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Baclofen pump helps two boys with severe spasticity

Thirteen-year-old Kordell Rodrigues has cerebral palsy. Seven years ago, he suffered from such severe spasticity that his body was like a stiff board, according to his grandmother, Debra Rodrigues. Doctors recommended that Kordell have a baclofen pump surgically implanted into his abdomen to alleviate his spasticity. Debra said the decision to get the baclofen pump […]

Overcoming barriers: Patient with MS faces challenges and thrives

As a full-time social worker, Nicky Lewis has always placed the interests of others well before her own, grateful for the opportunity to regularly improve her patients’ lives. Ironically, when diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) this past April, she suddenly became a patient herself. (MS is an autoimmune disease in which the myelin sheaths that […]

5-year-old overcomes eating struggles

by Molly Cartwright Like many kids, Cerelle is a bit of a picky eater. She loves to eat cake and ice cream, but won’t eat salty foods, such as French fries. For Lynn and Pat Pohl, Cerelle’s parents, the fact she wants to eat at all is something to celebrate. For the past 4 years […]

Sustained by his faith, avid hunter recovers from tree stand fall

by Chris Lewis As a Michigan native, Geoff Newmyer, along with a majority of his friends and family members, has been actively hunting since he was a child. “My dad and uncles were avid hunters,” Geoff said. “As I grew up, I always looked forward to hunting with my dad.” Geoff has been hunting on […]

Rebuilding from the ground up

by Amanda Larsen A small businessman in Kalamazoo for 34 years, Jeff Block, ended a long day of work on a rainy July evening with the routine job of emptying his truck bed of the day’s debris. Jeff heaved the trash into the dumpster and slipped. He lost his footing and fell off the truck. […]

Passion, Optimism, Recovery: Hunter Shares Story of Tree Stand Fall

by Chris Lewis For as long as he can remember, Gale Lynch has been passionate about the outdoors – and hunting. At the age of 8 he began to accompany his father during fall and winter deer hunts, as the two regularly searched for trophy bucks. He soon found himself shooting at tin cans with a […]

Sierra Miller Wins Gold at USCA National Event

by Stephanie Millis Sierra Miller won the gold medal in the kayak event at the United States Canoe Association (USCA) Nationals, held in Newaygo, on August 9. Sierra, 15, lost her leg in a lawn mower accident when she was 7 years old. Initially, doctors told Sierra’s parents that even though Sierra’s leg would be […]

Girl born with gross motor skill delays learns to crawl, walk

By Molly Cartwright Emily Callahan, like any other 18-month-old, likes playing with her stuffed animals. A year ago, however, her mother, Heather Callahan, was worried that Emily wasn’t showing signs of physical development. Babies typically begin crawling between 6 and 10 months. By the time Emily was 6 months old, she hadn’t yet started rolling over. […]

‘Good enough’ isn’t good enough for master pistol shooter

By Molly Cartwright After Larry Mennetti survived a hemorrhagic stroke, he was eager to get better, in spite of the hard work and determination required to get there. When he came to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, the entire right side of his body was unresponsive. He couldn’t sit up, walk or speak clearly. He […]

Truck driver finds relief from pain in the Return to Work Program

By Molly Cartwright Jay Bessey, an over-the-road truck driver, is used to driving 45 weeks out of the year. When injuries in 2009 and 2010 prevented him from working, Jay grew restless. He wouldn’t accept that he would never be able to do his job again. In 2009, Jay was at a truck stop when […]

After brain tumor removal, retiree looks ahead to living a normal, busy life again

by Molly Cartwright Mike Patterson and his wife, Cecilia, know that Mike was able to make as much progress as he did during his time at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital because of his positive attitude. In May, doctors discovered and removed a malignant tumor in Mike’s brain. Without the surgery, Mike would have had […]

Cancer survivor plays wheelchair tennis against able-bodied competitors

by Kate Snider Jess Sporte, 23, lost her leg to cancer when she was just 4 months old. Jess uses crutches for short distances and a wheelchair for longer distances. She received outpatient care from the Center for Limb Differences at Mary Free Bed until she was 21 years old. Growing up, Jess watched from the sidelines as […]

