Journeys of Hope Podcast - Episode Three

In the latest episode of Journeys of Hope, host Rebecca Solomon sits down with Laura Timmons and physical therapist George Corbiere, PT, DPT about the remarkable recovery journey of Laura's daughter, Theresa, who spent 15 months in intensive rehabilitation at Blythedale after a devastating car accident. The conversation highlights the emotional challenges faced by families, the importance of specialized pediatric rehabilitation, and the unwavering support from medical teams. Laura shares her experiences as a mother navigating this journey, emphasizing hope, determination, and the vital role of family and community support. George provides insights into the therapy process and the milestones achieved during Theresa's recovery, illustrating the profound impact of dedicated care and the resilience of young patients.

You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Key Takeaways:
1. Hope and resilience drive recovery
2. Family support is essential to rehabilitation
3. Specialized pediatric rehabilitation leads to meaningful progress
4. Recovery is a collaborative, goal-driven process
5. Community and medical relationships provide vital emotional support

TRANSCRIPT

Rebecca Solomon (00:05)
Hello and welcome to Journeys of Hope, a podcast inspired by the strength, resilience, and unshakable spirit of medically fragile children. Now each episode we share powerful stories of young warriors who face extraordinary health challenges alongside their families, caregivers, and medical teams.

Through unwavering love, expert care, and hope, these children show us what it means not just to survive, but to thrive. My name is Rebecca Solomon, and this is Journeys of Hope. Let's begin. Now we see remarkable recoveries on the regular at Blythedale There's one story I want to highlight on this episode, as it was the very first patient story I personally witnessed after joining the incredible team at the hospital.

Theresa Timmons spent 15 months as inpatient in intensive rehabilitation after suffering multiple injuries in a car accident. She's made great strides learning again how to walk and talk, and she was discharged in May of 25, but she remains a familiar face around Blythedale The teen returns daily to attend the School of Mount Pleasant Blythedale Union Free School District, and through our day hospital, she receives medical oversight from physicians, nurse practitioners and other clinicians while also receiving comprehensive therapies. And at night she returns home to her family. So it's pretty safe to say between school, therapies and at home, her support system is mighty.

Now on this podcast, we have the pleasure of hearing from two of her strongest supporters, her mom, Laura, and her physical therapist, George. Hello, both of you.

George (01:46)
Hello, how's it going?

Rebecca Solomon (01:47)
So Laura, I would like to start with you. When you think back to the day of the accident, what moments stand out the most for you now? And what were those early days at Blythedale like for you and your family emotionally?

Laura Timmons (01:59)
In my head, I just felt like she was gonna be fine. I don't know why, like if I feel like she was alive,

like determined, you know, determined to get her better and waiting for each thing. You know, like just, it was a lot. A lot of time. I couldn't watch TV, couldn't listen to music, couldn't, I just sit there.

Rebecca Solomon (02:22)
I mean you were probably like full pace when you got the call. It was like,

Laura Timmons (02:25)
I actually, it was outside my house. So I drove up because she wasn't home, but still didn't think it was her. So I was in shock.

Rebecca Solomon (02:38)
she goes from critical care and she's then being admitted to Blythedale us why you knew you wanted her to go to Blythedale

Laura Timmons (02:46)
Well, I looked up stuff, did some reading. I wanted to be able to sleep there with her. And I definitely made the right decision.

Rebecca Solomon (02:57)
tell us as a mom, right, what those early days at Blythedale looked like for you and your family. You already said you had the opportunity to sleep there, but what was it like for someone who doesn't know anything about Blythedale as a family coming into the hospital?

Laura Timmons (03:13)
The second we got in, they showered her right away. was like, was kind of like you were going to a red carpet almost, in a different way. Like everybody was extremely attentive. Like on every single thing, the second you got there. There was no like wait a week, wait days, no helpful, just like, it was like a ray of sunshine maybe, I'd say. Just coming in there.

You just got right in and everybody got right on it. And it wasn't just because you just got there. It was I felt like I lived there. I had my own drawer, my own cabinet, shower, laundry, microwave. Really everything you need. Sometimes I didn't go outside for days.

Rebecca Solomon (04:01)
And then over the 15 months as an inpatient, what do you think has been the most remarkable moment in Theresa's recovery? What would you say is that moment as her mom?

