Success Story - Ray Dennison

In His Words...

“I want to give all the staff my deepest appreciation for all the caring, compassion, and unconditional love. When I first started, I made a commitment to myself. I knew I needed a lot of help, and I was not going to tell them what to do, because I was willing to do whatever therapy showed me. I want to thank Molly for always pushing me to the limit and making me work hard, and for the laughs.

I want to thank Ashlin for all her help. I remember taking a shower that first day, and when I finished, she said, ‘You are going to dress yourself today.’ I looked at her like she was crazy, and she said, 'You have to start relearning how to dress yourself because you will be going home soon. She was right about that, so I got rid of the crazy look. Thanks to Ashlin, now I can get dressed on my own pretty good. Doing therapy with Molly and Ashlin, we became a team, and teamwork makes the dream work!”

The Full Story

Ray was admitted to Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing after a motorcycle accident. He had several fractures in his back and an incomplete spinal cord injury, causing weakness in his trunk and legs. He had no movement at all in his right leg. When Ray was evaluated by therapy, he required assistance from two people to help him roll, and he could only tolerate sitting upright for 20 minutes. He required heavy assistance with bathing and dressing, and used a mechanical lift to transfer.

Thanks to his hard work, dedication, and positive attitude, he was able to progress to a supervision level with ambulation using a rolling walker. He could complete a full flight of steps and was able to independently complete bathing, dressing, and toileting. After an intensive inpatient rehabilitation program, he returned home with his family and will continue with outpatient therapy at Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing.