Part 2: Brian Roche: Road to Recovery
"As the weeks went on, my demeanor and physical state were slowly, but surely improving, until... I took the first big step..."
ALBANY, Ga. – Last time, we looked into the cause of my spinal cord injury, the severity of it, and the incredibly small beginnings of my Road to Recovery.
Today, we talk about my recovery efforts being moved across the state, and the progress that would be made following a discharge from the ICU…
In the days following my surgery to remove an abscess from my spine, there had been faint signs of optimism…
A small wiggle of a big toe here, an effort to roll a thigh there.
However, both my parents and I knew that something needed to be done…
“We weren’t quite sure what the next steps were, but we knew it would be a long road…” said Marci and Rob Roche, Brian’s parents.
And, it was after a session of physical therapy, we found out about the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.
“…We also had the opportunity to talk with one of the physical therapists at Phoebe. And, she shared with us that she had a cousin who was injured, and went to Shepherd, and he’s walking and doing extraordinarily well. So, that confirmed that we were doing the right thing,” said Marci and Rob Roche, Brian’s parents.
Two weeks later, I was transferred to Shepherd, only for all three of us to be greeted with a very harsh reality…
“…Then we pulled into the parking deck after a long three plus hour drive. I’ll never forget this row of wheelchairs in the parking lot, long as you can see. And, then, all of a sudden, everything changed,” said Marci and Rob Roche, Brian’s parents.
It would be on that day that I would be introduced to two women: my Physical Therapist, Lindsay Mayr, and my Occupational Therapist, Tayla Mangus.
As we met for my evaluation, I laid out that I was hoping to walk again in around six weeks…
“…I gotta ask, was this one of the most farfetched things you think you’ve ever heard from someone say who had just gotten out of a hospital bed in two weeks?” asked Brian…
“We heard that a lot. It’s pretty common, people come in with their own timelines. Even though we’re very motivated you wanted that you really wanted to walking as soon as you can…” said Tayla Mangus & Lindsay Mayr, Therapists, Shepherd Center.
Unfortunately the timeline was a pipe dream…the beginning was rough.
“…I could tell it was one of the worst moments of your life, it seemed like you were dealing with a lot emotionally and physically. And, it just seemed like a really tough time for you.
It seemed like the hardest thing you had to go through. I think that you told us it was the most pain you’d been in. A lot of stuff you weren’t used to. I know there was a lot of yelling in the beginning. Even just the thought of PT’s and OT’s coming in to work with you,” said Tayla Mangus & Lindsay Mayr, Therapists, Shepherd Center.
…A lot of thoughts of ‘I can’t do this’
And for a time, they were right. Every day felt like an obstacle as I continued to feel the most intense pain in my life.
But nothing would compare to what became a difficult decision for me and my parents…
Due to COVID restrictions at the time, only one of them could stay.
“We felt that you, as a patient would be best served with dad staying. It was very difficult for us to make that decision. Every child wants their mother with them in times of crisis. But as much as we knew you wanted your mom there, we knew best for you was to have dad there, because dad understood all of the medical issues and could advocate much better for you…” said Marci and Rob Roche, Brian’s parents.
However, it served as a wake up call…that I needed to take ownership of the situation.
“…I think we kind of tapped at and found a way to make you push through the pain eventually. After lots of hard work…
And, that pain is something that’s hard to get rid of too. You try a bunch of things a few times to see if we can try to get that pain down. But it’s tough at the beginning. When you’re going through so much, it’s something you aren’t used to experiencing…” said Tayla Mangus & Lindsay Mayr, Therapists, Shepherd Center.
As the weeks went on, my demeanor and physical state were slowly, but surely improving, until… I took the first big step…
Tune in tomorrow when we continue the story of Brian Roche: Road to Recovery, only on CBS 44 News.
Brian Roche reporting.
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