Laura Timmons (04:12)
The therapy. George knows I love him so much.

I really didn't even think, I can't even think of anybody I met that may have come across in a fake way or like a way like, know, this is just my job, I don't really care kind of thing. I didn't experience that there at all.

Rebecca Solomon (04:32)
We know Theresa got the support she needed through all of her therapies and rehabilitations.

How were you supported as a parent?

Laura Timmons (04:39)
I have a lot of family and friends. And the hospital offers that stuff for me. I didn't really take it, but I did meet some really nice families. I didn't take it because I felt like I had enough of it around me. I did do a little bit, you know, but it is there.

Rebecca Solomon (04:56)
Mm-hmm.

Laura Timmons (04:58)
But I had plenty and when I would get there with Theresa it was like our time, like mine and her time and the alone time kind of thing. And the relationships with the therapists was great, you

Rebecca Solomon (05:08)
the relationships you were building with the therapists and the medical teams, that alone was just, that was support for you. that in itself probably helped you along the journey.

Laura Timmons (05:16)
knew it. I is true love, compassion and care. They don't waste a minute. They're very organized, but they care. Like George thinks about his work at I know he does.

Rebecca Solomon (05:31)
George, you don't turn the switch off?

George (05:34)
it's it's i can I can, it's not impossible.

But there are certainly some days where, you know, there's a issue or problem that needs to be solved with potential, you know, getting a child home discharged or a barrier that I'm hitting with somebody that I just can't quite figure out during the work, the nine to that yeah, that it comes with me home and it's in bed with me and I wake up with it. But I get here, you know, but inspiration can strike randomly, you know, I'll be out to eat with my family or doing something out on the weekend. And then I have an idea. like, man, I really need to get this going and try it. And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I do think about it at home, maybe too much, but trying to have that work-life balance is also important as someone in this field because it can completely consume you if you don't have that.

Rebecca Solomon (06:26)
are you assigned a case like Theresa and what goes through your mind when you're given that assignment and is it something, you know, your goals that you set out for her, are they achievable?

George (06:38)
Yeah, so when it comes to patients coming onto certain therapist caseloads here at Blythedale really is, everybody is excellent at what they do. There is not one person who would be not worthy of potentially getting a case like Theresa's. It really comes down to timing and how your schedule is looking upon the arrival of a new patient. We get a very basic cover sheet from them about them from another hospital.

And then we have an idea of potentially their therapy needs, how much time they might need from somebody. And then looking at everyone on the team's schedule, they're then able to decide, okay, this person needs to have the space to accommodate what this person might need at this time. And then it just goes from there and then things kind of just fall into place. So it really was just a stroke of luck that our paths have crossed with me, Laura and And then when it came to deciding goals,

It's in school. do teach you, know, for physical therapy school, they do teach you what a goal should look like and how you need to write it needs to be in a certain format where a specific thing that you're looking to do, how long they're going to do it under what conditions ⁓ and then making them for short periods of time and then long periods of time. ⁓ So to start with Theresa, it was when she first came in. I remember she came with an army. was mom, dad, stepdad was there. Brother was there. I feel like there was a man, an uncle.

I had to like wade my way into the room, be like, hi, I'm George. I'm going to be here PT. ⁓ Let me get her measurements so I can start looking for a chair. So like first goal was let's get a place for her to sit. That's not the bed. So she can get up, get out of her bed and then eventually move around the room in the hospital ⁓ to do that. So that was goal number one. Not only just finding the chair, but then can she tolerate the chair? Can she sit in the chair for more than just 30 minutes at a time before she has some discomfort or pain or needs to go back to bed because her vitals weren't doing so well.

So from as little as that to now where our goals are, she's gonna walk independently with a cane 30 feet. We go from just sitting in the chair for 30 minutes to now trying to walk 30, 50, 100 feet independently. And it evolves over those 15 months that she was here.

Rebecca Solomon (08:53)
When you first met Theresa, what were the primary challenges that you would say she faced from a physical therapy standpoint?

George (09:02)
Main challenges for her, I mean, she had some tight ankles. That's the first thing that comes to my mind is how tight her ankles were. And the challenge I knew I was going to face with getting her feet into a position that she could then start to stand and weight bear and do things

Laura Timmons (09:09)
Yeah.

