Fred's Recovery Story  

Fred calls himself a “Rehabilitation Alumni”. He participated in Rehabilitation in the “old unit” and the “new unit” at the Rehabilitation Center at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC). The unit moved from the original location, open since 1971, to the new Sobrato building in late 2017. He was on the “Spinal Cord Unit” for his first stay due to a C3 incomplete spinal cord injury in 2008 and the “Brain injury Unit” for his second stay due to a stroke in 2022. Fred says he owes his life to Nancy, his wife of 44 years, since she was the one there for him during both medical emergencies. 

Fred started surfing in 1964 and surfed on a weekly basis until 2008, when he suffered the spinal cord injury while he and his wife, Nancy were on vacation in San Pancho, 30 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Fred came down with a severe bronchial infection and in the middle of the night, started having a coughing fit. He passed out from the coughing fit and when falling, struck his head against a cement divider wall. The impact compressed C3 through C7 in his neck and fractured C4 and C5, damaging his spinal cord and paralyzing him from the shoulders down. He was stabilized and transported to a local hospital, then life-flighted back to Salinas, California for surgery.

At a Salinas-area hospital, the surgeon stabilized Fred’s cervical area with two rods and eight screws. After one week of care, Fred was transferred to the Spinal Cord Unit at the Rehabilitation Center at SCVMC. At that time, he had minimal use of his left side and even less on his right side. In order to use a wheelchair, he had to propel it with his left leg, being unable to use his right side for any mobility. After four weeks of rehabilitation, Fred learned to walk again. Upon his release, he had enough strength to walk out of the facility with the use of a cane, attributing this to his Care Team, he rated the staff a “twelve out of ten”.

After a lot of hard work and dedication from Fred and his team at Rehabilitation Center at SCVMC, along with outpatient physical therapy and daily home exercises, he was able to return to the water in 2010. Fred was unable to prone surf due to the rods in his neck, so he learned to stand up paddle board (SUP) and flat-water paddle. For the next 11 years, paddling was done in the warm waters of Mexico, four to five months a year. The remaining months of the year, Fred participated in flat-water paddling four mornings every week at the Elkhorn Slough, a marine wildlife sanctuary in Moss Landing, California.

This routine lasted until March 2022, when Fred suffered a bilateral cerebellar midline stroke. This occurred at home when Nancy recognized the stroke symptoms Fred was experiencing. She called 911 and the ambulance arrived within three minutes. He was given tPA and during the following week his condition stabilized. Given a choice of rehabilitation centers, Fred requested a return to SCVMC due to his previous positive experience on the Spinal Cord Unit.  

After first arriving at SCVMC, he was dizzy often and only able to walk short distances with a walker. He used a wheelchair to get around. Fred worked on walking and balance with Physical Therapy. He needed help with dressing, showering, and transferring from his Occupational Therapist. He required Speech Therapy to improve the strength of his swallowing and his expression of ideas and wants. 

One of Fred’s favorite memories from his time spent on the Brain Injury Unit is the care and compassion of all of the staff, ranking food service workers, room attendants, therapists, and medical staff a “fifteen on a scale of ten”.  

Dr. Emily Huang, Fred’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician shared, “Our team focuses on mobility, self-care, cognitive and nutritional goals to get patients home safely from the Acute Rehabilitation Unit. Often a significant challenge is settling into life at home and continuing the momentum of improvement. My inspiration comes from patients like Fred, achieving personal goals with modifications and redefining recovery.”

Fred and Nancy are very thankful for everything the Rehabilitation team brought to his recovery. Fred really connected with all the staff and appreciated the hard work they put in to improve his condition. Nancy was impressed with the new state-of the art facility compared to the old unit and was thankful for everyone who accommodated her needs while staying with Fred.

Following his release, Fred gave up his SUP and went to an Outrigger Canoe equipped with two outriggers to make it more stable. He was also able to have a right shoulder replacement in March of 2023 that had been delayed because of the stroke. Changes have had to be made in doing some things; however, he continues with the motto; find a way to do what you want to do, it’s all up to you!”