Lee's Story
Retired chief appraiser for the Hancock County tax assessor’s office, Lee Bennett kept himself busy in his hometown of Diamondhead exercising, enjoying antique cars and visiting his three children and seven grandchildren. All that changed quickly when days after feeling off, Lee passed out at home, alone. Hours later his wife found him and dialed 911.
Initially he went to Singing River Hospital, but was soon transferred to Ochsner Main Campus. There, doctors told Lee he had a stroke. While at Oshsner, he participated in physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. He progressed, but after five days, still required assistance with his speech, walking and self-care. His medical team recommended an inpatient rehabilitation facility to focus on his recovery. For that, Lee’s wife and daughter had him transferred to Northshore Rehabilitation Hospital.
Upon admission, Lee was assessed by his physician-led multidisciplinary team who developed a custom care plan for Lee to reach his goals of walking and recovering his pre-stroke abilities. The stroke affected his right side, leaving Lee unable to move his leg, arm and hand on that side. In addition, the right side of his face was drooping which affected his speech.
In physical therapy (PT), Lee tackled his strength and balance. He and his care team began with leg exercises using resistance bands and a stair stepper machine. Lee began practicing walking with a rolling walker and in just a few days, was walking up to 300 feet with his walker. However, he was dragging his right foot which is common after a stroke. PT placed Lee in the therapy gym’s overhead support system which allowed him to walk without a walker while supporting his body weight. This increased his balancing abilities which helped him progress with walking.
After thirteen days of inpatient rehabilitation, Lee improved his foot drag and was walking up to 1000 feet with the support of his walker.
Meantime, occupational therapy (OT) worked on improving range of motion in Lee’s right arm and reestablishing use of his hand and arm through resistance band exercises, the arm bike and therapy putty. He also engaged in games including Connect 4, Perfection and electronic board activities to improve his eye-hand coordination. Adaptive tools came next. The team showed Lee how to use a reacher to grab things at high levels, get his pants off and on, use an extended shoe horn to slip on his shoes and use a tub chair for bathing.
Meantime, Lee’s speech therapist addressed his slurred speech with articulation exercises. He worked on word formation by over-enunciating, speaking slowly and focusing on the careful pronunciation of each word. Lee also read out loud to his therapists. Through these sessions, he improved the delivery and clarity of his speech.
“My stay was just short of miraculous,” Lee said. “The therapists work so hard to give you everything you need to be successful.”
In addition to his therapy team, Lee’s family was a huge component of his recovery. His wife visited every day and participated in the Care Partner Program where she learned and practiced how to support Lee once he returned home; helping him get in and out of a simulated car and transferring positions - from sitting to standing with his walker. Lee’s children and grandchildren also visited, greatly lifting his spirits and motivating his hard work during therapy sessions.
After 14 days at Northshore Rehabilitation Hospital, Lee was able to handle his personal care needs and walk the hospital halls with someone nearby, if needed. He was ready to go home and planned to continue his recovery with outpatient therapy.