Danny's story
Married with three sons and a grandchild, Navy veteran Danny Singleton was on a pre-retirement vacation when he suddenly lost feeling in his foot, causing him to fall to the ground.
Danny had broken his right hip.
While traumatic, Danny had no idea the chain of events his hip injury would set in motion – and the momentous challenges that awaited.
Danny was taken by ambulance to SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital and underwent tests to determine the extent of his injury. While reviewing scans of Danny’s body, doctors surveyed his hip fracture and found something much more alarming – multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer, which had caused a tumor to grow on Danny’s T1 vertebra, located in the upper part of his back.
Needing to first alleviate the pain in Danny’s hip, doctors made the decision to perform hip ball replacement surgery. After hip surgery, Danny was transferred to Saint Louis University Hospital to undergo surgery to remove the tumor on his spine. The spinal surgery resulted in incomplete paraplegia, which rendered Danny paralyzed from the waist down due to nerve damage in his spinal cord. He was unable to walk or support himself.
Once Danny stabilized following surgery, his doctors recommended a comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation program to help him rebuild his life.
He and his family chose SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital – Bridgeton for his next level of care. Danny was very specific why he made his decision. “I chose this hospital because they have the exoskeleton for walking,” Danny said, referring to the wearable robotic device that helps a patient stand and move their legs.
Upon admission, it was very difficult for Danny to sit upright for any length of time due to pain, weakness across his body and positional hypotension, which is a sudden drop in blood pressure when someone moves from a sitting or lying position to an upright one. Because of his impairments, Danny required total assistance when transferring from his bed to another surface. Additionally, he required the maximum amount of help for activities of daily living, such as using the bathroom or getting dressed.
Danny had a positive attitude from day one of his rehabilitation. He was determined to achieve his goal: “To be able to get around on my own, even it’s a wheelchair.”
The physician-led rehabilitation team at Bridgeton worked with Danny and his family to put a treatment plan in place. His team of physical and occupational therapists focused on building his independence by improving his strength, endurance and ability to perform activities of daily living.
Early on, Danny found success in his rehabilitation by using a bike to improve his muscle strength. Danny would pedal on a mechanical bike, while also receiving electrical stimulation in his legs that sent mild electrical pulses through his skin to help stimulate the muscles in his legs and manipulate his nerves. Through his work with the exoskeleton and the mechanical bike, Danny built strength in his legs and began to increase his independence during transfers and activities of daily living.
“My positive attitude and the staff’s positive attitude helped me to be able to succeed in being able to use a wheel chair to get around,” he said.
Occupational therapy helped Danny regain the skills he needed for self-care, such as grooming and dressing, by strengthening the muscles needed to do tasks and practicing those tasks repeatedly.
The exoskeleton proved to be the turning point in his recovery journey. “The exoskeleton was the flip of the page to chapter two,” Danny explained.
Danny’s therapists were impressed with his readiness to work each day in therapy, as well as his willingness to keep trying activities, even on days he was frustrated. Danny said the more he participated in therapy, the more success he had – advice he would give to others in his position.
“Keep a positive attitude,” Danny explained. “Trust your therapists, doctors, nurses and assistant staff. Be aware that this hospital can only do as much as you allow it to do ... the more you participate, the more success you will have.”
Indeed, with grit and resolve, Danny made significant progress during his 18-day stay at SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital – Bridgeton. At discharge, Danny only needed minimal help to transfer. He was also able to propel himself more than 500 feet in an ultra-light manual wheelchair, get dressed independently and needed minimal assistance while using the restroom.
Danny, who planned to continue his rehabilitation at his home – where his brand new TV satellite boxes were waiting for him – said he had a positive rehabilitation experience and learned humility, tolerance and gratitude.
“The success you have begins in your mind and your heart.”