias intensivas y ejercicios donde no ponía peso en sus pies, Larry finalmente obtuvo luz

  • Patient Story

    Johnny: Perseverancia e inspiración

    Read this story in English. Otoño 2022 Para Johnny, su historia con Spaulding comenzó cuando entró en insuficiencia respiratoria durante un procedimiento de rutina antes de una cirugía planeada. Las complicaciones fueron graves. Johnny pasó semanas en cuidados intensivos en el Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), intubado y tratando con múltiples antibióticos. Con una incapacidad del desarrollo y antecedentes de por vida con problemas de desarrollo musculoesquelético que lo hicieron médicamente frágil, Johnny necesitó atención especializada y amparo durante su rehabilitación. El Hospital Spaulding de Cambridge estaba allí para él. Los enfoques terapéuticos creativos y divertidos motivaron a Johnny en su recuperación. Johnny estaba en un estado frágil, pero construyó su fuerza diariamente en Spaulding. Cuando se hizo evidente que Johnny necesitaría una máscara de ventilador especializada para soportar sus niveles de oxígeno durante la noche, sus neumólogos y terapeutas respiratorios de Spaulding dedicaron su tiempo y recursos a encontrarle una perfecta para su anatomía y necesidades únicas. Fue un proceso largo; pero mientras tanto, Johnny pudo someterse a la operación de reparación de la válvula cardíaca que él desesperadamente necesitaba. "La perseverancia del equipo de Spaulding para trabajar con Johnny y sus médicos de MGH, encontrar soluciones y llevarlo a un lugar mucho mejor, esa es

  • 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 Hannah: Trazando un nuevo curso después de una lesión cerebral

    Read this story in English. Primavera 2022 Gracias a Spaulding, los pacientes como Hannah Strom tienen un nuevo camino a seguir. Mientras viajaba a una sesión de entrenamiento con su equipo de remo de la universidad en 2020, un devastador accidente automovilístico dejó a Hannah, que entonces tenía 19 años, con un colapso pulmonar, huesos rotos y una lesión cerebral traumática. Fue trasladada en avión desde un hospital en Florida al Mass General Hospital en coma inducido médicamente. Desde Mass General, Hannah pasaría los próximos 100 días en el Hospital de Rehabilitación Spaulding. Hannah llegó a Spaulding sin poder caminar, hablar o levantarse de la cama. Ingresó al Programa de Trastornos de la Conciencia de Spaulding, dirigido por el Dr. Joseph Giacino. Basado en intensos estudios de investigación, este programa hizo que todo el equipo de rehabilitación de Hannah trabajara en conjunto para diseñar evaluaciones especiales para determinar su nivel de conciencia ambiental y de sí misma y establecer un medio efectivo de comunicación. Estudios de investigación son fundamentales para descubrir nuevas y avanzadas terapias para mejorar la recuperación y la calidad de vida de las personas con lesiones cerebrales graves, como Hannah. Al ayudarnos a invertir en tecnología y equipos de rehabilitación de vanguardia, capacitación

  • 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

    Meet Chris: Losing a Limb, Regaining a Life

    Fall 2021 Chris can’t wait to teach his six-year-old daughter to ride a bike. It’s an experience he didn’t think would be possible, after his left leg was crushed in a 2018 car accident and fused straight in seven surgeries. Unable to bend his knee to sit in a car, Chris couldn’t drive anywhere with his girlfriend and daughter. His altered gait resulted in severe back pain. The former professional athlete was unable to work and became largely home bound. Then Chris learned about the Ewing amputation—an innovative procedure that reconnects muscles and nerves, allowing the residual leg to interact with leading-edge prosthetics. He suddenly had hope for a future with less pain and more mobility. The only issue: the surgical trial and recovery took place in Boston, far from Chris’s home in Los Angeles, CA. He would not be able to afford the procedure or the required stay in Boston. Spaulding donors helped make it possible. After a long process with insurance, Chris became the fifth above-knee amputation in the Ewing trial. “I lost my limb that day,” he says, “but I regained my life.” Chris excelled in his recovery at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He was discharged from the hospital, but needed additional therapy before heading

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