What our patients are saying

Norine Johnson’s four daughters knew something wasn’t right with their mom when she stopped calling them daily. She had become disengaged and was napping more than normal. Shortly after Mother’s Day, Norine woke one from one of those naps dizzy and unable to even grasp a peach. Fortunately, one of her daughters was there and took her to the hospital. Norine had had a stroke.

She couldn’t speak or use her right arm or leg. After her condition stabilized, she would need inpatient rehabilitation to regain her independence and return to those activities she loved.

After touring the hospital Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Cypress, Norine’s daughters insisted she have rehabilitation there. “When we took a tour of Encompass Health Cypress, we just knew that this was the place to be—everyone was just so passionate about what they do,” one of Norine’s four daughters said. Norine’s goal was to build back the strength on her right side, so she could walk without dragging her foot, as well as performing basic activities of daily living such as dressing and self-care.

In occupational therapy, she focused in reaching and grabbing items and coordination. While in physical therapy, she performed exercises to improve strength and worked on walking with a walker. Speech therapy helped with swallowing, so she was able to once again eat solid foods. Norine was at Encompass Health Cypress for 22 days. When she left, her right foot wasn’t dragging when she walked, and she regained much of her strength on her right side. Her therapists said it was Norine’s hard work and determination that help her exceed her goals. Her daughters say it was her care team at Encompass Health Cypress that helped their mom regain her inpendence.

“Mom was able to succeed with the support system she had and with the great therapists and rehab team at Cypress. I can’t stress that enough. They always came in with a positive attitude and helped give us back our mom.”