Forty-seven-year-old Peter Lincoln lives in Greer, South Carolina, where he works at BMW. He is married to his wife, Kalece, and has a daughter and a son. Peter enjoys playing video games with friends, working on cars and computers, and occasionally working as a DJ.

Recently, while DJing at a birthday party, Peter experienced chest pain, which he dismissed. Later, after playing video games online, he developed a severe headache and went to lie down. After that, he felt numbness on his right side, fell off the bed, and crawled across the room while trying to get dressed. His wife, who had been outside the home with his daughter, found him and called 911.

Peter was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a stroke that affected his speech and swallowing. After his initial treatment, Peter and his wife chose Spartanburg Rehabilitation Institute (SRI) for his rehabilitation because of its good reputation and proximity to his home, which made it easier for his family to visit. SRI holds a national certification in stroke rehabilitation from The Joint Commission, demonstrating the hospital’s commitment to achieving better outcomes for stroke patients.

When Peter arrived at SRI, his biggest challenges were speech and swallowing. He also had difficulty with walking, balance, and staying safe while showering and using the bathroom. He worked with the hospital’s interdisciplinary healthcare team, who developed a personalized treatment plan that included physical, speech, and occupational therapy.

Physical therapy focused on improving Peter’s walking and balance, safely going up and down stairs, and building endurance using a stationary bike. Speech therapy focused on improving his ability to express himself, including practicing word finding, recalling commonly used words, improving clarity of speech, and completing writing tasks to support communication. Occupational therapy addressed daily activities such as safe showering, fine motor skills, coordination, and improving hand-eye coordination.

After three weeks at SRI, Peter made significant progress. He now can walk independently without an assistive device and complete all activities of daily living on his own. He continues to experience challenges with forming sentences and finding words but can write his name. He is continuing speech therapy through outpatient rehabilitation, and his wife works with him daily at home.

Peter hopes to return to work at BMW and looks forward to resuming hobbies such as playing chess and video games with friends and working on his cars again.