TIRR Memorial Hermann | Memorial Hermann

TIRR Memorial Hermann | Memorial Hermann
Choose your preferred language
العربية مصر
Arabic (Saudi Arabia)
Spanish (Mexico)
TIRR Memorial Hermann
Ranked No. 2 in the Nation for Medical Rehabilitation
Become a Patient
Refer a Patient
1 (800) 44-REHAB
Rehabilitation Services
TIRR Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care that address the individual needs of each patient who has experienced a life altering injury or illness.
Brain Injury Rehabilitation
Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Program
Stroke Rehabilitation
Amputee & Limb Loss Rehabilitation
Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation
Pediatric & Adolescent Rehabilitation
Cancer Rehabilitation
Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Rehabilitation
View All
Continually recognized as one of America's Best Hospitals, TIRR Memorial Hermann is a national leader in medical rehabilitation and research.
Patients & Visitors
Patients and families have the right and the responsibility to make informed decisions about their futures. Find resources to help you with your rehabilitation journey.
Health Care Professionals
Get access to continuing education and resources for medical research and rehabilitation professionals from TIRR Memorial Hermann.
The men, women and children who pass through our doors achieve things that once seemed impossible. They reach as high as they can, and then they reach just a little higher.
Clinical Care
We believe the true measure of clinical excellence goes beyond statistics and awards. It involves pushing boundaries, raising the bar and furthering the patients we treat.
See All Programs
Research
With funding of almost $30 million, we're integrating the input of physicians, nurses and therapists to guide our innovations by focusing on the needs of our patients, families and clinicians.
Education
With our teaching and academic affiliation for multiple disciplines, 75% of therapists have advanced certifications and over 50% of nurses are certified in rehabilitation nursing.
See All Courses
Advocacy
Returning people to their communities after treatment is the goal of any rehabilitation program. That’s why advocacy is an important element of what we do at TIRR Memorial Hermann.
Patient Stories
November 24, 2025
Rehabilitation After Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment: Ed's Journey from Not Walking to Rock Climbing
“This was a case of an entire multidisciplinary team coming together,” said Dr. Gutierrez. “He went from not walking at all, to hiking and rock climbing! Ed didn’t dwell on the side effects of his cancer treatment and had an excellent recovery.”
October 3, 2025
Defying the Odds: Shirley Crump's Journey to Mobility with TIRR Memorial Hermann
Shirley had no idea a hidden spinal issue would one day change her life’s course. But what could have been a permanent setback, became the start of a remarkable journey that would lead her to TIRR Memorial Hermann, where advanced rehabilitation and cutting-edge spinal technology would help her re
...
June 16, 2025
Mark's Story: Returning to a Career After Spinal Cord Injury
In May 2016, Mark Neagli fell down the stairs at his home, resulting in a C2 spinal cord injury. Today, Mark is the executive director of a foundation he helped to form, participates in clinical research projects and is enjoying life with his five children and 11 (soon to be 12) grandchildren.
...
June 3, 2025
Zayn Gets the Chance to Chase His Dreams After Life-Changing Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) Surgery for Cerebral Palsy
At 6 months of age and now home from the hospital, the twins were progressing at different rates. Zayn wasn’t sitting up or crawling like his brother Omar, who was steadily meeting his milestones. That’s when doctors diagnosed Zayn with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that
...
April 25, 2025
A New Routine, A Renewed Life: John's Recovery at TIRR Memorial Hermann After a Massive Hemorrhagic Stroke
John’s story is one of partnership, persistence and recovery made possible by a team that never gave up and a family that never stopped showing up.
April 21, 2025
From Survivor to Thriver: How TIRR Memorial Hermann Helped Dawson Reclaim Her Life After Two Strokes
Seeing Dawson now, it’s hard to believe that just a year ago, she could move nothing but her eyes. A two-time stroke survivor, Dawson credits her remarkable recovery to the life-changing care she received at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston, Texas.
March 20, 2025
April Favino Recovers from a Serious Car Accident with the Help of the Neurobehavioral Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann
A key component of April’s treatment plan was psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy or traditional counseling. Together, April and Dr. Harik were able to move April on a more positive life trajectory.
March 18, 2025
Davis Coker: A Journey of Hope and Recovery after a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
In April 2021, Davis was transported to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston to enroll in the Disorders of Consciousness Program. The Coker family chose this rehabilitation center because of its reputation for exceptional care and their positive experience with Davis’s grandfather who had been treate
...
