Courtney's story
Courtney Mitchell, a program manager at an aerospace defense company, had always been active. Married to his wife, Yvonne, for 37 years, they have two children and two grandchildren. The 60-year-old loves Philadelphia sports and enjoys playing basketball. Life was good until a sudden health crisis turned everything upside down.
“I was in the bedroom, and I woke up feeling unwell. I started vomiting, reached for the trashcan and ended up on the ground,” Courtney said.
He had experienced a stroke in the temporal region of his brain. Courtney couldn’t get back up.
After being rushed to Virtua Hospital and then transferred to another facility for neurological evaluation, doctors discovered a large right middle cerebral artery hemorrhage in Courtney’s brain. His artery was blocked by a blood clot. According to the National Library of Medicine, the middle cerebral artery – one of the biggest arteries in the brain – is the most common artery involved in acute stroke.
Courtney’s stroke symptoms included sudden weakness, left-sided spatial neglect (recognizing stimuli on only one side of the body) and a facial droop.
After he was medically stable, Courtney was in need of comprehensive rehabilitation. He chose Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (KIR) - Marlton to help him rebuild his life. When he arrived at KIR - Marlton, he was unable to walk, struggled with pain and had cognitive impairments affecting his memory and reasoning.
“When I first got here, it took two people to lift me out of bed,” he recalled. "My left arm didn’t work, my neck was stiff and I couldn’t even keep my eyes open during the day."
Courtney’s physician-led team created a treatment plan that included physical, occupational and speech therapies to address his complex needs.
Physical therapy focused on regaining his ability to walk, balance and perform transfers. “My goal was to get back to my normal routine,” Courtney said. “I needed to walk again and regain my independence.”
His physical therapists helped him rebuild strength in his core and his arms and legs so that he could begin to transfer safely out of bed, walk and navigate stairs. He began by standing with assistance, and then he started walking with devices that supported his body weight, such as the LiteGait and Sara Plus harness systems. He soon progressed to using a rolling walker and then no device at all. His therapists also incorporated functional mobility training with Courtney’s wife, such as stair navigation and car transfers.
Occupational therapy helped Courtney improve his activities of daily living, especially focusing on regaining the use of his left arm. His occupational therapist created specific activities to strengthen his cognition. For example, he performed dual-tasking activities, such as walking around the hospital and locating specific items, and tossing a ball at the wall while listing items in a specific category (car brands, fruits and so forth).
Speech therapy sessions also focused on cognitive challenges, including memory and problem-solving. To help with memory skills, therapists incorporated elements of spaced retrieval technique, repeatedly asking Courtney to recall common objects and their spatial orientation. One example was challenging Courtney to recall his stroke preventative medications and their purposes. He practiced sorting medications (beads were used as fake pills) in a pill organizer almost daily. He also learned to use external compensatory strategies (keeping a calendar or list) to aid his memory as he recovered.
A pivotal moment in Courtney’s recovery was prism adaptation. With the use of specialized goggles, he was introduced to Kessler Foundation Prism Adaptation Treatment (KF-PAT). The goggles feature optical prisms that help patients with spatial neglect.
“That assessment with the goggles was huge for me,” he said. “It really helped with my progress.”
Indeed, due to his hard work, Courtney’s progress was remarkable. “Just walking every day was the biggest thing,” he said, recalling how others noticed his improvement. “Hearing the therapists say ‘Oh!’ as I walked made me realize how far I’d come.”
Reflecting on his time at KIR - Marlton, Courtney described his experience as “uplifting, fulfilling and rejuvenating.” He deeply appreciated the support he got from his wife Yvonne, who was by his side every day. “Her support was invaluable and immeasurable,” he said. “She is my foundation.”
Looking forward, Courtney is optimistic and ready to take on life to its fullest.
“There’s still room to grow, but I believe I’ll be even better than I was before the stroke,” he exclaimed. “I learned the importance of belief, execution and discipline. The power of faith and believing in ‘yes, I can’ made all the difference.”