Success Stories

When he first came to Kindred, Freddie reported that he was only able to walk about half a block before having to stop, and his goal was to breathe normally and walk without difficulty. He began a pulmonary rehabilitation program with his wife Lue Dean at his side every step of the way and immediately began to show improvements in all areas of his recovery.

On his ‘graduation day’ from the Kindred pulmonary rehabilitation program, Freddie shared that he was looking forward to dancing with Lue Dean again. “My outlook on life is good since coming to pulmonary rehab and I only wish I could have stayed longer,” Freddie said. “This program is awesome and Marty and Kim have done an amazing job of transforming the quality of my life. The genuine care and concern they display for each patient is a joy to behold.”

Freddie was discharged from Kindred and on the day he left, his team of caregivers gathered around Freddie and Lue Dean to wish both of them lifelong health and to thank Freddie for sharing his passion for fun and colorful socks!

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.”