March 18, 2025
Zion's Journey Through SDR Surgery and Rehabilitation
When Zion Walker came to the selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) program at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston at 6 years of age, he needed a walker to get around and a caregiver to shadow him at school to provide support when needed. Eighteen months later, 8-year-old Zion, who has cerebral palsy, now
...
December 31, 2024
Dustin Wood: Reclaiming His Life After Brain Injury
On Dec. 31, 2022, Dustin Wood was celebrating the impending New Year by riding his dirt bike near his home town of Fort Worth, Texas. However, when a deer ran into his path, he collided with the animal and was thrown from his bike.
September 24, 2024
A Rollerblading Dream Reclaimed: Melanie's Journey with POTS
It wasn’t until Melanie was 12, during a visit with one of her physicians, that postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) was mentioned to the family. POTS is a condition that affects blood flow and can cause dizziness, fainting and rapid heart rate, especially upon standing. Two years lat
...
August 28, 2024
Wayne's Story: "Feels" the Floor Through His Prosthetic Legs
As Wayne was healing after amputation, he could use traditional prostheses to walk short distances with forearm crutches, but osseointegration proved to be life-changing for him.
August 7, 2024
Finley's Triumph: Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Surgery
As Finley approached his teen years, he faced multiple procedures that profoundly impacted his life under the skilled care of Manish Shah, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and its Children’s Neuroscience Center. His journey through years of physica
...
July 10, 2024
Yani Jones Recovers from Near-Comatose State to Excel in Academics
Aiyana “Yani” Jones came to the Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann after autoimmune encephalitis left her in a near-comatose state. Yani had just been diagnosed with lupus; it was the summer of her junior year of college, and the disease had caused severe complicati
...
April 11, 2024
Dallas Matamoros: Graduation, Career and a New Best Friend
Dallas Matamoros was a college student at LSU when he was hit by a car, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. It was May 27, 2020, and the physicians at the acute care hospital he was taken to gave him little chance of survival. His family, unwilling to accept this fate, sought out the help of T
...
March 19, 2024
Alese's Story: Step by Step
After an automobile accident, Alese was taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where she was in a coma for two weeks due to a brain injury that resulted from the accident. Once she was medically stable, she was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann.
October 11, 2023
Zach's Story: Growing Up with Limb Loss
Zach spent time in the NICU and required several blood transfusions. Once he was able to go home with his family, he began physical and occupational therapy while still an infant. Meanwhile, his parents crisscrossed the United States from their home in California, seeking advice from over 30 diff
...
October 10, 2023
Angel's Story: Traveling and Pursuing Degrees after Spinal Cord Injury
Angel spent several months in the children’s hospital in Austin recovering from the accident. During that time, his parents researched rehabilitation hospitals and learned about Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Hermann.
September 7, 2023
Ahmed's Story: Returning to Simple Pleasures Following Stroke
About five weeks after arriving at TIRR Memorial Hermann for stroke rehabilitation, Ahmed did go home. He started outpatient therapy at Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital-Katy, which was closer to his home. Because the hospital is part of the Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Network, Ahmed w
...
July 25, 2023
Workers’ Compensation Program Helps Eric Return to his Career
For over 17 years, Eric Blumentritt has worked for a power tool service company in Deer Park, Texas. Away from his job, he is a husband, father and musician who plays with a local band. After an accident at work resulted in a traumatic brain injury, Eric went to TIRR Memorial Hermann for rehabili
...
May 17, 2023
Road to Recovery: After a Motorcycle Crash, Mathew Craft Overcame Challenges by Focusing on Finding Joy
As soon as the paramedics arrived, they called Memorial Hermann Life Flight®. The next thing he recalls is waking up in a surgical ICU bed at the Red Duke Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, one of the busiest Level I trauma centers in the nation.
May 8, 2023
Gary's Story: Traveling Following a Stroke
The entire time her husband was hospitalized, Carol Thompson kept a Hawaiian shirt hanging in his hospital room, within his eyesight to serve as a reminder of his goal – to recover from his strokes, so they could go on a Hawaiian vacation with their entire family.
April 7, 2023
Alexandra: Finding a New Career Path
In April 2021, Alexandra Chavez sustained a brain injury and was in a coma for a month. Once she was medically stable, in May 2021, Alexandra’s parents had her transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston for rehabilitation.