Patient helps other amputees by starting support group

by Kate Snider In July 2002, Dennis Vandereist’s car was struck by another vehicle, hit a fire hydrant and rolled. Dennis, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle, his left leg was pinned between the driver’s door and the ground. Dennis was taken to Holland Hospital, then flown to Spectrum Health where doctors tried […]

Teen recovers at Mary Free Bed after brain tumor

by Kate Snider Fifteen-year-old Brenden Haas had been vomiting regularly for 7 months when he collapsed at his home. At the beginning of his illness, Brenden’s stomach didn’t feel right and he began vomiting in the morning. When it became apparent that his vomiting wasn’t because of the flu, his parents took him to a […]

After traumatic brain injury, man learns to walk again, gets his life back

By Molly Cartwright For Eric De Ryke, learning to drive again was a triumph. His family and doctors thought so, too, since just 5 months ago they expected him to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Today, Eric is able to walk, drive and do his own laundry. For the 22-year-old, these […]

Struck by drunk driver, amputee prepares for Paralympics

by Kate Snider Melanie Johnson was riding her motorcycle to her nephew’s football game in September 2004 when she was struck by a drunk driver. The life-changing accident happened just 5 miles from home. “I knew it was really bad when I heard the helicopter,” Melanie said. “I remember thinking, if they had to call […]

Teen embraces the hard work of physical therapy

Vinnie Baker, 15, has cerebral palsy, which affected the way walked. After a complex sugery to help him walk more upright, Vinnie comes to Mary Free Bed for intense physical therapy (and has some fun, too!).

Stroke survivor experiences faithful care

Father William Zink, the priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Marne, Mich., is in the business of caring for others. That changed on December 21, 2010, when Father Zink had a stroke. In a moment, the caregiver became the patient. After three days at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, Father Zink was transferred to Mary Free […]

Being green at Mary Free Bed

At Mary Free Bed, we care for patients and our community in a number of ways. The Mary Free Bed Green Team and Sustainability Committee, comprised of MFB staff from all areas of the hospital, came together about a year ago to implement sound sustainable environmental practices. Areas of concentration are water, energy, waste and […]

Tummy time: Tips to help you position, carry, hold and play with your baby

Your baby needs supervised time on her tummy throughout the day while she’s awake. Mary Free Bed’s pediatric specialists offer these ideas and activities to ensure your baby gets the exercise she needs. How you play and interact with your baby helps her increase strength and decrease the risk of tight muscles. Increasing tummy time […]

Mary Free Bed memories

by Amanda Larsen John Butler has spent his life working with kids. A middle school teacher for 33 years and a football coach for 40 years, John has influenced many lives in Caledonia, Mich. John’s care and compassion for the children in his life is a direct result of the fact that he knows what […]

Man with one hand builds airplanes

by Kate Snider In 1977, Dave Duperron was a 37-year-old firefighter in Taylor, Mich. He was married with 3 children and was a fire inspector at the time of his amputation. As a fire inspector, Dave would go help the firefighters when they needed an extra pair of hands. Dave went to help at a […]

Saeboflex therapy helps stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury patients

Twenty-year-old Nicole has a history of cerebral palsy. In 2007 she underwent surgery for a brain hemmorage, which caused severe weakness and increased spasticity in her right leg and arm. Nicole has participated in therapy for the past three years at Mary Free Bed and at home. Part of her therapy includes the SaeboFlex to […]

Amputee patient now an Olympic hopeful

by Amanda Larsen A competitive athlete, Katie VanDam knows how to set goals and exceed them. When she stepped into a crosswalk on an October evening, she didn’t know how her life and her goals would change. A speeding SUV struck Katie and threw her into the middle of the road. Her friend, Jeremy, was […]

Patient fights his way back after brain injury from ATV accident

“It was getting late and I started to worry,” says his wife, Tammy. “So I went to look for him.” A truck driver, Tom had parked his semi across the road by a neighbor’s house. “I figured he was there,” says Tammy. “Our neighbor saw that I was upset, and he and his dog came […]

ALS Clinic inspires patients to raise money

by Kate Snider JJ Bouma’s life changed in an instant when he was given the diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. On the afternoon of September 16, 2005, JJ’s doctor met with him and his family to discuss the results of tests that had been taken to determine the […]