Richard's story
Richard “Rich” Waligurski, 58, was living a self-described “normal life.” When he wasn’t working as the construction coordinator at St. Charles Community College, Rich loved goofing around with his three “wonderful children and amazing wife,” going on trips and doing anything outdoors.
An otherwise healthy person with no pre-existing conditions, Rich wasn’t too concerned when he started experiencing some nausea, dizziness and tingling on the left side of his body a few days before Christmas. After deciding to leave work early, Rich went home and took a nap. When he awoke, he noticed the tingling had spread.
By the middle of the night, Rich could no longer walk or move his left arm. The following morning, Rich went to the emergency room at SSM Health Lake Saint Louis. There, he underwent a battery of tests; the results showed he had experienced a rare, non-traumatic spinal cord stroke, which occurs when there is a blockage in the spinal cord's blood supply.
Rich’s stroke had left him unable to use or move the left side of his body “from my ear down to my toes.” He also found it difficult to breathe, and the tingling and numbness he felt throughout his body was “horrible.” After six days he stabilized, and Rich was moved to SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital – Lake Saint Louis, located within the hospital where he had been receiving treatment.
Upon admission to inpatient rehabilitation, Rich’s goals were simple – to be able to walk normally again, navigate stairs and use his left hand; essentially, he longed to do everything he could do before he was hospitalized. Rich’s physician-led care team of nurses, physical therapists and occupational therapists devised a care plan that would help Rich realize his goals.
Because Rich suffered a spinal stroke, which, unlike other strokes, does not typically disrupt the blood supply to the brain, he did not experience any of the speech, swallowing or cognitive challenges that often occur with strokes. However, his physical challenges were significant. His stroke caused weakness in his left leg, which resulted in dragging his foot as well as difficulty with coordination and balance. Only able to walk 35 feet with a walker, Rich also required assistance with transfers, or moving from laying to sitting to standing. On his second day in rehab, Rich noted he scored only 22 out of 56 on a balance assessment.
“Rich was very motivated during his time at inpatient rehabilitation and wanted to push himself to his maximum each and every day,” one of his physical therapists recalled. Once Rich was fitted with an ankle-foot orthosis, a support device that helps control the position and motion of the ankle in order to help with weakness, he was able to increase his walking distance to 75 feet. Rich’s therapy sessions included lots of practice walking as well as going up and down stairs. Because of his strength and balance issues, he needed to go up and down stairs sideways, using both arms for support.
Rich also embraced a specialized piece of rehabilitation technology, the Bioness L300 Go. The device is a compact, wireless foot and thigh rehabilitation system that uses functional electrical stimulation (FES) to target specific muscles that help patients walk more naturally and with improved speed and balance. By providing stimulation precisely when and where it’s needed, the device helps patients lift their feet to navigate stairs and uneven surfaces. Indeed, as he improved, Rich’s therapist began challenging him with more difficult balance tasks, such as reaching activities while standing on a foam pad with no arm support.
Occupational therapists worked with Rich on regaining and improving movement, strength and fine motor skills in his left arm. Not only was he struggling with pain, which limited his tolerance for therapy, but he required significant assistance when completing both his self-care tasks and transfers. Therapy sessions focused on increasing his independence and improving Rich’s core strength to assist with pain relief and pain management. Occupational therapists also used specialized technology in Rich’s sessions, including the Bioness H200, a wireless hand rehabilitation system that uses FES to help patients regain skills needed for reaching and grasping. FES mimics electrical brain signals and helps reactivate impaired muscles. “When I was able to open and close my hand for the first time, it gave me a lot of hope to move forward,” Rich stated.
Occupational therapists also applied kinesiology tape, a thin, flexible tape developed to aid muscle movement and alleviate discomfort, to Rich’s shoulder to help him maintain proper positioning and reduce pain. His sessions also included using the daily living suite, which is set up to mimic a home environment so patients can work on gaining independence with their self-care tasks.
Rich’s family also played a key role in his rehabilitation. Not only were they supportive and helpful during his stay, they underwent extensive training on how to assist him with self-care tasks, transfers and shoulder taping. They were taught exercises so that they could help Rich continue to improve his left hand function when he returned home. By the time Rich was ready to return home, his family felt comfortable in assisting with his care and ensuring his safety.
“I realized that I have an amazing family that continued to support me by visiting, bringing me different treats and meals, hanging out with me, playing games and even working on some of my therapies with me,” Rich said.
After 14 days of intensive rehabilitation, Rich had made incredible strides. “The team here has helped me to exceed where I actually thought I would be,” admitted Rich. He was able to walk over 200 feet with a walker and had doubled his balance score to 44 out of 56. Rich was able to complete his self-care tasks independently using a walker for support. The fine motor skills in his hand had improved as well and he was able to begin working on typing and other work-related tasks using his left hand.
Rich’s work ethic and desire to get better did not go unnoticed by his care team. “Rich was one of the hardest working and most motivated patients I have had. He dedicated his time both in and out of therapy to improving. Any time I saw him outside of therapy, he was completing some exercise to improve his left hand or leg function. He was such a joy to work with and I cannot wait to see the things he will do in his road to recovery,” one of his occupational therapists remarked.
Rich planned to continue his rehabilitation at the SSM Health Day Institute and was determined to reach his goals. He was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed, eat home-cooked food, see his pets and readjust to life outside of the hospital.
Reflecting on his experience, Rich said: “The biggest thing that I learned is to give myself grace and time. I realize this is a marathon and not a sprint. I have started to celebrate my tiniest successes and that helps propel me to the next set of challenges.” He had high praise for his care team, saying, “My overall experience was fantastic. I was very impressed and thankful for everyone that worked with me during my stay. Nobody wants to be here as a patient, but I would not have wanted to have any other group caring for me.”