And that’s a wrap! THANK YOU for joining us, supporting VIP and cheering our VIP family on! We reached our goals for this fundraiser and we are so thankful! Your donations help keep therapy costs low for our patients! THANK YOU!
 For the last day of the virtual week, we wanted to do a special highlight! Someone our patients all know very well but few may know his story and passion behind the work he does at VIP- Brian! Brian began working at VIP over 4 years ago and has been a great asset to our team. He is definitely as tough as they come and has overcome a lot to get to where he is today! We are thankful for his past experiences and the impact he is able to have on every patient at VIP. Thank you for following along with us this week and we truly hope you have been inspired! Thank you for the donations and support. We can't wait to see you all showing off your 2020TOUGH shirts in a few weeks! **Last day to order your shirt too! Click here!** Thursday Feature: Dale Dale started at VIP using a power chair as his primary mode of transportation after a staph infection resulted in an incomplete spinal cord injury. With all of his hard work and dedication at VIP, Dale is now primarily using a cane for daily activities. His progress, sense of humor, and positive attitude are an inspiration to staff and patients here at VIP. Dale motivates us to keep training sessions fun, creative and challenging as he is always up for a different challenge. He truly is as a tough as they come! Keep up the great work Dale! We are lucky to have you as part of the VIP family! Our Wednesday featured patient is Janice! Janice is as tough as they come and always comes to VIP with a smile on her face! She suffers from a spinal cord injury and even when her day is not so great, she will have a light-hearted comment to help get through it. She has made so many improvements over her time at VIP and is dedicated to working hard and continue improving! Janice and her family have actively been part of VIP for many years. They have helped with our fundraisers, frequently visit the clinic and are a great support system! They, like many of our patients and families, really exemplify the idea of the "VIP Family." It takes a great team of people - spouses, family, friends, caretakers, therapists, kinesiologists, and technicians - all working together to support and help patients reach the best of their abilities. Our Tuesday featured patient is Jeff! Jeff has been training with VIP for over 5 years after suffering from multiple strokes. He works hard at VIP every week and is known for his belief that being a stroke survivor is his superpower! He has made incredible gains with respect to his balance, functional strength, gait pattern and range of motion. Jeff leads by example and inspires all of us to train hard and never give up! Jeff is as tough as they come and inspires us all to find our own superpower to fight through life's challenges. We also featured Jeff's story, in his own words, back in 2016 and it is definitely worth a read: On December 15th 2013, life as I knew it, changed forever. It started as a normal enough day, once I got to work, I started to feel tired and sick. I thought I was coming down with the flu, right before the holidays no less. I grabbed my things, told my boss I was going home sick, and I'd be back in a few days. I then proceeded to drive 20 miles home on the freeway. To this day, I don't remember much of the drive. Once I arrived home, a quick thinking family member realized the truth --- I was having a stroke. 911 was called, EMS arrived & I was taken to Grossmont Hospital. After running a series of tests, I was admitted to the ICU. My prognosis was not good. I had lost everything, toes to nose, on my right side. I couldn't even swallow. After 7 days, I'd improved enough to be transferred to the neuro unit. After 5 days, on Christmas Day, I was sent to inpatient rehab. That started 6 weeks of intense therapy, speech, PT, OT, etc. Finally, on February 7th, I was discharged home. In a wheel chair. Months later, I would learn that I actually had 4 bilateral strokes. The cause has never been determined, despite extensive testing and numerous doctor visits. I started outpatient therapy a few days later. Three days a week, 3 hours a day. I continued to improve. I was able to trade the wheelchair for a cane and leg brace. On November 11th, 2014, I returned to work part time. I'm very lucky to have such a great employer. Fast forward, to today, I'm working about 20 hours a week and still in therapy. I'm blessed to be able to go to VIP Neuro rehab. It would have been easy to give up and focus on what I'd lost. Instead, I used what I did have left to improve. Remarkably, my cognitive skills weren't damaged -- I couldn't speak, but I was texting away in the neuro unit. It's been a battle and the improvements have at time been slow in coming. Luckily, I'm rather stubborn. A cousin told me that you don't really miss things until they're gone. How true! Learning to function as a one handed lefty has been a real challenge. So has the near constant fatigue. My outlook on life has changed dramatically. I'm more grateful than ever now. One day at a time, one step at a time. Our first "tough as they come" patient is Jeffrey! He truly exemplifies our toughness series this week. Jeffrey was born with CP and joined our VIP family several years ago. He is a driven patient who truly cares about VIP and the members of the VIP team. He is always enthusiastic and utilizes goal setting to keep himself motivated. Jeffrey has a desire to not only achieve his own goals but to inspire others to reach their goals as well. The VIP team is proud to feature Jeffrey for his determination and positive attitude! Way to go! Check out Jeffrey's video as he shares his experience with VIP! Check it out.... we have LIMITED EDITION VIP shirts available during the week of the VIRTUAL Fundraiser! Show your support for VIP and order today! CLICK HERE TO ORDER  TOMORROW starts our VIP 6th Annual Fundraiser: Virtual Edition! Check out a video from our President, David, on what you can expect to see each day this week. CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR LIMITED EDITION VIP SHIRT Please join us VIRTUALLY to support our patients who are as TOUGH as they come and see how they have been thriving through all the unexpected events of 2020! Additionally, LIMITED EDITION 2020 VIP shirts will be available during this week long event! Online ordering will open Monday, Oct 26th. Follow on vipneurorehab.org or social media, via Facebook or Instagram October 26th - 30th, 2020 
Congrats to our April - Patient Appreciation Month Winners - Julia, Andrew, Jeff and Tramaine! We are very thankful for all of our patients and miss getting to see you all. Hopefully we will be able to get back to work soon! We will update you all on our plans for May 2020 shortly.
Stay safe and healthy- David Charbonnet |
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