Success Stories

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 Project with the goal of becoming more independent and walking again.
Upon his arrival to The Recovery Project, Ethan was very anxious about what his future road to recovery would look like. When Ethan arrived to The Recovery Project, he was in a wheelchair unable to sit, stand or use his right extremities. His left arm was very uncoordinated and would require intense physical therapy and occupational therapy to gain back meaningful movements. Communication was also difficult for Ethan. It was important to work toward building skills to better communicate his needs with his caregivers and therapists.
Ethan has experienced incredible improvements since starting with The Recovery Project. He was awarded the Charlie and Mary Parkhill Grant, allowing him to have physical therapy one time weekly and Supported Fitness two times weekly. His program used functional electrical stimulation (FES) twice a week and gait training one time weekly. Since then, he is now walking with assistance and independently sitting for 2.5 minutes. His coordination and grip have become stronger and the muscles in his arms and hands have loosened up, giving him more range of motion. Ethan is also able to better communicate by pointing at pictures to signify his needs.
According to current medical studies, Ethan should not be experiencing improvements to this degree—yet he continues to defy these reports with the help of The Recovery Project. Ethan has gained physical and mental strength and now looks forward to seeing the friendly staff at The Recovery Project and hates to miss a day of therapy. His long-term goals include extending the amount of time he can sit independently and to utilize utensils to independently eat someday. With the help of The Recovery Project, those goals could soon become a reality.