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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.
  • Andy outside of a pub
    “There is life after stroke.” That’s Andy Murphy’s message to patients who have found themselves at the precipice of a lengthy rehabilitation journey after experiencing a stroke. It’s a lesson he learned firsthand after his own stroke in 2021. Learn about his journey
  • Sierra getting therapy
    On a summer day in 2020, Sierra Longmoore was in a life-altering car accident. Learn how Spaulding helped her recover.
  • Joshua and his brother, two young Black men, on an adaptive bicycle for two.
    When Joshua experienced a traumatic brain injury and stroke at age 8, he went from being an avid footballer and lead in his school play to a child who doctors said would never walk or talk again. Learn how Spaulding helped him change that.

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

    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

    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 Andy: There Is Life After Stroke

    “There is life after stroke.” That’s Andy Murphy’s message to patients who have found themselves at the precipice of a lengthy rehabilitation journey after experiencing a stroke. It’s a lesson he learned firsthand after his own stroke in 2021. With the support of his Spaulding Rehabilitation care team and his dedication to his therapy, Andy has proven that message to be true. Andy was out to dinner with his wife and felt normal before running a temperature the next day. After receiving negative COVID-19 and flu tests, he assumed he had a cold. He was wrong. Shortly after the tests, he passed out due to a bacterial infection in the artificial heart valves he received in a past surgery. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and then airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital for emergency surgery. In addition to the unexpected surgery, Andy experienced a stroke that was connected to the infection. The series of events came as a total surprise to Andy and his wife. He recalls waking up in a hospital bed after the surgery having no idea where he was. He would spend 10 weeks in a nearby hospital before transferring to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston for inpatient rehabilitation. Andy arrived

  • 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 Bonnie

    Para leer esta historia en español, visite nuestra página en el Internet. 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 58th 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

  • 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

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