George (09:20)
Even if that wasn't something that she was going to do that following week, I knew I had to get started on working on these ankles and getting them to as close to as neutral position as possible and beyond as I could.

The other part is just the standard precautions. You know, she came in with missing part of her skull. So just making sure of being able to manage the safety piece of, And she was pretty devastated globally, I would say. You know, she had some movement in her right arm, some in her right leg. Now she's very strong there, but the left side was really not showing any signs of movement despite my best efforts. So trying to think initially how can I foster the strength and growth of her right side and development there so that way she can do as much as she can with that and then trying to nurture and provide therapy in a way that when the left leg begin or left arm begins to get returned. I can then continue to grow the strength there and develop there to eventually be able to do goals like ambulation, walking transfers, sitting at the edge of the mat, rolling in the bed. It's all the little pieces you take for granted or don't think about, she had to learn from ground zero and get back to where she was.

But definitely her ankles. I'll have that in my mind forever. And I know Laura too. I remember when we put Theresa on that tilt table for the first time and she started to put weight through the ankles and get that stretch. my God, she wanted to hit me. She was screaming.

Rebecca Solomon (10:36)
Those ankles, yes. Wow.

George (10:50)
had to like close the curtain. People were coming by. she all right? I'm like, I swear it's therapy. Yeah.

Rebecca Solomon (10:54)
describe to us kind of those milestones that you're most proud of as her.

George (10:57)
Yeah, I would say she first started to get movement into that left leg on control, on command, voluntary that was not just look like reflexive or like a twitch. She was kicking that left leg. She was moving it with that connection from her brain to the muscles. Like that to me was the gates are open now. I'm like, okay, we got something. I can use my skills. I can do some neuromuscular education. We can work to make this as strong as we possibly can. And at that point, didn't

know where her limit would be. You know, it's just starting. The brain is healing. The brain is incredible. The way it can rewire itself and find different pathways to do tasks that it once used to be able to do without even thinking to now requiring a lot of brain power, a lot of work on her end to make it happen. And then being able to be like that coach for her to continue to do it and come with come with the game plan of how to do it.  But it wouldn't have happened without her. Like she really needed to put in all the work. And I've said it before.

I'm not sure if Laura remembers me saying this, but I'm just the toolbox. I come, bring the tools. She has to build the house. I can't build the house for her. Nothing is passive in physical therapy. There really is. You have to be putting the effort in and what you put in is what you get out. And she really put in the work to see how she is now from what she was. It's a lot of work, a lot of work that she did.

Rebecca Solomon (12:20)
What was that like for you, Laura, seeing the progression that your daughter had with George?

Laura Timmons (12:26)
the best and when I would start to feel like ⁓ you know like the next big thing gonna happen and then boom happens. ⁓

George (12:34)
Yeah, I was so sorry, Laura. I don't even figure out.

Like just her just moving the leg was what really for me it felt like open the door and open the threshold for her. But then there were the other moments and for me I find it really is with family education that. I'm able show mom or dad or Mike how to transfer her and then they do it themselves. So now they're getting in and out of the bed without having to call the team to do it. I remember teaching how to walk with Theresa, not like she does now with a lot more support before then. And you know, you had to make sure you were supporting her left leg a certain way, holding her arm a certain way, being your body safe so you're not hurting your back and walking from the bed to the couch with without me. And it was it's when I'm able to give off those moments where, okay,

George (13:20)
I know this used to be just something me and Theresa could do and required this special skill to now here you take the reins you do it with her and continue to progress her there as a team. Those were like the really big milestone moments whenever I could do that and then stairs walking

Laura Timmons (13:36)
we would tape if like something, you know, she would do something big, we'd send it to George. You know, we know already like he'd be ready for it as soon as he come in. Move the leg herself, you know.

George (13:42)
Mm-hmm.

Rebecca Solomon (13:50)
And you probably, Laura, you probably learned so much about rehabilitation and therapies, like things you never would have thought that you were gonna know in your life before your daughter had this accident.

Laura Timmons (14:00)
A lot

Rebecca Solomon (14:02)
Just such a different environment and such a different way of life from here on out, you know?