April 4, 2023
Stephanie's Story: Taking on the Great Outdoors after Limb Loss
For their anniversary in March 2023, Stephanie and Jared Poole traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains to hike and celebrate 18 years of marriage. Stephanie was able to have an active, outdoor vacation with the use of her prosthetic leg.
March 28, 2023
Jacob: Preparing to Return to School and Music Following Brain Injury
Fifteen-year-old Jacob Velez loves all types of music, from jazz, to classical, to rap. He is a member of his high school marching band in Brownsville, Texas, where he plays the trombone. When he had a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) that ruptured, his TIRR Memorial Hermann team worked tog
...
March 1, 2023
Limb Replacement Through Osseointegration (OI) Gives Persons with Amputations Control of Their Lives
For patients who face amputations, the road to recovery is a long one, filled with physical, emotional and social challenges. For those who undergo bilateral transfemoral amputations, the impact of limb loss is amplified. Alex Weatherford was an early OI patient and the first bilateral amputee fo
...
February 21, 2023
A Full Life: Robert Vaughn Has Been a TIRR Memorial Hermann Patient for Over 60 Years
Robert spent a total of nine months at TIRR Memorial Hermann and had physical and occupational therapy every day. In addition, TIRR Memorial Hermann provided Robert with an opportunity for education, and he later returned there as an employee.
November 22, 2022
Sierra Tobia: From Brain Injury Patient to Nurse
When Sierra Tobia takes care of her patients at TIRR Memorial Hermann, she does so with a unique perspective. She first came to TIRR Memorial Hermann as a patient in 2014, and, today as a nurse at TIRR Memorial Hermann, she has first-hand knowledge and understanding of her patients’ journeys.
October 31, 2022
Beating the Odds
Dana Cherry always knew there was a good chance she would get breast cancer. When she was 25, she discovered that she had a gene mutation associated with a 50% chance of developing breast cancer by age 70.
October 11, 2022
Dr. Oliver’s Aneurysm
When Tina Oliver had a sudden, severe headache, she knew she needed to get help fast.
September 13, 2022
Justin Gordy: Returning to the Outdoors
“I began rehabilitation thinking I would not be able to do anything again, but that wasn’t true,” said Justin. “It’s about learning how to work through your limitations and find other ways to accomplish your goals.”
September 12, 2022
Kayla’s Story: Overcoming Health Challenges and a High-Risk Pregnancy
Kayla’s pregnancy was considered high risk because she had several pre-existing medical conditions including gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and lupus, an inflammatory autoimmune disorder. Since she
had gastric sleeve surgery, that also elevated h
...
September 9, 2022
Defying the odds: Carlos’ story of courage, hope and resilience
Carlos’ intraventricular hemorrhage (neonatal brain bleed) led to scarring in his brain from being born prematurely. The severe scarring and lack of blood flow to his brain tissue contributed to periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a softening of the white brain tissue near the fluid-f
...
May 18, 2022
Michelle's Story: Back to the Classroom
After sustaining an unlikely injury from a fall, Michelle learned that she had osteoporosis at 47. At Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital - Katy, she received the rehabilitation she needed to get back to teaching.
May 3, 2022
Brandon's Story: Playing Music Once Again
Shortly following a surgery, Brandon had several acute strokes. Although he survived, he lost his ability to walk, speak and, most importantly, to sing. But with the love of his wife and help from the specialists at TIRR Memorial Hermann, Brandon has found his voice again and is sharing it on sta
...
April 22, 2022
Joleigh's Story: Regaining Mobility after Guillain-Barré
One-year-old Joleigh Babineaux went from running around and playing with her sister to being lethargic and no longer walking independently within a few short weeks. A diagnosis of Guillain-Barré led to customized treatment at TIRR Memorial Hermann.
April 21, 2022
Josetta’s Story: Cheering on Her Team after Stroke
“Josetta could not sit without falling over when she first came to inpatient rehabilitation, let alone stand, but she worked tirelessly to improve,” said Anne Gwinn, her inpatient physical therapist.
April 6, 2022
Brook's Story: Returning to School after Limb Loss
When Brook arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann, the first thing we did was address the phantom pain she was experiencing, as well as her grief over losing a limb from a shark bite.
March 3, 2022
Kristin's Story: Sharing Her Journey
Kristin Abello knows that it takes commitment and perseverance to reach her goals. In 2002, she was training for a marathon near her home in Sugar Land, Texas, when she was hit by a car and suffered a severe brain injury. Her journey back to health was long, and she documented her experience in a
...
