Get Care
Get Care

Tag: Inpatient

Rehabilitation, hard work help Dario overcome debilitating pain

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 […]

Mary Free Bed graduate Bobby Decair helps patients get in Super Bowl spirit

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 […]

Kalamazoo bus driver who lost leg in crash ‘grateful to still be here’

La Shon Diallo was working overtime at her long-time job as a Kalamazoo Metro Transit bus driver to earn extra money for a new roof on her home. She remembers the traffic light turning green. Then she remembers waking up in the hospital. La Shon, 47, was seriously injured when a suspected drunken driver traveling […]

East Michigan resident chooses Mary Free Bed for rehabilitation after double amputation

UPDATE: Since Ken graduated from the inpatient Amputee Program, he’s returned to Mary Free Bed for outpatient therapy. His rehabilitation includes recreational therapy, which caters to each patient’s interests to improve their physical, social and emotional well-being, and to get them back to doing what they love. In Ken’s case, that’s being outside. Rachel Morse, […]

Road to recovery comes ‘full circle’ for Kalamazoo bike crash survivor

It’s been nearly a year since Paul Gobble graduated from Mary Free Bed. A survivor of the June 7, 2016 bicycle collision in Kalamazoo County that killed five others, Paul has been recovering from a head injury, multiple spinal cord injuries and a fractured fibula. “When I left Mary Free Bed, I was wearing three […]

‘Stroke Bloke’ Dale Lamps looks to future with optimism after rehabilitation

Guest blog: Dale Lamps is a graduate of both Mary Free Bed’s Inpatient and Outpatient Stroke Programs.  These are my thoughts on the future. The future doesn’t come from nowhere. The future has its anchor in the past … My hemorrhagic stroke happened on Sept. 24, 2016. I had mowed the lawn that afternoon, and […]

I have never underestimated my father or anybody else with a disability’

Guest blog: Nicholas Besta, 17, and his family know first-hand what living with a disability is like. That’s why they participate in Mary Free Bed’s peer support mentoring program, which is designed to give patients and their families access to people with injuries similar to their own. Nicholas, whose father, Pat, has used a wheelchair […]

Teen injured in snowplow accident makes great strides

Loren Kroll said she was going to miss her team at Mary Free Bed when she graduated Aug. 4. The teenager, who was struck by a snowplow in January while waiting for the school bus, was critically injured and hospitalized for five months before coming to Mary Free Bed in May for rehabilitation. Loren sustained […]

David Lulenski: ‘Mary Free Bed gave me a chance’

In 1997, David Lulenski was 18 years old and ready to start his sophomore year at the University of Arizona when he was involved in a car accident that nearly cost him his life. He was thrown more than 40 feet from a Jeep and hit the side of a house, head-first. After spending nearly […]

Kalamazoo bike crash survivor Paul Gobble happy to be home, ready to return to cycling

Paul Gobble’s love for cycling is anchored in his desire to be healthy. About three years ago, he and his wife, Chris (pictured below with Paul), decided to become more fit by eating healthfully, exercising more and losing weight. “Cycling became very important for me,” Paul said. “It became a very consistent, passionate part of […]

Terry Coburn gives high marks to Sub-Acute Program

Terry Coburn noticed a dark spot on his right foot that prompted him to seek medical care. He was diagnosed with an infection in the bone that required surgery and extensive rehabilitation. Terry, 72, chose to come to Mary Free Bed for rehabilitation, where he spent 11 weeks in the Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Program. In this […]

Abigail Kopf’s recovery: ‘To see where she is today is amazing’

Abigail Kopf, the Battle Creek teen critically injured in the Feb. 20 mass shootings in Kalamazoo, graduated April 20 from Mary Free Bed after 6 weeks of intensive inpatient treatment. Since her admission to Mary Free Bed on March 8, Abigail has made significant strides in her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head. […]

For Barb Barton, hope ‘started as a whisper’

