Kerry's story
Life can change in an instant. Dr. Kerry Crone discovered while driving on a highway during a heavy downpour. Visibility decreased in seconds and his car collided with the one ahead of him sending the 70-year-old Ohio native into a cement wall.
EMTs rushed Kerry to the local trauma center where he was treated for multiple injuries: 18 rib fractures, two cardiac contusions, a lacerated spleen, a small hemorrhage in his head, two spinal fractures and a pelvic fracture. Had he been awake, the experienced neurosurgeon could have predicted his course of treatment.
After stabilizing, Kerry’s doctors recommended intensive inpatient rehabilitation. He and his wife, Susan– a former operating room nurse—chose TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital. Kerry wanted to regain his independence as soon as possible.
When he admitted to TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital, Kerry was completely dependent on others for assistance – from mobility to self-care needs. Since he couldn’t initially tolerate standing, Kerry was guided through exercises by his physical therapists with bands and ankle weights while seated and lying down. Physical therapy (PT) also worked with him on transfers, using a slide board and showing him safe techniques for getting into a wheelchair and eventually standing in the parallel bars and then progressing to a rolling walker. PT also focused on wheelchair mobility to increase his independence in preparation for discharge.
In occupational therapy (OT), Kerry worked on dressing, grooming and feeding himself. During OT sessions, Kerry and his therapist spent time addressing bed level dressing tasks with use of adaptive equipment such as a sock aide, shoe horn and reacher. Kerry was also trained on how to manage wheelchair parts and how to independently propel his wheelchair.
His wife and family were very supportive throughout, observing his therapy sessions and participating in family training. Kerry was impressed with the pace of his recovery, sharing “My experience has been very positive and the therapists here are exceptional. The enthusiasm that the showed in helping me achieve my rehabilitation goals really encouraged me to work hard. The intensity of the therapy and working with experienced people allowed me to reach my goals in a very quick period of time.”
At discharge, Kerry was able to transfer positions with supervision and maneuver his wheelchair. He could also feed and groom himself while seated and dress his upper body. Kerry felt confident in his progress and was looking forward to spending more time with his family and continuing to work on building his strength and skills with home health services.
Of his time at TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital, Kerry said, “My wife and I were both happy with the decision to come here, the experience exceeded our expectations.”