February 28, 2022
Sandra's Story: Working Toward Personal Goals
Sandra Mora has had a series of personal goals she has been working towards as a patient at TIRR Memorial Hermann. She wanted to stand as a bridesmaid at a friend’s wedding as well as help her daughter prepare for her modeling jobs. Finally, she wanted to take her kids to Disney World. She has ch
...
February 7, 2022
Hector's Story: Benefits from Paired Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Therapy
After suffering a stroke in August 2017, Hector Alvarez started physical therapy at TIRR Memorial Hermann-The Woodlands Outpatient Rehabilitation.
December 29, 2021
Brad's Story: Helping a Hero
As a detective with the Missouri City Police Department, Brad Tippit must be able to do all the physical activities that are an integral part of his job. However, after contracting COVID-19, he could not even walk.
October 19, 2021
Carrie's Story: Baking Her Cake and Eating it Too
Wife, mom of two young daughters, and financial controller for a Fortune 100 company, Carrie Jobe is a self-proclaimed ‘working momma and boss lady.’ When a series of fainting spells led to a benign brain tumor diagnosis, she didn’t intend to let it slow her down for too long.
October 19, 2021
Linda Norah-Davis: Patient and Research Participant
Linda says she found a new passion when she began participating in research at TIRR Memorial Hermann – she understands how these studies are beneficial for patients.
October 12, 2021
Lucky to Have Him: A Testimony from the Family of Jack Rieger
Jack Rieger suffered a severe fall causing numerous injuries. After 9 months in UCLA intensive care, Jack was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann. From the therapy and education provided by the Disorders of Consciousness program, he was able to return safely home.
October 12, 2021
Never Give Up: A Testimony from the Family of Nolan Whisenant
Nolan had just graduated high school in 2016 when he was involved in a rollover auto accident. He was ejected from the vehicle and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Nolan had an all-star, rock-star-level health care team at TIRR Memorial Hermann. Dr. Sunil Kothari, TIRR Memorial Hermann D
...
October 7, 2021
Susan's Story: Moving Forward after Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Susan received care as an inpatient at TIRR Memorial Hermann on two separate occasions and as a TIRR Memorial Hermann outpatient. Her large care team worked closely together to ensure continuity of her rehabilitation.
October 4, 2021
A Testimony from the Family of Eric Smith
While in the hospital in Washington, Eric’s neurologist suggested that the family look into the Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston. Two weeks post discharge in May of 2018, Eric and Cheryl boarded a plane and traveled to Houston.
October 1, 2021
Teen Who Survived being Ejected from Single Car Motor Vehicle Collision Returns to School
Late last year, Sam Mills was living the carefree life of a teenager. However, the day after Christmas in 2020, the 17-year old’s life changed instantly, when he lost control of his car while heading home from work in Katy, Texas.
September 9, 2021
Abbi's Story: Dancing After Spinal Cord Injury
When Abbi first arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann, she had mild weakness in her legs, patchy sensation in her legs, painful numbness and tingling in her legs, and difficulty with maintaining her blood pressure when sitting and standing because of her spinal cord injury from her tumor.
September 9, 2021
Myford's Story: Creating Success after Spinal Cord Injury
Myford Collins set numerous track and field records in junior high and high school and was a Texas All-Star, an All-American and an Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics champion headed for the Olympics. Then, as an 18-year-old freshman in Irving, Texas, his life changed when a drunk driver ran
...
May 11, 2021
Major's Story: Young Stroke Patient Returns to Family, Friends and Fun
Major Hudlin is a vibrant, active 7-year-old boy who loves to make TikTok videos and play outside with his siblings. So when his grandmother picked him up from daycare one day and realized that he was not lifting his right arm or moving the fingers on that hand, she became alarmed.
March 25, 2021
Faizbano Rayani: Back at Work After Auto Accident
After the jaws of life extracted Faizbano from her vehicle, an ambulance took her to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital. She had a cut on her head and had fractured several vertebrae in her back. As an employee of Memorial Hermann, she knew she was in good hands.
February 19, 2021
Corey Nowlin: Learning to Communicate
In April 2020, Corey Nowlin suffered a severe head injury. Today, thanks to the TIRR Memorial Hermann’s Disorders of Consciousness program, he’s able to communicate again.