Laura Timmons (14:09)
Some families aren't as lucky as we are to have a place like this to go with their kids, you know, and they get sent home or they're in places that don't do nothing. It's like, oh my God, I feel bad for them.

Rebecca Solomon (14:22)
Yeah, what does it mean professionally and personally to see Theresa when she was ready to go home back in May and just the progress she's made since being an inpatient? What does that mean to you?

George (14:36)
I mean, it really is. Like Laura was saying, she didn't feel like there was too much fakeness around, like everyone that I know that works at this job and comes in every day to be here with this population and do the work. It's for that moment when you are able to give somebody back the things that they have lost and things that they maybe thought would never get back. So to be able to, and unfortunately, I know it's the sore spot for me, but I was away in Texas when she was fully discharged and she had that giant,

Laura Timmons (14:48)
Thank I'm having a

George (15:07)
going away party, the news was there, everybody

Laura Timmons (15:09)
hard time.

George (15:10)
was there, she walked out with Mike, I was very heartbroken to not be there. I wish we could have maybe changed the discharge date, but no, it was time for her to go. I was there in spirit, I know I was. But to see it and watch her do that from the coverage that you guys did and on the news really made me very happy. I remember sitting around with my girlfriend and her family, showing them the video that came on the news later that day.

and to see their faces and then they see my faces and they see me start to cry and they're like, don't cry.

it was a lot and just always, always, but it's exciting. It's more excitement because it's onto that next phase. And you're closing the chapter here at the inpatient side and continuing to grow. And that's what it's about, is progression and growth.

Rebecca Solomon (15:45)
lot of emotions.

Laura Timmons (15:51)
Yeah.

Rebecca Solomon (15:52)
Yeah.

And then for both of you, what's it been like working together as a team, as a family with the clinicians to support Theresa?

Laura Timmons (16:11)
It's not just me, George is like attached to the whole family. Or they're attached to him, I guess. And all my customers and the community, everybody knows him. I wonder, does anybody ever say hi to you outside of here, George? 

George (16:14)
It's both, it's both, it's mutual.

No, no, not that I've seen. I'm not around

the area where you are, but when I came to Theresa's benefit at the bar that time, I had a lot of people, I guess I could feel the eyes looking at me and then I went to go buy the shirt for her and the person was like, oh, he gave me a hug. And I'm like, I don't know who you are, but

Laura Timmons (16:30)
the end here.

Rebecca Solomon (16:43)
And Laura, now back at home, you're continuing to get that support. I know you have a strong community, you know, and you have had that, again, before the, even before this accident, but would you say it's still there and you're still getting that support that you need as a mom? And maybe what advice would you give other families who are going through a similar situation as you and maybe need to find that support? What would, what advice would you give them?

Laura Timmons (16:58)
yeah.

we just happen to know a lot of people. You really don't do that much, but it's nice and it's encouraging for Theresa. People come up to her, know, say, always praying for you. People are always asking what she's doing all the time, like every day, different people, but really the own family. You know, I was scared when she came home, like to just dress her and do all that. a pro. I could work at Blythedale

Rebecca Solomon (17:35)
Yeah, well,

and you also

at Blythedale how to do that. And that's a whole other program that we've talked about in our podcast. ⁓ But that's that's we do that for our families.

Laura Timmons (17:37)
I did, but then I just...

I did.

I was still scared when I came home and I didn't want to be alone with her on the first, like, I think the first night home. I didn't have help yet for the first like two weeks and I had to do it. my God. And I did it. And now it's just like my everyday thing. Shower, whatever, whatever I have to do. Getting her in the car, taking her out. She's come far since leaving, you know?

Rebecca Solomon (17:59)
did it. Worth it.

Laura Timmons (18:12)
George said it though, goes, when you get home, she's going to improve even more because she's going to be home.

Rebecca Solomon (18:16)
And what does... Yeah, go ahead, George.

George (18:17)
Yeah, sorry.

I was just saying there's just something about that environment like yes, of course being here on the inpatient side is necessary at certain points and then just you start to see the changes in the progress and then you just as a therapist and a lot of times the healthcare team we just see and feel that okay with the progress that she's made so far she's safe to go home getting her out of this environment where you know the nurses are a call bell away or there's things that are kind of just taking care of that you don't have to think about

Laura Timmons (18:22)
Okay.

