Creating Independence and Friendships at HealthSouth Texarkana

10/21/2015

Two men, more than 30 years apart in age, formed a friendship like no other. It wasn’t a friendship created over a game of chess or over coffee at a local diner. Donnie Hill and Roland “Windy” Windham developed a relationship as patients at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Texarkana. Both men had endured a stroke and came into the inpatient rehabilitation hospital with a goal of regaining independence and getting back to the lives they had prior to stroke.

For Hill, a 34-year-old former construction worker, stroke occurred after he returned from frog gigging with his son. After waking from a nap with slurred speech and unable to move his left side, Donnie was transferred by helicopter to Wadley Regional Medical Center. He was later transferred to HealthSouth Texarkana still unable to move his limbs.

“I was confused on what my outcome would be,” said Hill. “But, the therapists worked with me one-on-one like I was the only person there.”

During his 19-day stay, not only did Hill regain lost function, but he crossed paths with Windham during special feeding time, a time where patients who are unable to digest food orally receive their nutrition through tube feeding. Windham had been admitted at a later date and had endured a double brain stem stroke after a neck surgery. 

“We kept each other laughing,” said Hill.

On July 17, HealthSouth Texarkana staff lined the hallway in celebration of Hill’s discharge. Using only a cane, Hill walked out of the hospital. Along the way, he stopped to hug and share a moment with his new-found friend Windham. Hill promised him that he would walk out of the hospital too and that he would be there to witness it.

And witness it, he did. When Windham walked out of the hospital on August 14, Hill was there cheering him on.

“I’m grateful for the support I had and knowing that everybody [at the hospital] wanted to help me get better,” said Windham.

And even though their time as patients at the hospital is over, the two men chat over the phone regularly to support each other as they continue to recover.

Source: HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Texarkana