Success Stories

The Recovery Project is proud of the success of many of our current and previous clients. We have helped people with a variety of different programs, including physical therapy and occupational therapy, with many different medical focuses. These client stories represent just a small sampling of the personalized therapy programs we create for clients.

Charlie Parkhill

Charlie Parkhill is the co-founder and co-owner of The Recovery Project. Charlie was injured in an ocean wave accident while vacationing with his wife in 1998, suffering an incomplete SCI at C -4/5. Given the typical prognosis of “you will never walk” and “will probably be fed through a feedin…

Sarah J.

In November of 2018, Sarah J. suffered a life-changing stroke that left her with significant neurological injuries along with several physical disabilities. After her stroke, she needed speech-language pathology services, and occupational and physical therapy to regain her communication abilities an…

Jacqueline G.

Jacqueline G. suffered a lower lumbar spinal cord injury before she started The Recovery Project. She retained a significant level of mobility and could walk with the assistance of a cane. The injury, however, resulted in Jacqueline experiencing severe gait deviations—which put her at a higher ris…

William H.

William H. began therapy at The Recovery Project after suffering an incomplete cervical spinal cord injury. William had been in homecare prior to coming to TRP. Upon his arrival at The Recovery Project, William required a two-person dependent transfer and was unable to walk. His goals t…

Mike H.

Mike H. came to The Recovery Project after sustaining a life-altering quad cervical level spinal cord injury. After his injury, he moved in with his parents and began taking steps toward recovery. After receiving physical therapy at another facility, he was referred to TRP. As a 24-year…

Dean T.

Sixty-three-year-old Dean T. came to The Recovery Project less than a month after suffering from a left sided stroke, causing a right sided deficit. He was having trouble walking and using his right arm as a result of the stroke. Through his therapy with The Recovery Project, Dean sought to return t…

Bill G.

William “Bill” Grover came to The Recovery Project after suffering a stroke that affected the right side of his body and left him unable to lift his right arm. This had a debilitating impact on his ability to perform tasks like gripping or picking up objects, cutting food, tying his shoes or zip…

Sandi N.

Sandi N.came to The Recovery Project after a friend’s recommendation at a yoga class for Multiple Sclerosis patients. Diagnosed with the disease in the 1980s, Sandi began noticing her symptoms worsening, which was further complicated by a recent hip surgery. She had difficulty walking and suffered…

Marcy G.

Marcy G. was first connected with The Recovery Project during a Parkinson’s disease support group session. Having been newly diagnosed, Marcy was nervous about what her future would hold. She experienced tremors, frequent falls and loss of balance and, after a tour of The Recovery Project’s faci…

Bob R.

As an 80-year-old individual with Parkinson’s disease, Bob R. initially started at The Recovery Project three years ago after his doctor prescribed him physical therapy. While Bob still maintained good mobility, walking was one area he wanted to improve as he had a history of knee and back pain an…

Kathy K.

Kathy K. joined The Recovery Project only one month following her Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in September 2015. At that time, she walked with a limp and experienced difficulty walking on uneven surfaces. This was especially difficult for Kathy, someone who enjoyed exercising at least five times…

Ellen H.

Ellen H. went without treatment for her Parkinson’s disease for 10 years following her Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, partly due to physicians not recognizing the incredible benefits physical therapy can have for individuals with the disease. In June 2015, Ellen first came to The Recovery Pro…

Mary C.

After receiving her Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in July 2014, Mary C. immediately took action and was engaged in physical and occupational therapy programs with The Recovery Project by September. Since then, Mary has maintained annual physical and occupational therapy regimens, with..

Ethan M.

In 2005, Ethan M. suffered a traumatic brain injury as the result of a bicycle accident. While he initially participated in physical and occupational therapies, several years of inactivity left him atrophied and unable to sit or stand on his own. He began a new therapy regimen at The Recovery Projec…

Matt S.