February 9, 2021
Anthony: Working Hard In and Out of the Classroom
When the final bell of the day rang, 18-year-old Anthony Velasquez walked out of his high school just as he had on every other day. It was October 2019, and he was one of a group of teens crossing the street adjacent to his school when a car unexpectedly drove around a school bus and hit Anthony.
...
February 9, 2021
Emily Claire: Back on the Slopes
Emily Claire Jackson Sanders has been skiing since she was old enough to walk. Her father enjoys taking his wife and three daughters to Steamboat Springs, CO to ski during the winter months. So it was unusual when 20-year-old Emily did not come down the mountain one evening while skiing with her
...
December 28, 2020
Grant Lashley's Long Road Back from COVID-19
Emergency medicine physician Grant Lashley, MD, is among the many healthcare professionals who contracted COVID-19 while treating patients during the United States’ first wave of virus cases in April 2020. While working the night shift in the emergency department at Abbeville General Hospit
...
May 1, 2020
Phil Eaton: Road to Recovery
In March 2020, high school principal Phil Eaton was admitted to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center with pneumonia. A short time later, he was diagnosed with COVID-19. His condition became serious, and he spent 21 days on a ventilator. After being discharged from acute care, Phil was ex
...
April 16, 2020
Cathy's Story: Stroke Rehabilitation
After having a stroke and being rushed into surgery to remove a large portion of her skull to allow for brain swelling, Cathy was accepted into TIRR Memorial Hermann for rehabilitation.
September 30, 2019
Jaclyn Pellicotte: Small Steps Toward Her Goals
When Jaclyn was admitted to the TIRR Memorial Hermann Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Program, she was not responding to any commands. But the first thing the therapist said when she arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann was, ‘we’re going to get her up.’ At that point Jaclyn had bee
...
January 31, 2019
Quieting a Traumatic Cardiac Storm
The team rushed Oscar to the heart catheterization lab to clear the blockages in the stent. But scar tissue from the heart attack had begun to form on his heart and he developed life-threatening arrhythmias called a ventricular tachycardia storm, basically, a severe electrical storm in his hea
...
August 10, 2018
River Rasmussen: A Family Finds Hope
After an automobile accident left him bedridden and unresponsive, River's sister found hope for him with the TIRR Memorial Hermann Disorders of Consciousness Rehabilitation Program.
August 8, 2017
Anthony Vallone: Without Stopping
After a devastating automobile accident that nearly took his life, Anthony Vallone is back at work at Shell Trading with barely a limp, thanks to his strength of character, a supportive family and the orthopedic trauma team at the Memorial Hermann Red Duke Trauma Institute. “I have nothing
...
August 8, 2017
Dylan Pugh: In the Best Hands
Dylan Pugh remembers working that day, coming home and going out again to meet friends. On the drive home later that night, he swerved to avoid an oncoming car and his one-ton Chevy Silverado Duramax left the road, hit a ditch, went airborne and slammed into a tree. The crash occurred on Sept. 29
...
July 19, 2017
On Making the Breast Cancer Treatment Decision: A Personal Story
Leigh Rozelle found the lump purely by accident, just three days before Christmas. As she crossed her arms, she felt a golf ball-size knot on the outer side of her left breast. My family practitioner was able to squeeze me into her schedule the very next day,” says Rozelle, who is 38. “When she e
...
July 13, 2017
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: On the Road to Recovery
The Mischer Neuroscience Institute took the national stage when U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was transferred to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center’s Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit on Friday, Jan. 21, 2011 after she was shot in the head. The Arizona congresswoman was shot at pointblank
...
August 22, 2016
Jacob Smith: Your Attitude Defines Your Future
Jacob Smith was returning home with other students at his high school, after attending a leadership conference in Corpus Christi for members of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). The last thing he remembers was buying snacks when the four-car caravan of students and teachers
...
August 22, 2016
Tato Stanley Makes a Statistically Improbable Recovery
At the end of a family vacation in Snowmass, Colorado, 17-year-old Clay “Tato” Stanley was seriously injured in a snowboarding accident. “They were doing jumps, and Tato lost control on the landing and was immediately paralyzed,” Tato’s mother, Alice Stanley says. Ta
...
August 22, 2016
Evelyn Suber: Like Family
In July 2013, Evelyn Suber was hospitalized for dehydration – the result of a serious viral infection. At some point during the two weeks she was ill, she noticed numbness in her legs. A month later, when the numbness persisted, neurologist Suresh Roongta, MD, admitted her to Memorial Hermann Gre
...
