Thirty-seven-year-old Aleshia Brown is from Spartanburg, SC. Married with three children, she is a motivational speaker and hosts a podcast focused on empowering women strengthening others’ faith. Aleshia lives with multiple sclerosis and recently experienced an exacerbation of symptoms after returning home from a trip to Las Vegas. It began with numbness and weakness in her right leg, soon progressing to her left leg, accompanied by shooting pain that affected her ability to walk. She also developed heaviness and numbness in both arms. Concerned, Aleshia contacted her neurologist’s office, where she was advised to go to the emergency room.

Following her ER visit, Aleshia decided to receive treatment at Spartanburg Rehabilitation Institute (SRI) based on positive feedback from friends and family.

When Aleshia arrived at SRI, she was unable to sit up on her own, dress, feed herself, or walk. She met with the hospital’s interdisciplinary healthcare team, who developed a personalized treatment plan for her that involved physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Physical therapists worked with her on building strength, improving balance, and increasing mobility. Occupational therapists helped Aleshia relearn everyday skills such as dressing, bathing, and feeding herself. Speech therapists aided Aleshia with cognitive skills such as word-finding and memory. They also provided strategies and tools to support her continued progress at home.

“The therapy catered to activities I enjoy, so it made it fun,” Aleshia says.

After two weeks at SRI, Aleshia regained much of her independence. She’s walking without an assistive device and driving again.

“I still fatigue quickly and am only able to do one large task a day,” she says. “But my goals are to get back to public speaking and writing as soon as possible.”

Aleshia plans to continue with outpatient therapy at SRI to build on her progress and maintain her independence.