In 2013, 17-year-old Matt S. experienced a fluke hockey play that sent him crashing awkwardly into the boards. The incident fractured his back and severed his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Not one to easily give up in the face of adversity, Matt and his family set to wor…

Mike K.

Mike K.’s life changed drastically in 2015 when he fell 25 feet through his barn roof, suffering a thoracic level spinal cord injury and multiple pelvic fractures when he landed on the concrete floor below. After the accident, Mike attended physical therapy at another facility. At the completion o…

Scarlet

Four-year-old Scarlet was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder impacting her ability to build muscle strength. As a type-two SMA patient, she had very little function of her legs, arms and hands. She had poor core and head control, and could only sit up if propped against…

Karen E.

The onset of Transverse Myelitis, a severe neurological disorder where inflammation of both sides of the spinal cord occurs, can be sudden. For Karen E. it happened during a trip to Michigan to visit family, and the disease quickly took away her ability to walk. Karen completed standard physical …

Joe H.

In August 2015, Joe H. was golfing with his son when he bent down to put a ball on the tee and experienced excruciating neck pain. He had his son drive him to the emergency room and, after multiple tests were taken, he was informed that he had a fractured neck caused by cancer. Joe was diagnosed wit…

Scott M.

When Scott M. began occupational therapy at The Recovery Project in July 2016, he was only being fed through a J tube, which had been in place since March 2015 when he was admitted to the hospital for aspiration, and had completely stopped eating solid foods. He also coughed frequently and had to ca…

Tracey S.

Tracey S. often feels like Norm from Cheers when he’s at The Recovery Project. “Everyone knows your name,” he says. Since 2011, Tracey has attended twice-weekly sessions at The Recovery Project, focusing most of his efforts working the boxing mitts, or using the legs or arms cycles, to m…

Larissa

Larissa has been participating in The Recovery Project’s supported fitness program for more than three years. During her semi-annual visit to the Michigan Institute for Neurological Disorders (MIND) clinic, Larissa met The Recovery Project co-CEO and lead physical therapist Polly Swingle, a regula…

Carlos

When asked how coming to The Recovery Project has helped him reach his goals, Carlos laughed kindly and said, “It’s everything. They’ve done so much, it’s hard to really simplify it. But I’ll try!” Carlos was paralyzed and confined to a motorized wheelchair in November 2013. In the ye…

Tom W.

Tom W., a spinal cord client, first started participating in high-intensity physical therapy at The Recovery Project two years ago after a hip replacement. After his surgery, Tom was seeking a rehab clinic closer to his Macomb County home, and decided to give The Recovery Project a try after receivi…

Leo L.

Leo L. has been a client with The Recovery Project since 2008, after sustaining a C7 incomplete spinal cord injury in a four-wheeler accident. He received a strong recommendation from his case manager, and decided to give the facility a try. Leo participates in physical therapy twice per week wit…

Brianna V.

When Brianna was six-years-old, she sustained a severe spinal cord injury in a car accident that left her a full quadriplegic with limited head and neck movement, and paralysis in her arms, torso and legs. Brianna began attending physical therapy at The Recovery Project in July 2006, and now at 12 y…

Darrell M.

Darrell came to The Recovery Project in a wheelchair after sustaining injuries to his head, neck, spine and ribs when he fell through the 20-foot-high ceiling of a house he was working on as part of his property preservation business. Accustomed to an active lifestyle, Darrell was suddenly motionles…

Tomicko B.

Tomicko B. came to The Recovery Project with a C-5 quadriplegia incomplete spinal cord injury, requiring minimal assistance with basic transfers, and maximum assistance with floor transfers. He had difficulty moving his legs at all, could not walk, and had poor sitting and standing balance. As a …

Abby

Abby came to us all the way from Alabama where she was a typically functioning high school student who had FMD symptoms come on suddenly and progress rapidly. When she arrived at TRP, she was crawling around her house and wheelchair bound for any distance.