October 15, 2015
For Scott Carriker, Form Follows Function
Scott Carriker was in a bucket truck, changing out an electric utility circuit pole, when he grabbed the wrong wire and suffered an electrical injury that badly burned both his hands. He was admitted to the hospital’s John S. Dunn Burn Center and underwent eight surgeries in 10 days, the la
...
September 23, 2015
Therapy Gives Natalie Fraker Strength and a Boost of Confidence
A couple of months shy of her fourth birthday, Natalie Fraker’s voice grew a little hoarse. An endoscopic examination by an otolaryngologist revealed a partially paralyzed vocal cord. On biopsy, it was identified as a grade II astrocytoma, a tumor that arises from the star-shaped cells that
...
September 22, 2015
Mikayla Williams Makes a 180-Degree Turn
Easter Sunday in April 2014, out of the blue, Mikayla Williams had a seizure – a dramatic occurrence for an otherwise healthy 12-year-old girl. A CT scan and blood tests done at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital produced inconclusive results, and Mikayla was sent home with an anti-
...
September 22, 2015
James Durham's Story
James Durham was on his motorcycle headed home after an employee dinner. “I was about two miles from home. A woman was stopped at a traffic light but didn’t have her blinker on so it seemed that she was trying to make a U-turn,” says Durham. “When she pulled away from the
...
September 22, 2015
Samantha Shines On
When Samantha Shine came to TIRR Memorial Hermann Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation at the Kirby Glen Center, the 3-year-old was still eating puréed food – very slowly – and was underweight for her age. Six months later, she eats breakfast, lunch and dinner with her family an
...
September 1, 2015
Eileen Guerinot Bogar Returns to Her Life as an Attorney and Single Mom
Eileen Bogar’s recovery was not at all what her acute care physicians predicted. After suffering a severe bilateral brainstem stroke in mid-December 2012, she was tucked away in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Houston for five weeks. She was on a ventilator for the first two weeks
...
August 31, 2015
Jason Roy: From Zero to a Hundred
As a child, Jason Roy wanted to be a baseball player or a police officer. He initially gravitated towards sports, but then shifted gears and joined the Houston Police Department as an officer. Roy, by then a five-year veteran of the department, flipped his squad car several times during a high-sp
...
August 31, 2015
Daquan Minor: The Determination to Win
Eighteen-year-old Daquan Minor, who suffered a fractured skull and a T-6 incomplete spinal cord injury in an auto accident in February 2013. Two years later, he was a key contributor to the 2015 TIRR Memorial Hermann junior Hotwheels win of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Nationa
...
December 31, 2014
John Keller: Miracle in Progress
When 33-year-old John Keller was first admitted to TIRR Memorial Hermann on March 26, 2008, he was in a vegetative state. On impact, Keller suffered a fractured skull and pelvis and an intracranial hemorrhage resulting in a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nine days later, he was transferred
...
October 24, 2014
Rehabilitation for Dysautonomia: TIRR Memorial Hermann and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Collaborate to Treat a Complex Genetic Disorder
Eighteen-year-old Justin Lamb is one of many patients to benefit from a unique collaboration between TIRR Memorial Hermann and the pediatric neurology and pediatric cardiology services at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Working together, the two institutions have developed a program t
...
October 24, 2014
Braxton Taylor: From Total Assist to Independence
When 20-year-old Braxton Taylor arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann in August 2013, he was unable to walk, transfer, eat or manage other activities of daily living without total assistance. When he was discharged on Halloween, he could walk with assistance and was independent in most aspects of dail
...
October 22, 2014
Cory Smith Rises to the Challenge
In May 2012, Cory Smith, a straight-A student and star basketball player at Clear Springs High School in Houston, suffered a severe intracranial empyema, an infection that arises most commonly as a complication of sinusitis or otitis, particularly in males in later childhood, adolescence or early
...
October 22, 2014
Wes Brown: Back on the Road Again
Wes Brown was hauling a load of saltwater from an oilfield in East Texas to a nearby disposal site when the tires on the rear axle of his 18-wheeler hit a pothole and bounced onto the shoulder of the road. As he tried to center his trailer, the steer tire on the passenger side hit another pothole
...
September 22, 2014
The Berry Family Story: Three Kids Inspire a City
In July 2011, three young siblings lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the way home from summer vacation in Colorado. The Berry family was traveling back to Houston when their vehicle was struck head-on by an SUV that had veered into their lane. The two brothers, Peter and Aaron, who w
...
