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Patient Stories

As a national leader in rehabilitative care, Spaulding Rehabilitation helps patients find their strength every day. But it's the words and experiences of our patients that best describe what our services can really do.

Our patient stories provide a look inside the outstanding rehabilitative services available through our network of world-class providers. We invite you to read these compelling and unforgettable stories — and learn how our rehabilitative care has changed people's lives.

Don't bet against our patients' will and determination.
  • Paul on the dock in his wheelchair with two of the participants in his Sail To Prevail program.
    When Paul Callahan needed surgery, he turned to Spaulding Nursing and Therapy Center in Brighton for his extensive recovery.
  • Priya cradles her swaddled baby.
    Surviving a life-changing illness or injury gives you perspective — and often, a new purpose. Learn about Priya's journey.
  • A Spaulding staff member talks with a woman on a gurney.
    Jake received a serious diagnosis: He had a terminal central nervous system disorder. He quickly became locked in, aware of his surroundings, but unable to move or communicate. Learn how Spaulding helped him return to an active life.
  • Paul sits on a rock with his cocker spaniel, Ellie, in his lap, and a marsh in the background.
    When Paul Gentile felt faint and nauseated on a hike, it started a chain of events that led to a heart procedure and a recovery at Spaulding Cape Cod. Paul was scared, confused, and worried about the impact his condition would have on his life. But he knew he was in the best place at Spaulding.
  • Comfort poses in the library, looking strong and healthy.
    After Comfort Nwaoha experienced a stroke, she came to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital unable to walk, move her dominant hand, or speak clearly. Learn how Spaulding gave her the stepping stones to her recovery.
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  • Patient Story

    Meet Robert Lewis, Jr. | A Spaulding Story of Strength

    COVID-19 survivor and Spaulding patient Robert Lewis, Jr. shares his journey: from diagnosis with the novel coronavirus through his rehabilitation at Spaulding Hospital Cambridge—and what it means to him to be back at work at the community outreach organization he founded in Boston. My COVID-19 Recovery—As Told by Robert Lewis, Jr. I’m not sure how I expected to feel when I turned 60 years old last spring, but I didn’t anticipate a trip to the emergency department. I certainly didn’t expect to be sedated, intubated, and wake up 12 days later. But on March 22—my 60th birthday— that’s what happened. It was the beginning of my COVID-19 journey. It was an intense and frightening time. When I was moved to Spaulding Hospital Cambridge for rehabilitation after three weeks of acute care, I had to relearn…everything: how to breathe without an oxygen tank; how to walk; how to touch my nose and tie my sneakers. I had to get my strength back. What struck me about Spaulding was the incredible treatment that I—and my family—received from everyone there, from the moment I arrived until I walked out just one week later. There’s a culture of love and compassion and excellence that radiates from every person. Trust

  • Patient Story

    Meet Priya: Finding Strength Again with Spaulding

    Fall 2023 | Oct 19, 2023 Priya Greene was on her second round of in vitro fertilization in 2019 when she developed severe pancreatitis and was rushed to the emergency room. She needed extensive surgery and spent five weeks in the ICU. Priya was so weakened that she couldn’t lift her feet from her bed. No one knew if she would be able to live independently. It was a terrifying time for Priya and her husband, Rodney. Priya came to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cambridge determined to regain her strength and her life. At first, a small victory was standing up for a minute. Priya’s care team of occupational and physical therapists focused on building her endurance — and a month later, stood by cheering as Priya climbed to the top of multiple flights of stairs. Priya and her care team brought purpose to one another, trading stories of shared interests — including her registered dietician’s love of running. “I lived vicariously through Ginny’s training runs. It kept me excited,” says Priya. She credits her care team’s strength as playing a critical role in her recovery. Now Priya plans to run a half marathon with Ginny next year, to pay it forward by raising

