Mr. Kenneth, a native of Church Point and a customer of Guilbeau’s Pharmacy, spotted our therapy clinic in downtown Carencro one afternoon. Little did he know, that in just a few months, he would become a frequent visitor of our clinic and an unforgettable therapy patient.
After waking up one November morning with a terrible headache Mr. Kenneth was rushed to the hospital and treated for a brain bleed due to Arteriovenous Malformation. AVM is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain, which is usually present at birth. Over the course of his lengthy hospitalization, he was intubated several times and following brain surgery, Mr. Kenneth suffered a stroke. As a result of these medical complications, his vocal chords were paralyzed and he could no longer walk, talk, or see.
Due to vocal chord paresis, Mr. Kenneth lost 30 pounds. Along with trouble swallowing he had a hard time talking without having to catch his breath. “Everyone had trouble understanding me on the phone. I could only talk in short phrases.”
“My options were to get Botox every 6 months or try speech therapy. Dr. Foreman was very encouraging that speech therapy could really help me long term to get my function back.”
Mr. Kenneth began his therapy with Therapy Center’s Carencro Outpatient Clinic and in just 2 short months he was fully rehabilitated.
“Marissa was my initial therapist. Both her and Susan were persistent with me and encouraged me to go the full length of treatment. They gave me exercises to help respiratory support for voice and swallow function, as well as voice therapy, strengthening exercises for swallowing and NMES (e-stem for swallow dysfunction). What made the Therapy Center so special was the detail and purpose behind the therapy. They helped me understand what we were doing and why.”
“What’s important for us to do as therapists is to educate the patient on why it’s important to complete the home exercise programs in between treatments. This is truly an important component that allows patients to gain maximum function from our efforts.” –Susan G. Speech Language Pathologist
“Whatever exercise we did, they pushed me and made my progress happen. They were consistent in the care they provided and gave me things to work on at home, so that my full recovery was a possibility. I wanted to be pushed and felt like the therapists wanted my recovery as much as I did.”
Mr. Kenneth’s advice to those that are currently experiencing therapy—“Come and try and stick with it. Hang in there. Don’t give up, stick with it if you want it. If the therapist gives home exercises it’s important to practice them. I was dedicated and did what I needed to do to get better.”
For more information on our outpatient services, including speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy services, visit our complete listing of all clinics.
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