Eighty-two-year-old Shirley Marcoux from Gaffney, South Carolina, was rushed to the ER after her daughter noticed she was severely lethargic and experiencing breathing difficulties.

“I didn’t know what to think when I woke up surrounded by flashing lights and EMS,” Shirley says.

Shirley was diagnosed with acute hypoxic respiratory failure, a condition where the lungs can’t supply enough oxygen to the blood, and with multifocal pneumonia, an infection affecting multiple areas of the lungs. Due to worsening respiratory distress, Shirley was placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Given her complex medical history and the toll the illnesses had taken on her physical function, the medical staff recommended intensive rehabilitation following her initial hospital stay. Post-acute rehabilitative care was necessary to help restore her strength and ensure a safe return home where she lives with her daughter. Shirley chose to receive rehabilitative care at Spartanburg Rehabilitation Institute (SRI)

While at SRI, the interdisciplinary healthcare team worked with Shirley to develop an individualized treatment plan to meet her specific needs. Her treatment included three hours of daily rehabilitation to help restore her endurance and strength. Shirley says that regaining the strength to walk again was the hardest part of her therapy.

Regarding her stay at SRI, Shirley says, “I could not have asked for anything better! Everyone here is so nice and has taken excellent care of me.”

Shirley now enjoys her regained independence and looks forward to spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.