Success Stories

I smoked a lot of cigarettes and it resulted in me being in the hospital unable to breathe on my own. You think about that a lot when you are on ventilator and have a trach going down your throat. So, my biggest fear was that this was permanent. I am very happy to say I am off the ventilator, my trach is gone and I can talk and walk again. I praise God for this!

Brandy; Speech Therapy and Berlin, CNA were always just a smile away and were concerned for my welfare. In fact everyone here smiles, they are happy and awesome. I am looking forward to going home and seeing my dogs. Also, I want to help other people; so if you are a smoker, please try to stop. I know I will not smoke again!

Basically my brain was too big for my head. I had to have decompression surgery on my cranium to relieve the pressure on my brain,” Kimberly shared. “The operation was successful but I had a tough recovery as I suffered from respiratory failure. When I came to Kindred I could not eat, breathe or walk on my own.”

“It wasn’t long after I came to Kindred that my medical condition improved tremendously. I regained my upper body strength and started walking with a walker. My lungs feel clear for the first time and I am completely off the ventilator. It’s so good to be able to eat regular food!”

Kimberly had kind words to share about her care team while she was at Kindred Hospital too; “The staff is friendly, encouraging, knowledgeable and love what they do; this is obvious by how they treat their patients. All of my care has been great but I especially want to thank my physical and speech therapists and my CNA for their support.”

“I was looking forward to going to a rehab clinic, but I improved so much and so quickly that I got to go home! My goal is to be ready for when school begins. As a school teacher that is the most important time to get the year off to a good start – I am so excited to see my students again!” said Kimberly.

All of us at Kindred Hospital wish Kimberly all the best as she begins a new school year with her students. We are inspired by her ability to overcome such a serious health challenge and glad to have been a part of her recovery!

On arrival, his care team devised a plan to wean him from the ventilator and help him regain the quality of life he had lost. This is his story.

“It is a terrible thing to not know where you are, what has happened to you, why you can’t talk and why you have tubes running all over your body,” Morris said. “I was concerned about being independent and most of all, what I really wanted was to be able to get up and go to the restroom. In my mind, I did not like how long I had to wait for help.”

As he began to recover, it became very clear that Morris was determined to get his health back. “My goal was to get stronger every day and I hoped to ultimately be able to stand on my own. I was very happy to have achieved this goal the day before I was discharged! The kind staff at Kindred helped me to reach my goals. Everyone at the hospital is professional and really cares about you – I really credit my principal nurse and respiratory therapist for their amazing care!”

Looking forward to the future, Morris is hopeful he will be able to get back to where he was before this incident. “I hope with time I can get back to where I was and to go back to work.

I would like to especially say thank you to my love, you made me feel like you did not have to do this because it was just a job; you did it because you care.”

All of us at Kindred Hospital are extremely proud of Morris’ accomplishments and have no doubt that he will be able to continue on his journey to recovery and regain his health.

“They tell me my husband saved my life” Janice said. “I had a procedure and it was apparent that they sent me home too soon, because in less than 24 hours my body fell apart. My kidneys and heart were shutting down.”

“Fortunately my husband knew something was not right, so he borrowed an extra oxygen tank from his mother and started giving it to me until the EMT’s got there. They put their oxygen on me and I was rushed to the ER. I could not talk or walk and really had no idea what had happened to me. Prior to the procedure, I was a healthy, hard working woman.”

Janice then recounted how she’s doing and acknowledged the hard-working staff at Kindred that cared for her. “Thanks to the great people at Kindred I can now talk and use a walker. From here I will be going to a rehabilitation hospital to get more physical therapy and continue to get stronger. Everyone here has been nice, supportive and taken great care of me. You guys are awesome, especially Lloyd in PT, Dan in OT, Brandi in Speech Therapy, Tracey – my Patient Relations manager, and my Case Manager Patti. I can’t wait to go back to my job!”

All of us at Kindred wish Janice all the best and have no doubt she is well on her way to making a full recovery.

"When I got sick suddenly, I could not walk or eat, and I had to go to the ER” Valerie recounted. “I arrived at the ER already intubated, but fortunately was able to get off the vent and start a therapy called Vaportherm. Then I was transferred to Kindred Hospital – and I don’t remember anything about what happened until I had been at Kindred for a week.”

Valerie then shared her steps to recovery. “When I regained consciousness, my biggest concern became getting off of the Vaportherm, learning to walk and eat, and getting off the NG (nasogastric) tube which was feeding me. The NG tube is very uncomfortable!”

“I noticed a big improvement when Brandi, my Speech Therapist, began working with me to relearn how to swallow and chew food. I can now eat regular food, bathe myself, do some exercises and brush my hair. It has been so much more positive than I ever imagined. I thought Kindred was a place where you came to die, but that is definitely not the case!” Valerie said.

“I can’t wait to go to the rehabilitation hospital and then back home to my babies. I have two cats, two dogs and one stray cat that had two kittens, and I know they are anxiously waiting for their mommy to come home! I can honestly say that as a retired nurse, I am able to offer a very positive critique of Kindred’s staff. I would recommend Kindred to anyone, they are great. Thank you Kindred!”