Guest blog by Barb Barton I wanted it to be the rollercoasters. Rollercoasters and my increasing age. Rollercoasters and the too-tight pressure of the lap bar. Rollercoasters that looped and yanked my body into unnatural positions. My feet had been numb for 3 days, so I spent the weekend following a trip to Cedar Point amusement […]

Marcus’ message of determination: ‘Whatever you want to be, you can be it’

Congrats are in order for Marcus Fairfield and Liz Lauer! This week, the new parents welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their family. A rollover accident in April left Marcus with a paralyzing spinal cord injury. He graduated this fall from Mary Free Bed after months of intensive inpatient rehabilitation where he focused on maximizing his strength, […]

Chaffee brothers face challenges, celebrate triumphs together

UPDATE: Good Housekeeping published a story about the Chaffee brothers’ journey on Nov. 20, 2015. Click here to read the story. Brothers Adam and Matt Chaffee stick together through thick and thin. That support system and brotherly bond will be crucial as the two adjust to a new life in the coming months. Twenty-three-year-old Adam […]

Mary Free Bed alum finds inspiration 12,000 feet above ground

Buddy Gargus, 50, has long been an adrenaline junkie. A paralyzing spinal cord injury, sustained in a July 2010 diving accident, didn’t diminish his bold spirit. Post-accident, Buddy spent two months in rehabilitation at Mary Free Bed where he focused on maximizing his strength and mobility. “Mary Free Bed for me was a wonderful experience,” Buddy […]

Music is medicine’ at mini music fest for patients [Video]

Creativity, teamwork and initiative recently helped a music-loving patient experience a bit of the summer festival life she’s been missing while at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. When physical therapy assistant Diane Capen discovered that inpatient Angelique Scott was bummed about not being able to attend live musical performances this summer, Diane asked her daughter […]

It’s a girl! Recreational therapist helps father-to-be attend ultrasound

Marcus Fairfield, 27, didn’t think he’d get to attend the 18-week ultrasound for his first child. With a bit of creativity, teamwork and careful planning by Mary Free Bed Recreational Therapist Kaitlin Salowitz, Marcus was able to be in the room when he and his girlfriend, Liz, learned they would become parents to a baby girl this November. Kaitlin […]

Leading-edge technology helps patients & therapists ‘use every tool in the box’ [Video]

Technology is a vital part of the rehabilitation process at Mary Free Bed. Care team members like occupational therapist Jennifer Mazurkiewicz routinely use leading-edge equipment to help patients regain as much function and independence as possible. The RT300 Arm Cycle, for instance, uses “smart stimulation” to help strengthen and improve muscles affected by injury or illness. Jennifer recently used […]

In sickness and in health: Mary Free Bed alums celebrate 50th anniversary

John and Linda Pincumbe plan to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in a big way this summer. The event will be quite a milestone, considering that an October 2013 car crash nearly killed them both. After the accident, the Pincumbes spent 9 months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers before returning home to Schoolcraft last summer. […]

Bob and Cyndi Kamps thrive & give back while living their ‘New Normal’

“Instead of putting alarms on everything and giving him a bed that is pretty much on the floor, they make sure an actual human is watching him all the time. It’s hard to describe how wonderful that is. Bob deserves the best and he’s getting the best at MFB.” – Excerpt from “Our New Normal” […]

Mary Free Bed at Sparrow: See the grand opening & new facilities [Video & Photos]

The first phase of renovations and expansion of the Mary Free Bed at Sparrow rehabilitation unit is complete, with 30 private patient rooms now open. This joint venture of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and Sparrow Hospital eventually will expand the inpatient rehabilitation unit at Sparrow to 40 private patient rooms and two state-of-the-art therapy […]

One-year-old girl defies the odds in outpatient therapy

At Mary Free Bed, we’re daily witnesses to our patients’ determination, grit and strength. This is particularly true of our youngest (and most vulnerable) patients. Aubry Maronek, who recently celebrated her first birthday, embodies this spirit of hope and resolve. After being diagnosed with hemimegalencephaly — a rare neurological condition in which one half of the brain is […]