  • Patient Story

    Patty: Celebrating Life and Love After Stroke

    Leer esta historia en español. Fall 2022 Patty (seated) at her vow renewal with wife Dawn (second from left) and her Spaulding care team. For Patty, her Spaulding story began when a personal training session at the gym turned into a 911 call. Patty was rushed to the hospital, where doctors determined she had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke that affected her entire left side. She came to Spaulding Cape Cod for her complex, months-long rehabilitation. “My Spaulding team provided such amazing encouragement and personalized care,” says Patty. “They saved my life — and my mental health.” Patty’s care team went above and beyond to treat her physical and emotional needs, holding extra therapy sessions on weekends and even bringing in hair gel to make Patty feel more like herself. She also benefitted from leading-edge equipment such as the ZeroG body-weight support system, which enables more advanced therapy without the risk of falling — helping Patty get her strength back safely. Like many of our patients, Patty took comfort in the compassion and skill of the Spaulding care team — and in the resources available to her during her recovery. Donations help Spaulding make investments to better serve our patients — investments in the newest rehabilitation equipment and

  • Patient Story

    Meet Martha and the “Spaulding Sisters”

    The self-titled “Spaulding Sisters” made the most of 2020. The group of women met at Spaulding Boston over the past several years, bonding over their shared love of aquatic therapy. When the COVID-19 pandemic closed our community water fitness classes, the Sisters came together to support each other and their health in a whole new way. The ladies are avid participants in the Spaulding Adaptive Sports Program’s virtual classes (launched in response to the pandemic), “meeting” several times a week to exercise virtually together from the safety of their homes. They are among the more than 1,000 participants who have benefitted from virtual classes like yoga, boxing, exercise for stroke and TBI, dance with Parkinson’s, and more. In 2020, donations were used to pivot Spaulding adaptive sports programming to be entirely virtual—supporting the health and wellness of an even broader community, when so many were isolated and unable to participate in their regular fitness and community activities. Martha Starr, “Spaulding Sister,” patient, and volunteer, says the virtual programs have been a true lifesaver in 2020. And so have the Sisters’ weekly Friday Zoom calls to check in on one another. They share resources and coping strategies, discuss their conditions, and laugh together. Martha

  • Patient Story

    Meet Lauren and Tracey: From Rehab to the Finish Line

    Spring 2023 Watch this special story of a mother and daughter who both underwent outpatient rehabilitation therapy with Spaulding, and recently achieved an incredible feat — running the Boston Marathon on Spaulding's Race for Rehab Team. Their journey is a testament to the power of healing and perseverance. Join us in celebrating their

  • Patient Story

    Johnny: Perseverance and Inspiration

    Leer esta historia en español. Fall 2022 For Johnny, his Spaulding story began when he went into respiratory failure during a routine procedure before a planned surgery. The complications were severe. Johnny spent weeks in critical care at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), intubated and on multiple antibiotics. With a developmental disability and lifelong history of musculoskeletal developmental problems that made him medically fragile, Johnny needed specialized care and advocacy during his rehabilitation. Spaulding Hospital Cambridge was there for him. Creative, fun therapy approaches motivated Johnny in his recovery. Johnny was in a fragile state — but built his strength daily at Spaulding. When it became apparent Johnny would need a specialized ventilator mask to support his oxygen levels overnight, his Spaulding pulmonologists and respiratory therapists dedicated their time and resources to finding him just the right fit for his unique anatomy and needs. It was a long process; but in the meantime, Johnny was able to have the heart valve repair operation he desperately needed. “The perseverance of the Spaulding team to work with Johnny and his MGH doctors, find solutions, and get him to a much better place — that’s the success story,” says his devoted brother and caregiver, Phil. Like many of our patients,

  • Patient Story

    Meet Hannah: Charting a New Course After Brain Injury

    Leer esta historia en español. Spring 2022 Because of Spaulding, patients like Hannah Strom have a new path forward. While traveling to a training session with her college rowing team in 2020, a devastating car accident left then-19-year-old Hannah with a collapsed lung, broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. She was airlifted from a hospital in Florida to Massachusetts General Hospital in a medically induced coma. After her treatment at Mass General, Hannah would spend the next 100 days at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Hannah came to Spaulding unable to walk, talk or get out of bed. She was admitted to Spaulding’s Disorders of Consciousness Program, directed by Dr. Joseph Giacino. Grounded in deep research, this program had Hannah’s whole rehab team working together to design special assessments to determine her level of self and environmental awareness and establish an effective means of communication. Research is critical to discovering new and improved therapies to enhance recovery and quality of life for people with severe brain injuries, like Hannah. By helping us invest in leading-edge rehabilitation technology and equipment, clinical training on innovative therapy approaches and ground-breaking research, donations to Spaulding have an impact on our patients today and for years to come. Hannah made steady progress, starting with tracking objects with her

