The following is a letter from former patient Kevin McDole.

Hello, my name is Kevin McDole.

On a sunny warm March day in 2010 I was a fit 52 year old who road my bike daily for exercise -- about 50 miles a week. While riding I was involved in an accident with a car that has changed my life.

I was fortunate to not have any head or spinal injuries. I did however break my ankle, shattered both knee caps, and broke my upper arm in 2 places at the shoulder.

The question became, what can I do to change the future for the better and I need lots of help to do it. Thanks to HealthSouth I am ahead of schedule and doing better than the doctors thought.

After more than seven weeks in a hospital bed, healing my broken bones, I went to HealthSouth for two weeks of inpatient care. The staff and therapists were outstanding in every way.

Because of this positive experience, I continued on with outpatient care three days a week, two hours a day, for seven months. I worked with occupational and physical therapists on land and in the therapy pool. The facilities and care I received were clean, first class, professional, knowledgeable and always with a smile.

I have always said - “no matter how bad things are there is someone else who has it worse.” At times you can think otherwise but then you see or hear differently.

Watching other patients rehab with worse conditions than mine was an inspiration to work hard and not complain when the therapist pushed me do more than I thought I could because that is what was needed.

I am still working out daily to continue my recovery. However, without the excellent care I received from HealthSouth I would not be as far along as I am today and have the prospects of a full recovery.

The following is a repost of an actual letter from HealthSouth patient Dan Archie:

My name is Dan Archie and at the age of 47 I had a stroke. My right side was paralyzed and I was severely Apraxic, and could not speak a word. I spent a week at St. Elizabeth Hospital and then moved to HealthSouth Northern Kentucky.
After one week as an inpatient, I was discharged and progressed to outpatient therapy where I spent the next three months working on my speech and my physical abilities. With the combined effort of the expert staff at HealthSouth, my hard work and will power, I was able to get back to driving and to work in three months!

Stroke recovery is a long process and I have come a long way, but I still am still working hard to further my recovery.
I’m thankful we have HealthSouth in Northern Kentucky and I hope to be instrumental in more support for stroke patients in our community.