Rebekah reflects on her unexpected friendship with Marion
Guest Blog by Rebekah Karel, Mary Free Bed alumni It is with a sad heart to inform you that my recent roommate at Mary Free Bed, Miss Marion, went to be with her Lord and Savior at 9pm on December 5, 2014. While I only roomed with her for a short seven days, I feel […]
What a difference a year can make
Guest Blog by Becca Willis, wife of Mary Free Bed alumnus On September 25, 2013, Adam Willis had a life-changing accident on a mountain bike trail. He went over his handlebars and hit the ground head first. His neck was snapped back and he sustained a spinal cord injury. Without his helmet, he would have […]
Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle talks our doctors in his monthly video blog series
Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle talks about our culture and doctors in his monthly June video blog. This video starts off a series that explores each of our own doctors and how they can help assist you in the rehabilitation process. When you need rehabilitation, #AskForMary.
Two sisters came to Mary Free Bed and found hope
Guest Blog by Sue Bauerle, sister of Mary Free Bed alumnus Nancy Goodsell Hope. That’s the first word that came to mind as I accompanied my sister (Nancy Goodsell) to the Mary Free Bed gym on the first morning of her therapy. Just a few weeks before, her health had begun deteriorating. She was confused, […]
Cancer Rehabilitation Program Helping Patient Gain Physical and Mental Strength
Ever since she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in late 2011, Kathy Bacon’s life has been a blur of surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy and other medical procedures. Her strength and stamina were zapped by medications and treatments. At one point, her weight slipped to 86 pounds. Early this year, a therapist suggested she take […]
Student graduates from Mary Free Bed in style
Sixteen-year-old Hanna Rinkevicz was all smiles today as she walked out of Mary Free Bed. She was accompanied by her parents, Christy and Mark Rinkevicz, and a group of firefighters who work with her dad at the Grand Rapids Fire Department. They came to wish her well and provide a grand escort from the hospital. […]
Local Doctor Graduates from Mary Free Bed’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program
Guest blog: Dr. Russell Dykstra is a graduate of Mary Free Bed’s Brain Injury Program who agreed to write a guest blog about his recovery. My traumatic brain injury was caused by a collision while I was riding my cyclo-cross bike. I was going down a steep hill on a bike path, gaining speed as […]
Third time’s the charm for Megan Reynolds
Megan Reynolds is pleased to be a “repeat customer” at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. “I requested to come back here because it feels safe. I trust everyone here,” says Megan, who is 27 and lives in Hudsonville. Last week, as she wrapped up her third stay as an inpatient, Megan spoke fondly of the […]
Jennifer Crowell – 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. Who would have thought that a life-changing injury would bring such incredible people into my life? It was July 15, 2008 – a gorgeous summer day […]
Adam Willis – 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, Adam Willis, was a patient at Mary Free Bed from September 30 – November 17, 2013 after a mountain biking accident that resulted in […]
Told he’d never walk again, Bob is back on his feet
For the second time that winter, Bob Dykstra and his friends jumped on their snowmobiles and shot into the woods. Always a fan of snow sports, Bob was eager to tear up the powder. They approached a hill that they’d gone over hundreds of times before. Bob flew over the pinnacle and instead of landing […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]