  • Patient Story

    Meet Ethan | A Spaulding Story of Strength

    Para leer esta historia en español, visite nuestra página en el Internet. Who was by your side when you achieved a major life goal? For Ethan Wang, it will be a community of family, friends, and caregivers cheering for him (virtually) as he walks at his Boston University graduation this year. It’s a significant milestone for Ethan, who sustained a spinal cord injury while studying abroad—paralyzing him from the neck down and derailing his junior year of college. In Bali in March 2019, Ethan was critically injured while swimming in the ocean. He needed immediate life-saving surgery, followed by a medical evacuation and more surgeries in Singapore, before he could return home to Massachusetts. Then came the long journey of rehabilitation. Our donor community has been with Ethan on this journey, too. Gifts to Spaulding provide resources and support to help patients like Ethan achieve their goals. “Our family’s main source of strength is the amazing support we have received,” says Ethan’s father, Willis. “There is so much strength in community, and that is what has helped us.” Paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury (SCI) is an intense, life-changing event. Ethan spent 148 days as an inpatient at Spaulding Boston, achieving a new physical milestone

  • Patient Story

    Meet Clifton: Surviving Stroke: There and Back Again

    Spring 2023 Life often comes full circle. Clifton Singletary’s Spaulding Rehabilitation story began while he was serving our patients. When he returned to Spaulding as a patient himself, his desire to give back grew stronger. Clifton’s first visit to Spaulding was in July 2013 to escort the Boston Pops as they performed for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings. Clifton, a decorated Boston police officer, was invited to Spaulding in recognition of his service that day, when he helped load the wounded into ambulances. Clifton never imagined that he would return to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston almost 10 years later, following a hemorrhagic stroke. Unable to walk on his own and struggling with post-stroke coordination, sensory, and cognitive symptoms, he found that his Spaulding team was determined to get him back on his feet. “This is beyond professionalism,” he says. “There’s a level of dedication the people have here that is beyond comprehension.” Spaulding’s personalized approach to care has Clifton not only walking again but inspired to return to the hospital to help others. Part of his efforts include participating in a research study testing a virtual reality–linked treadmill to improve gait performance for stroke survivors like himself. One in four people will have a

  • Patient Story

    Amit: Vivir una vida activa de nuevo

    Read this story in English. Otoño 2022 Para Amit, su historia con Spaulding comenzó cuando el joven padre comenzó a experimentar un dolor crónico debilitante. Al crecer como un jugador de tenis competitivo en la India, Amit siempre fue muy activo. Pero a los 30 años, todo eso cambió. "Ponerse calcetines era una tarea", dijo. "Un viaje en automóvil de 30 minutos era insoportable". Exploró una variedad de opciones de tratamiento, ansioso por evitar la cirugía. Nada proporcionó un alivio duradero. Amit, de vuelta en la cancha de tenis. Entonces Amit conoció a la Dra. Joanne Borg Stein de Spaulding, y experimentó un tratamiento regenerativo especializado que ella y otros investigadores de Spaulding habían desarrollado. La terapia con plasma rico en plaquetas acelera la curación del tejido lesionado a través de inyecciones de plaquetas sanguíneas sanas de los pacientes. "En la primera semana de tratamiento, mi dolor mejoró significativamente", dijo Amit. "Muchas de las cosas que no lograba hacer, de repente se hicieron posibles". Como muchos pacientes, Amit recurrió a Spaulding para nuestras prácticas innovadoras y amplia gama de tratamientos, muchos de los cuales fueron posibles gracias a generosas donaciones. Las donaciones ayudan a Spaulding a realizar inversiones para servir mejor a nuestros pacientes: inversiones en el

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