George (18:48)
⁓ Can start to hinder the progress where then you're home in the wild and you're like exactly like you said Laura I got to figure this out in the two weeks that I don't have the extra pair of hands that I may need and then they take off further and it's just really like a way to Kind of have a silver lining to that. I'm afraid to leave but We're not gonna send you out unless we think it's gonna be the best thing and I'm glad you got to see that firsthand

Rebecca Solomon (19:11)
Yeah.

Laura Timmons (19:14)
It was little weird being home.

Rebecca Solomon (19:16)
I mean, she literally.

Laura Timmons (19:17)
In our back home normally it was different, you know.

Rebecca Solomon (19:21)
drove

off and I mean you had to get her in your new you know equipped vehicle.

Laura Timmons (19:27)
That and just the whole just being home period. I only stayed home like two nights a week, sometimes three. ⁓

Rebecca Solomon (19:33)
Yeah.

What would you guys say Theresa's story highlights about the importance of specialized pediatric rehabilitation? I'm curious to hear it from your side, Laura, as the mom and George, your side as a therapist.

George (19:50)
there is the opportunity for immense growth and return of function that could not happen anywhere else outside of this type of setting. Even pediatric, I know specifically pediatric, but even for adult rehab where people can totally potentially skip this part.
go home at a much lower functional level and then require much more care down the line. That could be more of a burden on the healthcare system than if they were to come for this, you know, I mean, 15 months for you guys, but maybe six, seven, eight months for other people. It may seem like a lot at the moment, but afterwards they're able to do so much more. She's able to walk around. She has a much less aggressive wheelchair that's more functional and is able to manage more things for her health.

George (20:39)
is gonna benefit until she's 30, 40, 50 years old, where if this crucial moment for rehabilitation to occur after an injury is passed up, that burden can become a lot

also just with health in general, the body following an injury, the time for things to try to improve or heal is a small, small window after an injury. So being able to

Rebecca Solomon (21:05)
Right.

George (21:07)
get their head start right away, start implementing things that we know can help the brain not regenerate, but reform pathways to try and communicate with the body in a new way following the injury and damage to the areas is crucial. And if that is taken away, it can really limit people's potential for the future. And they may not get as far as they could if they're not given the opportunity, because you never know.

Rebecca Solomon (21:36)
You never know. Laura?

Laura Timmons (21:39)
I even right now, like I'm not rushing to get her out. Yeah, some people are like, you know, she can graduate and like, no, we're gonna get as much as we can for her. It's important. I don't want to change it up or try anything different. I do sometimes on my own, but we're not gonna leave Blythedale so.

Rebecca Solomon (21:58)
You said earlier on in the podcast, you could have chosen between a few facilities. You chose Blythedale for Theresa, such a complex case. Yes, she needed to be in a place like Blythedale for inpatient. But I guess some patients can make that decision not to or.

Laura Timmons (22:12)
So I don't know if kids really can. Adults kind of can, but if it's not safe for them to go home, I don't think they allow

And you have to be able to, you have to meet certain requirements to go to the place like that as opposed to something different. Like if she couldn't do a certain amount of therapy a day and it wasn't okayed by doctors and then she couldn't go there.

Rebecca Solomon (22:41)
right.

Laura Timmons (22:42)
So we started to do some ourselves, a little movement, little whatever, you know, just like moving our arms around our legs, keeping our hand open, just like I want her ready to go.

Rebecca Solomon (22:56)
What do you hope listeners take away from hearing about her journey

Laura Timmons (22:55)
I do. not to give up. Sometimes it doesn't always go the way we hope. It's not the same for everybody. But I read a lot of things. I think this podcast will be great because I wish there was more for me to find, more videos to watch, more happy endings. I didn't really start doing this with Theresa until I knew we would have a happy ending, because I didn't want to disappoint.

Because that's what helped me. So it's not just for us, obviously. A lot of people say, this has helped me so much, you've been so strong. know, just ideas, whatever. I know it helps. And it's important. People need that. That's what I wanted. That's what I looked for. All day.

Rebecca Solomon (23:51)
When you say, you know, she's had a happy ending, describe that. Like, why, what does the happy ending look like for you?

