Mitchell Moore

“Well, a week ago I couldn’t walk. That’s why I’m here at the Mesquite Rehab Institute.

It began on December 29th. I woke up in the morning, said to the wife, “Let’s go have breakfast.”

And that’s the last thing I remember.

I had a severe loss of breath, couldn’t breathe. An ambulance took me to Baylor over in Forney, and in addition to treating the shortness of breath — which I didn’t have a heart attack thank goodness — they found that I had pneumonia. And I don’t remember anything until about two weeks later. I woke up in the hospital after being bedridden for two weeks, and then another two weeks going through what they call “the rehab.” Anyway, yesterday was the end of the second week that I’ve been here. I’ve got three more days. Next Wednesday, I’ll be discharged.

Basically, I’ve had to learn how to walk again. When I got here two weeks ago, I couldn’t walk because of the loss of the muscle in my legs and my hips. I’ve lost a grand total of 78 pounds, which added to it.

If you have anything like this, similar, and you have the option, you need to come to this facility. They will work you to death four hours a day, they’re gonna feed you better than any hospital facility you’ve ever been to before, and they have the nicest people working here. They will accommodate you in any way, whether it’s a small item or a large item. I’ve never been to a facility that takes better care of their patients.

The most impressive thing that I’ve encountered was an unbelievable physical therapist named Mike. He’s a student here working here on his doctorate, I think. He’s here just for another week, and he answers every question I ask with patience. If he asks me to do a peculiar exercise that doesn’t make any sense, I ask him, “why, what does it do?” And he explains it to me. And when you’re with him, or any of the other therapists here, they make you feel like you’re the only patient that they have. They all have the same approach. They have a passion about their job.

I’m not one to say things that are not true. This is an unbelievable facility. And I would be in a lot of trouble if I had to go somewhere else to learn how to walk. ‘Cause I can walk now, with a walker. And I plan to walk out of here next Wednesday without a walker, thanks to Mike and all of the staff.”