Dean's Recovery Story

"Driving home from work, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. I wanted to pull off the road before I passed out, as I was in so much pain. But instead, I woke up a week later in the ICU at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor. I want to thank the quick response of a co-worker, who was following behind me, who called 911 after I went off the road. And my incredible surgeon, Dr. Chinmaya Shelgikar, I was able to discharge from the hospital after several emergency surgeries to Heartland Health Care Center - Canton for skilled nursing and rehabilitation. I wanted to thank both Lee, physical therapist, and Nick, occupational therapist, for everything they did for me. When I first came to Heartland after my abdominal aortic aneurysm, which I almost died from, I couldn’t even sit up in bed without help. But I did everything that they told me to do and eventually I walked out the front door and went home. It was a lot of hard work but they also made it fun. They are truly life savers! Thanks for everything." - Dean, Heartland Patient