Success Stories

Fabio lived at home and was very involved with his family when he began to experience shortness of breath that progressively grew worse. He tested positive for COVID-19 and had to be admitted to an acute care facility as his lungs began to fail and he had to be placed on a ventilator.

Once he had been stabilized, Fabio was transferred to Kindred Hospital South Florida - Fort Lauderdale where he could receive respiratory therapy and rehabilitation. At the beginning of his stay, Fabio was extremely weak and depended on his caregivers for all his needs and mobility and still relied on the ventilator. As his respiratory team worked with him to increase his lung strength, he steadily improved until he was successfully weaned from the ventilator. With each gain, Fabio became even more motivated and he made excellent progress with his rehab team, going from being bedbound to once more being able to get up from bed, stand on his own and walk with only the aid of a walker.

“Walking was the best thing that happened to me, it raised my optimism and made me positive about the whole thing,” Fabio shared before he was discharged to return home with his family. “I would like to thank every staff member because all of them did their part in order for me to get better. I will never forget all of you and will come visit as soon as I can! I would 100% recommend this hospital and the staff was absolutely fabulous.” Just recently the team at Kindred heard from Fabio’s family that he continues to improve and is doing very well, participating in daily therapy, gaining weight and getting stronger every day: “He’s soaking up all the family time he can get and is now thinking of joining the family business as he gets better!”

Charmaine went to the hospital when she developed weakness throughout her right side. She was found to have suffered stroke that caused additional complications, including a brain hemorrhage that led to seizures and difficulty breathing.

She was placed on a ventilator and began to receive treatment and was able to be taken off the ventilator before being transferred to Kindred Hospital South Florida – Fort Lauderdale for ongoing medical care, respiratory therapy and rehabilitation. At the beginning Charmaine was still very weak and needed significant assistance from her team of caregivers, but she made excellent progress and in under two weeks was able to get up from bed. She then moved on to working with the rehab team in the acute recovery unit and continued to make a rapid recovery. No longer needing supplemental oxygen and now able to drink and eat a normal diet, Charmaine became almost completely independent with all of the tasks of daily life and was cleared to return home with her daughter to continue recovering.

"I loved all my nurses, especially Miss Bridgette,” Charmaine shared before she was discharged. “They all popped in so often that I didn't even have to push the bell! And I loved the therapy - I had OT and PT and speech therapy, and I liked John because he pushed me and challenged me. I remember when I first got up I couldn't move my hand, and within a couple of days, I could move it up and down because of the therapy. And when I heard my voice again it was just amazing because I could barely speak when I got here. Everything went so much more quickly than I thought they would and I got things back that I never thought I would get back. Everyone at Kindred were all really professional and kind."