Success Stories

"My husband had spinal surgery in April of 2015. After the procedure, he was highly functional and everything looked like it was going well, until he had an embolic stroke not long afterwards. He lost all function and developed serious complications, including sepsis" said Dr. E. "He was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he had extensive surgical treatment to stabilize his condition - which couldn't have been more serious as he was completely disabled by the stroke."

Dr. E and her family were extremely concerned about his prognosis, and when Dr. Al transferred to Kindred Chicago Lakeshore in September of 2015, they were unsure if it would be possible that he would ever regain any level of functionality and health.

"Right from the start my husband began receiving meticulous care from the staff at the hospital, and the level of support and clear communication from everyone involved in his care - including management - was immense and extensive" Dr. E said. "His primary physician, Dr. Jeffrey D, led a complicated multidisciplinary effort. He meticulously coordinated the care for my husband among all staff involved, including nursing, respiratory, rehabilitation and dietary. It wasn't long before we began to see remarkable progress."

"I was with my husband every day he was at the hospital to provide support and encouragement. I would frequently take him out of his room and was always there to help with his care" Dr. E shared. "And now - just a day before he is to be discharged - nobody in my family could image that this would be possible 6 months after being admitted to Kindred. He is far better than we could have hoped for - he is reasonably mobile, fully conscious and alert. He can breathe and eat on his own and can maneuver his electric wheelchair quite well!"

As the conversation wound down, Dr. E said; "My husband is happy and looking forward to returning home to Bahrain. My family and I are deeply grateful for the amazing effort put forth by everyone at Kindred Chicago Lakeshore. Our experience here far exceeds our expectations and we can't imagine having gone anywhere else. Thank you to everyone who cared for my husband."

On behalf of everyone at Kindred, we wish Dr. Al and his family all the best and hope that his journey to recovery continues on his return back home. We are honored by the kind words shared above and will always strive to provide our patients and families with the level of care that makes miracles like these come true.

She participated in our daily ventilation gym rehabilitation program with Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy. Being aggressive in therapy and getting her up on a daily basis while on the vent, assisted with her success of being weaned off of the ventilator! Virginia made great improvements during her stay & was able to walk with assistance upon discharge. She transferred to Acute Rehab to continue working aggressively on her endurance and strength, prior to returning home. Lakeshore is proud of you, Virginia!

He was immobilized with broken bones, fractured ribs and a punctured lung. “Somehow I was able to wiggle around and get the cell phone out of my pocket,” he said. He called his wife, and within an hour a medical helicopter was taking him to a short-term acute care hospital. He stayed there in the Intensive Care Unit for seven weeks and was then admitted to Kindred Hospital. “Really, by that point he was still in critical condition,” his wife said. “He was totally dependent on a ventilator to breathe. The people at the hospital had done everything they could – we just needed to go somewhere where they had expertise in caring for vent patients.” Almost immediately, the caregivers at Kindred Hospital began rehabilitation therapy and the process of weaning John from the ventilator. “He had been on his back for seven weeks, and gradually they kept having him do a little more at a time,” his wife said. “The walking helped him strengthen his lungs.” “I felt like I was making progress, absolutely,” John said. “I’d heard of Kindred before, but I didn’t really know what they did.” Six weeks later, John was released to home care to fully recover. “By the time we left, he was walking, breathing, swallowing and eating,” his wife said. “And it was the teamwork that was great.” “The care was excellent,” John said. “Everybody knew what they were doing and everybody worked together.” “Just excellent.”