GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – Nicholas Burrell comes to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital each week for outpatient therapy, traveling about 90 minutes from his home north of Shelby, Michigan. It’s a fairly long trek, but staying overnight at the Inn at Mary Free Bed makes it possible. Nicholas, 32, arrives in the afternoon for a…
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Dottie Kuklewski developed an infection that forced doctors to amputate her leg. She went to Mary Free Bed for rehabilitation and spent several weeks in the inpatient Amputee Program. Since then, Dottie used a wheelchair exclusively for mobility, hesitant to try a prosthesis. About two years later, Dottie needed a new shrinker for her residual limb….
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When patients graduate from Mary Free Bed, they’re given a green T-shirt signed by those who cared for them. The messages for Ella Merrill contained a couple of key words: “amazing” and “miracle.” And rightly so. When Ella came to Mary Free Bed on Dec. 29, the 16-year-old from Edwardsburg, Michigan, was in a coma….
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Anthony White was catching a nap during the 18-hour trek back to college in Wyoming from his home in Michigan when his friend fell asleep at the wheel. The car careened off the road, striking a group of trees. His friend was OK, but Anthony sustained life-threatening injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. “My parents…
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Eric Lake, a pain psychologist with Mary Free Bed’s Pain Center, has learned to “listen to his body” and focus on his wellness goals with help from Mary Free Bed’s Weight Management Program. To support the weight-loss success he achieved in the program’s Foundation phase, Eric committed to the next phase of the program —…
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In 2015, Dario Cook was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that affects the spine and can lead to severe, chronic pain. That was nearly eight years after he first experienced symptoms, collapsing in pain while walking to work. He initially was diagnosed with a hip strain, but the pain never really went…
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Bobby Decair has constantly reminded himself to not quit since Jan. 25, 2016 – his first day at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. Just days earlier, Bobby sustained a traumatic spinal cord injury when his truck slid on black ice and flipped multiple times. “I just held on,” said Bobby, recalling the accident. He said…
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids area hospitals are working to meet the challenge of caring for our community during this CDC-declared flu epidemic. One of the most important tools in fighting the transmission of flu is limiting exposure. The flu can be especially dangerous to the young, frail or elderly. For the safety of…
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Charlie Pietryga is a ballet dancer who relies on body strength to gracefully glide across a stage. But the 17-year-old from East Grand Rapids had to hang up her toe shoes when she suffered Morton’s neuroma, a painful condition that affects the ball of the foot. Following surgery, Charlie – a member…
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Mary Free Bed’s mission is to restore hope and freedom through rehabilitation. Our programs and services are an extension of that mission. For Dave Nichols, a graduate of the Mary Free Bed Weight Management Program, hope and freedom came by way of improving his wellness. In this interview, Dave explains how the medically based program…
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