September 15, 2014
Three Years After the Accident, the Berry Siblings Return to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital
In July 2011, three young siblings lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the way home from summer vacation. The Berry family was traveling back to Houston when their vehicle was struck head-on by an SUV. The two brothers, Peter and Aaron, sustained serious spinal cord injuries that paral
...
June 12, 2014
Meena Outlaw: Spinal Cord Injury and Pregnancy
Meena Dhanjal Outlaw was injured on January 23, 2000, after she stepped onto the balcony of her newly built home and was locked out of her house. Concerned about the safety of her 3-week-old son, Miles, and 3-year-old daughter, Jasmine, she attempted to climb down from the balcony. She ended up f
...
June 12, 2014
Angela Wrigglesworth: Spinal Muscular Atrophy
At 16 months of age, Angela Wrigglesworth was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive motor neuron disease that causes weakness in the arms, legs and torso. This prevented her from walking and she began using a wheelchair at the age of 5 years. She was admitted to the TIRR Memorial
...
June 12, 2014
Joseph Huerta: Recovery After a Skiing Accident
Joseph Huerta and his siblings took off for a skiing trip. As he skied down the hill, Joseph lost his balance and went over a 15-foot cliff hitting his head on a tree. After being rushed to the hospital, going through surgery and being in a coma for 12 days, Joseph beat the odds and regained cons
...
June 11, 2014
Saleh Alzahrani: Rehabilitation After Cancer
Saleh Alzahrani was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 12. He underwent a successful surgery to remove a brain stem tumor and then went back to his daily life. At the age of 25, Alzahrani learned that his cancer had returned and another operation was required to remove a tumor, which was located
...
April 2, 2014
Julie Batsche: Decades of Quality Care for MS
When Julie Batsche was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by Jerry S. Wolinsky, MD, she was fresh out of college. Much has changed since her original diagnosis in 1984, yet one thing has remained a constant in Batsche’s life – her deep respect and admiration
...
January 27, 2014
Jared Dunten: Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
While on a camping trip in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park, Jared Dunten dove into the Rio Grande with a bar of soap to clean himself up – and hit a sandbar. He woke up in an intensive care unit in Lubbock, Texas, paralyzed from the neck down and breathing with the help of a ventil
...
January 13, 2014
Barry Oakes Recovers From Stroke
In September 2010, 49-year-old Barry Oakes collapsed in his home while walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night. An EMS team rushed him to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed a massive ischemic stroke and administered tPA. The stroke left him with a large basilar artery thrombosis in
...
December 11, 2013
Jim Hyndman: No Guts, No Glory
By the time Jim Hyndman was diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2009, he was unable to walk and suffering intense, painful lower extremity muscle spasms. Today, he stands upright using a walking stick decorated with medallions from his travels. He credits the transform
...
September 12, 2013
Chance Bothe Survives Near-Deadly Texting and Driving Accident
In the middle of sending a text, Chance Bothe drove off of a cliff and sustained serious injuries. After spending time in an ICU, he was sent to TIRR Memorial Hermann for rehabilitation where he recovered tremendously. "They would get him outside, and he would play basketball. We would go out and
...
August 6, 2013
Oscar Rangel: Guillain-Barré Therapy
Leaving work one day, Oscar noticed his vision was strained in one eye. Over the next few days, Oscar lost vision in one eye and the ability to swallow and stand. He was admitted to a hospital and diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, a rare nervous system disorder that results from nerve damage
...
August 6, 2013
Don Mathews' Recovery From Brain Damage
Don Mathews' inspiring story begins on the night of his 21st birthday party in September 1998. A successful student at Sam Houston State University, Don was celebrating with some of his college friends at a lake house on Lake Livingston. Don and his date were on their way to their vehicle, comple
...
August 6, 2013
Laura Snell: Recovering from Leg Amputation
In October 2000, nine days after her second baby was born, Laura Snell became very ill. Doctors at a Houston emergency center diagnosed a urinary tract infection and treated and released her. As she walked to the car, she collapsed. Laura went into septic shock and lapsed into a coma for several
...
May 7, 2013
A Young Boy Benefits From Rehabilitation Following Treatment for Glioblastoma Multiforme
In February 2008, Tina Bailey scheduled an office visit with her son’s pediatrician when he developed croup and a bad cough. While at the doctor’s office, 22-month-old Scottie exhibited right hand curling and right shoulder drop. Bailey’s pediatrician ordered an MRI, which revea
...
