One year ago, I learned that some blessings should be counted twice.
In her mid-70s, my mother had come out of an elective hip surgery in her hometown in good shape considering the major nature of the procedure. But in the days and weeks after, everything seemed to go wrong.
She was fighting for her life instead of being able to focus on the rehabilitation required for getting back on her feet. At one point, a doctor told me there was nothing that could be done, citing chances at a real recovery as slim to none.
When she was dispatched from the hospital to the only rehabilitation facility in her area, I immediately knew that was more a death sentence than a step in the right direction. Desperate for help, I made a phone call to the one place I had heard was one of the best-equipped and staffed specialty hospitals in America, Chattanooga’s Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation.
One of only a handful of independent, nonprofit specialty rehab hospitals in America, Siskin is an understated gem in our community that one has to experience to fully understand the difference quality care makes.
For a couple of months, my mother made Siskin her home. Doctors pinpointed and addressed problems that were limiting her progress and rehabilitation, and nurses got her moving again while teaching her how to function independently in a less-mobile state.
Longtime Siskin Hospital President and CEO Bob Main dropped by her room for regular visits. Staff became friends. My mother loved it so much that when it came time to leave, she hated to go. But one year later she’s back on her feet, living beyond what once seemed possible.
Today, Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation reaches out to the community to deliver a message of hope and finds support for its continuing development with the annual Possibilities Luncheon at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The keynote speaker this year is Roger Crawford, who was born without fully developed limbs. He later had a leg amputed and went on to become an NCAA Division 1 tennis champion.
Mr. Crawford is one of America’s most effective spokesmen on behalf of how challenges can be overcome when people are shown the power of possibility. But I’m pleased to say that, in regard to Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation, many others have similar stories to tell.
For that, I am thankful.