Laura Timmons (23:58)
She's alive. She's happy most of the time. Sometimes she gets mad. A lot of times she gets mad. Oh yeah. Just being able to like talk and express herself, advocate for herself. She's getting better like every day and she's here, you know? And we could talk and hang out and like do stuff together. Not like, like I said, it could have been worse. You just don't know.

Rebecca Solomon (24:04)
She's a teenager. Count your blessings.

Laura Timmons (24:29)
We're done. We're not even close.

Rebecca Solomon (24:32)
George, you say that this was regarding Theresa, are you proud? Do you feel like you've accomplished those goals we talked about? mean, how are you feeling?

George (24:35)
Yes. I mean, absolutely. Absolutely. think being able to step back for myself at least, and I don't know if this is a good or bad thing for me as a professional,

Laura Timmons (24:47)
Thanks

George (24:53)
but I just always want more. I just want a little bit more. So to be able to step back and think back at where she came from and, you know, realizing, okay, yes, she couldn't really move in the bed, couldn't even roll in the bed, couldn't come sit up. And now she's walking with a cane and I'm just kind of close by to her, maybe a hand on the shoulder and mom and Mike

Laura Timmons (24:57)
You have a lot more.

George (25:13)
at home doing the same thing. She's able to do all these things and have her life back. really is. Amazing just absolutely amazing and I know Laura likes to give me a lot of credit, but it really comes back I will reflect it all back onto Theresa that if you don't have that passion drive and willingness to Do the work then it doesn't you can have the best therapists in the world and nothing could change So and the support system as well like if you guys weren't doing the work and Theresa putting in the work Then it would have it could have been for not you know So it really as much as it is for me. It's I put it back on you guys. I can't really take much of the credit at all. It really comes from

Laura Timmons (25:53)
Well, we had to learn, George.

George (25:56)
Yes, I had to teach you, if you didn't want to learn, exactly.

Rebecca Solomon (25:58)
And you were willing, you were willing to learn. You
had that determination from the beginning.

Laura Timmons (26:00)
You can't just sit there and just be like, you know, gotta do more. They only allow so much, you know, but we could do, we do it now at home more, you know, whatever, we go to the George spell, he shows us things to do, we go home, we do them.

And she wants it bad. I don't think she ever complains about doing the…She's a fighter.

Rebecca Solomon (26:28)
All right. I have one more question I want to ask each of you and this is something I ask all of my guests at the end of our podcast. Might be the hardest question yet, but how would you describe the meaning of hope?

There's no right or wrong answer.

Laura Timmons (26:47)
to always have, being positive, unless you're told otherwise. You know, to always be on the up and up, think positive, not negative, try to be happy and smiling, because that's the, what you bring around that situation.

People are are you mad? No, never. Because this can happen to anyone, you know? We have to be grateful and being hopeful for the best. maybe I never felt any, say, I was hopeful the whole time, and I feel like I've gotten almost everything I've wanted so far with her.

So there's nothing I was really hoping for that didn't happen. Maybe I it would happen faster in the beginning, but then as I learned and read my reading and learned from the therapists in the hospital, like how these things are, I understood it better. I just thought she's alive, she'll be home by summer walking, she'll be back to her. So I had no idea anything in the beginning.

George (27:54)
if I had to describe it, I think it is the willingness and the fortitude to Continue and never give up when you're trying to achieve Something and looking for the best thing and the best outcome to me that that is what hope is. it's just never like Laura said, it's really just never giving up. That is what hope is. The striving for it and it has to come from within. It's not something that someone can give you. You have to have it yourself.

Rebecca Solomon (28:25)
Yeah, great conversation. Is there anything else either of you would like to add?

George (28:30)
I am hopeful that this next phase for Theresa is gonna be one that is of continued growth. And again, it's not me. I know you want to say it's me. It's everybody here at Blythedale though, everyone in the physical therapy department, all the rehab departments, they work extremely hard and their heart is in it. And you will get out with what Theresa is gonna put in it when she works hard like she is and continues to.

I have no doubt.

Rebecca Solomon (28:58)
George and Laura. This was an excellent conversation. Thank you for your time and for just opening up and sharing a little more about Theresa's journey, journey of hope. And we hope that everyone listening enjoyed the conversation.

If you have any idea for any future subjects, we'd love to hear from you. can email us podcast at blythedale.org.

So thank you so much for listening and we will see you next time.