By Stephanie Quinn | Director of Annual Giving
It was the first snowfall of the season, and Lola was cozy at home with a homemade Haitian hot cocoa and a list of online shopping to do.
By the end of the day, the 40-year-old lawyer and fitness instructor would be in the hospital experiencing seizures from a stroke.
After six seizures, Lola woke up with a feeding tube and helmet,a piece of her skull removed during emergency brain surgery. She would need to relearn how to swallow, talk, and walk. Her first test came when she moved from acute care to Spaulding Cambridge and was asked to sit up for 20 minutes, which the fitness fanatic called “the hardest thing ever.”
Lola made excellent progress in Cambridge and continued to improve upon transfer to Spaulding Boston. When her discharge date finally arrived, she was excited but apprehensive. Staff facilitated virtual sessions with her family to help everyone prepare for Lola to return home.
“The Spaulding staff is so amazing,” says Lola. “They start out as strangers, but offer such incredible care, compassion, and kindness. I hope every day that I’m contributing to the world in the way that they are.”
With ongoing outpatient therapy, Lola has returned to work as a lawyer at a non-profit for domestic abuse survivors. “I am a voice for people overcoming difficult situations,” Lola says. “I want to be moving the world forward to greater diversity, equity, and inclusion, in all ways.”
Generous donors support patients like Lola as they build a new future.With support from Annual Fund donations, Spaulding has this year invested in telehealth and virtual care technology, new equipment for our leading-edge therapy gyms, programs to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion among staff and patients, and more.
While our team addresses the needs of patients today, we must also look ahead. A commitment to innovation in rehabilitative care and research is core to Spaulding’s mission.
In Spaulding’s 50-year history, we have improved the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. Together, and with generous donations, we will continue to discover and deliver the best care for all our patients—now and in the future.
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