Success Stories

When he first arrived at Kindred, Willie was still dependent on the ventilator and a feeding tube. He was also very weak and mostly unresponsive. His team of caregivers immediately began to apply proven therapy and respiratory treatments and Willie began to make progress. Within a week of arrival, Willie was improving noticeably and expressed a great interest in eating again, which his team assured him he would be able to do again soon. With encouragement from his team and family, Willie continued improving until the day he was finally able to be taken off the ventilator. This happy milestone marked a big moment in his journey to recovery as he was then able to start using his voice again and, as soon as the breathing tube was removed, his speech therapist helped Willie learn to swallow safely and begin drinking and eating a normal diet.

Willie also made great progress with his physical and occupational therapists and was able to stand and walk once again with minimal assistance and regain his independence over the activities of daily life. Just before he was discharged to return home with his family to Orlando, Florida, Willie enjoyed a celebratory pizza party in the lobby of the facility with his team and members of his family.

“The big smile you see on my face is because of the huge difference you made in my life,” Willie shared. “Thank you.”

Josh was also unable to follow simple commands, but his team of caregivers administered proven respiratory therapy and started him with basic mobility exercises and Josh began to make progress.

Within a week he was noticeably less lethargic and more responsive, and his lung function continued to improve as he regained his strength. Soon after this Josh was able to start sitting up in bed and participating actively with his occupational and physical therapists, and then reached a major milestone when he was able to be taken off the ventilator completely.

Josh continued to improve with his rehabilitation and progressed to being able to stand and walk with minimal assistance by the time he was discharged to continue on his journey to recovery.

At the beginning of his stay, Eric was still in a very delicate condition and remained in the ICU at Kindred under close supervision. His critical care team administered antibiotic treatments through his IV lines to treat his pneumonia and had to place tubes in his chest to drain excess fluid from his lungs. Not long after treatments were started and the medication started to have an effect, Eric’s condition began to improve rapidly. When Eric was able to be taken off the ventilator it was a major milestone and it enabled him to begin conversing with the help of a speaking valve. Shortly afterward he was able to have the breathing tube removed altogether and his speech pathologist helped Eric regain the ability to swallow safely and use his own voice once again. Now able to eat and drink a normal diet and no longer dependent on the feeding tube, Eric’s progress continued at a remarkable pace and he put all his effort into his physical and occupational therapy sessions, gaining more strength every day and getting back his independence over the activities of daily life. “Arlecia and I were delighted when I was discharged to return home and elated that we were going to be able to travel and be with our family over the thanksgiving holiday – thank you all for making this possible,” Eric shared when he and his wife dropped by the facility to say thank you one more time. When Eric’s team gathered together for a group photo there weren’t enough words to describe the amount of joy and pride everyone felt to have played a role in helping Eric’s recovery have such an amazing outcome.

Uncertain of what came next in Jessica’s recovery, or if her daughter would have to spend the rest of her life in an assisted living facility, Jessica’s mother chose Kindred Hospital Las Vegas - Sahara as the next level of care.

Jessica was no longer dependent on a ventilator when she first arrived at Kindred, but she still had a breathing tube in place. She also relied on a feeding tube and she was entirely unresponsive, requiring maximum care from her caregivers. With her mother and other family members at her side from the very beginning, Jessica slowly began to show signs of awareness. When she began to respond with more intention, her team of caregivers began to get Jessica up and out of bed daily and started a more aggressive program of physical and occupational therapy. Jessica was also aided by her speech pathologist to reconnect her speech and vocal pathways, allowing Jessica to begin using words to describe colors as well as to regain the ability to swallow and take food and drink by mouth again once the breathing tube was finally removed.

After spending nearly five months at Kindred, Jessica continued to amaze everyone at the facility with her progress. Her mother was overcome with gratitude when her daughter was able to be discharged to a facility that specializes in brain injury rehabilitation. Her entire team gathered to wish her well and celebrate this major milestone and wish her the best.

Just recently Jessica’s mother called to update the team at Kindred on her progress; “Jessica came back home in October, has continued to improve and now is back to living a normal life,” she said. “She loves doing her makeup and going out shopping with her friends. I can hardly find the words to describe my feelings and I’m very grateful for the care everyone at Kindred provided to help with Jessica’s recovery.”