Not expected to live following motorcycle crash, patient is back on his feet
Roger Valentine, 79, wasn’t expected to live after a serious motorcycle accident. He suffered multiple traumas, ranging from a broken pelvis to a fractured spine. Three months after his phyisical rehabilitation began, Roger is back on his feet – and helping those around him.
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!).
Pat Besta: “Don’t assume you can’t do something because of your disability”
by Linda Truong “Once something like this happens to you, you don’t know what to do or what’s going to happen to you,” said Pat Besta, referring to the spinal cord injury he sustained in a car accident. Twenty years ago, after his vehicle landed in a ditch, Pat suffered artery damage resulting in severe blood […]
After suffering from debilitating leg pain due to fibromyalgia, patient runs again
by Kate Snider Cindy Amante has had fibromyalgia since she was 7 years old. She gets severe pains in her leg, and sometimes it even hurts to walk. When she was young, one doctor told her not to run because he thought she had arthritis. Since her childhood, Cindy has used that doctor’s advice as […]
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 […]
A Mary Free Bed love story
Eighteen years ago, Shelly Loose received a call inviting her on the adventure of a lifetime. She and Ken, her fiancé at the time, were asked if they’d like to be married on the TV show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. For Shelly, a longtime fan of Kathie Lee Gifford and an expectant bride […]
Baby Sayla needed helmet for flat spot on head
“When I took Sayla to our physician for her four-month checkup, I questioned her head tilt and she had a bump on her forehead,” said Shanda Bender, Sayla’s mom. “My doctor said the bump was because of the flat spot on her head, and suggested I try repositioning techniques. At that point, we met with […]
11-year-old runner felt like she was breathing through a straw
by Kate Snider Last summer, Kaysey participated with Girls on the Run, but found it hard to keep breathing during her workout. As she was running, her throat felt like it was closing up. “It felt like I was breathing through a straw,” explained 11-year-old Kaysey Sterk. “I thought maybe it was asthma. I didn’t […]
Mary Free Bed polio patient from the late 1930’s recounts his experiences in autobiography
by Maureen McKenzie Max Harrell, a former pediatric Mary Free Bed patient, wrote his autobiography to share with his kids. Max generously provided a copy to Mary Free Bed, saying; “I didn’t put much in it about Mary Free Bed. If I had it probably would be about a thousand pages long.” Below is a summary […]
Patient dedicates life to physical therapy after recovering from brain injury
by Linda Truong In 1999, a propane truck smashed into Pete Cook’s car leaving him with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). An emergency medical technician witnessed the accident and came to Pete’s rescue, caring for him until a trauma team arrived. Pete was airlifted by helicopter to Spectrum Hospital in Grand Rapids. Pete was in […]
Finding her place
In January, Jan Levering took her kids sledding after working two 12-hour shifts as a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse. Exhausted, she decided to take one run down the sledding hill before sleeping in the car. Halfway down the hill, the sled turned 90 degrees and launched Jan 3 feet in the air. She […]
Ways you can help a patient’s family during rehab
by Kate Snider Marilyn Zinger’s 13-year-old son, Travis, was rushed to the hospital after surviving a car accident on a snowy December day in 1993. Travis doesn’t remember much from the accident because he suffered a traumatic brain injury, spent 3 weeks in a coma, and suffers from short-term memory loss. Marilyn, and the rest […]
Daughter tells story of dad’s recovery from brain aneurysm
by Jessica Sikkenga It’s been two years since my Dad, then 53 years old, suffered from a ruptured brain aneurysm. The amazing neurosurgeons at Spectrum Health performed a lengthy brain surgery on September 27, 2008, to place a clip on my Dad’s aneurysm. My family and I spent the two weeks following surgery by my […]
Mary Free Bed patient just 24 when she had stroke, now healthy at 32
by Holly Grissom, stroke survivor I was a patient at Mary Free Bed in May 2002 after having brain surgery from a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) that ruptured in my brain stem on April 19, 2002. I was 24 years old. I had actually just had my birthday 2 weeks prior. All of a sudden, I […]
Grand Rapids artist Carol Roeda and Mary Free Bed partner for ArtPrize
When the ArtPrize® pairing of artists and venues began, Carol Roeda, a Grand Rapids-based artist, and Mary Free Bed wanted a meaningful connection if they were going to participate in the international art competition held in downtown Grand Rapids. Even before Carol entered her proposal on the ArtPrize website, she knew if she was […]
Told he’d never walk or talk again, brain injury patient lives full life
by Kate Snider “Ten percent of life is what happens to you, the other 90 percent is how you react to what happens,” said Travis Zinger as he recalled what he learned during rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed. On a snowy day in December 1993, Travis, then 13 years old, and some friends were going […]