April 10, 2013
Gabrielle Giffords' Extraordinary Journey
On January 21, 2011, United States Representative Gabrielle Giffords was transferred from the University of Arizona Medical Center to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center’s Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. Rep. Giffords’ physician team upgraded her condition from serious to good fou
...
April 9, 2013
Successful Therapy to Help Patient Regain Use of Arm and Leg Following Stroke
When Malone was stabilized, she was transferred to the hospital’s 23-bed inpatient neurorehabilitation unit for comprehensive care and an aggressive program of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech/language pathology. Mischer Neurorehabilitation's multidisciplinary team –
...
March 26, 2013
Moya's Story: Cerebral Palsy
As an infant, Moya was diagnosed with a global developmental delay and, as a toddler, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She was delayed in movements and milestones that a toddler normally accomplishes, such as sitting up, standing and saying a few clear words. Moya had received therapy befor
...
March 26, 2013
Curran: Language Delay
In November 2008, 2-year-old Curran started treatment for a language delay. When he started treatment, he was nonverbal and communicated only by using hand gestures and vocalizations. The speech-language pathologist suggested Curran’s family encourage English as his primary language, and after pr
...
March 26, 2013
Brittany's Story: Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury
In November 2008, Brittany and her family were moving from College Station to Katy when they had an accident on a two-lane road. Brittany, 11, hit the roof of the van and sustained a T5 spinal cord injury, several broken bones, a collapsed lung and other internal injuries. She was rushed to Memor
...
March 26, 2013
Alyssa: Severe Seizures
After episodes of shaking and seizures, Alyssa, age 8, was diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2007. Alyssa’s medications were not working; she was forgetting everyday things, even the alphabet. A dancer, she was not able to remember dance steps she had learned, forgot dances she used to perform a
...
March 25, 2013
Dan Hammers: Infertility in SCI
In June 2012, Dan Hammers marked the 20th anniversary of an accident that changed his life. At the age of 19, he dove off a 10-foot building into a pool containing 4 feet of water. Hammers, who is a C4 quadriplegic, considers himself better off for the experience. In 2009, after seven years of ma
...
February 5, 2013
Kara Beatty: Recovery from Neurotrauma
Kara Beatty was on her way to summer school at a community college when a truck ran a red light and T-boned her car. She lost consciousness, and emergency responders had to use the “jaws of life” to free her from the wreckage. She remained in a coma for three days in the Neurotrauma ICU, with a m
...
February 4, 2013
Logan Schaefer: Teenager Recovering From Traumatic Brain Injury
On July 12, 2010, 14-year-old Logan Schaefer had a wakeboarding accident that left him unconscious, unresponsive and seizing following a traumatic brain injury. After an emergency craniotomy to relieve pressure on the brain caused by a subdural hematoma, the following day Logan awakened just long
...
January 29, 2013
Roberta Reclaims Her Independence with Rehabilitation
While Roberta was enjoying time on her daughter’s porch in Sealy, Texas, her family became concerned that she did not look well. She had been having some headaches, but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. On September 21, after getting what her family described as a “glazed and f
...
January 10, 2013
McKenzy Winne: Traumatic Brain Injury
On September 15, 2007, McKenzy Winne was riding with two friends on the tailgate of a pickup truck. Suddenly and without warning, McKenzy was thrown from the tailgate. She tried to stand up, then collapsed in the street. After being flown to the Red Duke Trauma Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas
...
December 23, 2012
After Being Paralyzed During an NFL Game, Kevin Everett is Standing Tall
When Buffalo Bills’ football player Kevin Everett arrived at TIRR Memorial Hermann in September 2007 after suffering spinal cord injury on the field, he was paralyzed from the neck down. After months of aggressive therapy led by a group of physicians, physical therapists and occupational th
...
December 23, 2012
Lexie's Story: Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury
Eleven-year-old Lexie Bolds was having fun visiting a friend in Jasper, Texas, when she was involved in an accident that left her with a broken neck and arm. She injured vertebrae C2-C4 and injured her spinal cord at C4. Rushed to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center by Life Flight® helicopt
...
TIRR Memorial Hermann Journal
Read the quarterly journal, which features the latest research findings and news and spotlights new developments, publications and speaking engagements from our clinicians and researchers.