Devon Goebel: A Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital Story
Editor’s note: As part of our holiday campaign, Mary Free Bed is asking former patients to tell us about their rehabilitation experience. What follows is one of those stories. Robin Bilotti’s Story: “I think I will end up being myself.” This was the prophetic note that my 17-year-old daughter, Devon Goebel, wrote when she was […]
Melisa Davis Moore – A Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Story
Editor’s note: As part of our holiday campaign, Mary Free Bed is asking former patients to tell us about their rehabilitation experience. What follows is one of those stories. My son, Gabriel, experienced a traumatic brain injury due to a car accident on Aug. 16, 2001. He was 4 at the time. Gabriel was airlifted […]
Jason Ratliff – A Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Story
Editor’s note: As part of our holiday campaign, Mary Free Bed is asking former patients to tell us about their rehabilitation experience. What follows is one of those stories My husband, Jason, was a patient at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital this past summer. Jason experienced a traumatic brain injury as a result of a […]
Man Recovers from Brain Injury and Dances with His Bride
Editor’s Note: Chad Brooks is a graduate of Mary Free Bed’s Brain Injury Program. His wife, Sarah, agreed to write a guest blog about his recovery. Precisely four months before our wedding, the only thing on my mind and on Chad’s mind were invitations and party plans. But on April 24, 2013, everything changed. Chad was involved in […]
Mary Free Bed’s Home & Community Services Program Means Greater Mobility for Participants
In 2008, Keith Knuth suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident during a trip in northern Michigan. Once he could withstand therapy, Knuth was sent to the Brain Injury Program at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital for a month of inpatient rehabilitation. During this time, he re-learned how to talk, eat and perform […]
Faith and Hope Helps Man Recover from Traumatic Brain Injury
Dave Meinema suffered a traumatic brain injury from a severe car accident in February 2013. His faith and hope has led him to a remarkable recovery. “It is a miracle that I’m here today,” says Dave. Read more about Dave and Marissa’s journey on their CaringBridge page.
Woman Recovers Quickly after Receiving Post Concussion Therapy
When Mary Herrema left for work on a Monday morning in February, she had no idea she would be visiting the emergency room later that day. “There must have been black ice because I did not see it,” Mary describes. “I don’t even remember slipping. I came down and I hit the back of my […]
A Community Band Member gets a Second Chance through Recreational Therapy
Research shows that recreational therapy restores a sense of purpose and enjoyment to a patient. David Robrahn is no exception. On September 11, 2012, David clipped the back of a moving car with his motorcycle. After arriving at the hospital, doctors realized he sustained several serious injuries including, a broken right hand, a broken knee, […]
Concussion Patient’s “Unbearable Symptoms” Alleviated After Therapy
As a truck driver, Brent Lash is acutely aware of the risks he takes when he’s on the job. In spite of his efforts to stay safe, Brent sustained a serious injury last January. A blow to the head left him with a concussion and months of symptoms that went unresolved. “You never think it […]
Patient with brain injury keeps faith and restores independence
In 2007, David Ling was stung by a bee for the first time in his life. Within minutes, he displayed one of the classic symptoms of an allergic reaction – difficulty breathing – and was soon diagnosed with an allergy to bee stings. But, he never realized just how serious his allergy was until July […]
A Walking Miracle – And Inspiration For All
At first, the morning of April 10, 2012 appeared to be much like any other for Tammy Gould. Her 10-year-old son, Benjamin, had school in less than an hour, and she had to ensure he was ready for the day. After packing his lunch and preparing breakfast, she walked upstairs to wake him up. But, […]
Feels like home: Ohio family chooses Mary Free Bed for pediatric rehab
On February 5, Donnie and Jill Acuff’s 5-year-old son, Reese, was in a snowmobiling accident that resulted in a brain injury. After 5 brutal days, Donnie and Jill were told that Reese would live, but he was sedated to protect his brain. The doctors stressed how critical rehabilitation would be in Reese’s recovery, but Reese […]
A New Perspective on Life After Brain Injury
Jon is not the same person he was before the accident. According to his wife, he’s much milder and nicer. He appreciates his friends and family differently, and makes sure to say “I love you”. Many people who are told they weren’t expected to live tend to have at this new kind of perspective on […]
Dad Shares Daughter’s Journey after Traumatic Brain Injury
Jim Johnson shares his daughter’s on-going journey after suffering a traumatic brain injury. This is her story. There are two things that are critically important to Erin Johnson: music and being among friends. She enjoyed playing violin and clarinet and listening to popular music. Erin went to shows whenever she could. Being with her friends […]
Baclofen Pump and Therapists Help Taylor Make a Comeback After Brain Hemorrhage
It’s been 11 years since 19-year-old Taylor Cunningham suffered an AVM rupture, which caused a hemorrhage in her brain and left Taylor unable to walk. Just a young girl at the time, Taylor had to undergo several surgeries. Yet it was the severe spasticity that caused Taylor the most pain, a constant presence in her […]
Gravely injured in auto accident, patient depends on husband to choose rehabilitation facility
It was the click she didn’t hear that turned Tammy Helton’s life upside down. Last July 9, Tammy hopped into her Jeep to head to the home in Twin Lakes that she shared with her husband, Mike, and the youngest of their 3 children. The music was cranked, and Tammy doesn’t remember hearing the click of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“Mary Free Bed gave her back her life,” says husband of brain injury patient
The evening of June 2, 2009 unfolded like any other for Todd and Vicki Bowen of Mt. Pleasant. They went for a walk. They ate supper. Their son brought one of the grandkids over to visit. Todd and Vicki went to bed about 9:30 pm, expecting to wake up the next day like usual and […]
Patient recovering from gunshot wound recognized for efforts
By Stephanie Sundheimer Landon Whitaker has a lot to be happy about. He recently returned from a trip to Washington D.C. where President Obama congratulated the boy for his courage, willpower, and determination. But meeting the president is likely second on Landon’s list of things to be happy about. Landon, just 12 years old, was […]
MFB patient, Pat Smith: “I just want to talk!”
by Jess Venlet On the first day of speech therapy at Mary Free Bed, Pat Smith knew her life would never be the same. Her speech therapist held picture cards in front of her, and asked her where she should go at night when she was tired. One of the pictures was of a bed, […]