Helping those Injured to Find Their Strength

After a stroke affected all aspects of Pat’s life, Spaulding helped him find the strength to get back to living life to the fullest. Thanks to generous donors like you, Spaulding was there for Pat when he needed us, and will be ready to help patients that need us in the future.

An accomplished musician, Pat spent over 30 years with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra as a percussionist, orchestrator and arranger. He has also performed and recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Ballet.

A few years ago, Pat spent Thanksgiving in his mother’s home in upstate New York. While there, 54-year-old Pat experienced a stroke due to a clot in the left side of his brain. The stroke left him unable to move the right side of his body.

Pat remained in the hospital in New York for about a week, when doctors agreed to let his brother drive him home to Boston to recover at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Boston. “This was a big deal to go to Spaulding,” said Pat. “Spaulding is the gold standard in rehabilitative care.”

They arrived at Spaulding Boston on a Friday evening. His brother pulled up to the front door, and a security guard came out to help Pat into a wheelchair. “That security guard was my first point of contact at Spaulding, and from that moment on, everyone I met was so caring and so wonderful to me. Every single person there was part of my recovery.”

Since it was the weekend, he did not expect to see a doctor until Monday, but there was a doctor waiting for him when he arrived. He had an occupational therapy appointment scheduled for first thing the next morning. “My recovery started immediately, which felt like such a luxury, but that is the way Spaulding operates.”

“At Spaulding, they try to do whatever they can to give you back a normal life.” An avid reader, Pat read the newspaper every day to keep in touch with the world. Knowing Pat is a musician, therapists incorporated music into his recovery. “My goal was to be able to play with the Boston Pops on the 4^th of July. I didn’t say which year, but that was my motivation for getting better.”

Pat was discharged from Spaulding a few days before Christmas. “I was wheeled in, but I walked out, which was a very big deal.” It took two years of outpatient therapy to get back to the Esplanade for the 4^th of July performance, but he eventually returned to the stage less than three years after his illness struck. After his stroke, he had to re-learn everything. “That was my 30^th year performing, but it was also my first.”

Today, Pat is doing great. He still struggles with fatigue, but he is composing music and playing with the Boston Pops once again. “I would say I’m better than before, I learned a lot from my stroke and now I look at life differently,” said Pat. “My recovery at Spaulding was a phenomenal experience.”  

Links:

• Find Spaulding Rehab Hospital here!