Unable to pick up his TV remote one day, Mathis Smiley thought he had slept on his arm wrong. Not thinking anything of it, he later went to eat with his family and felt fine. Later that night, after arriving back home, Mathis noticed increased weakness on his right side and had difficulty speaking clearly. After going to the ER, Mathis was surprised to learn that he had a stroke.

After being discharged from the hospital, Mathis knew he needed rehabilitation to gain his strength back. When presented with different options, Mathis felt Spartanburg Rehabilitation Institute (SRI) was the perfect facility for his recovery because of its national certification in stroke rehabilitation.

When Mathis arrived at SRI, he required maximum assistance to walk a distance of just six feet. After receiving therapy daily, he now can walk 300 feet using a rolling walker.

“I’m happy about the level of care and treatment I received at SRI,” he says. “But I’m also happy because the staff all made me feel like family.”

Mathis now continues to build strength and gain independence through continuing with outpatient physical and occupational therapy at SRI.