Photo caption: Stroke survivor Linda Herbison poses outside of Providence Care Hospital, where she received rehabilitative treatment and care as an inpatient and outpatient.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, one-quarter of Canadians living with stroke are under the age of 65. It's not a statistic that 63-year-old Linda Herbison ever thought she’d be included in. Still, she says after her stroke in October 2024, instead of focusing on how her life had dramatically changed, she instead chose to focus on recovering, regaining strength and getting back home to her family.
“I wasn’t willing to accept that this was it for me,” explains Linda. “I was determined to work as hard as it took to get home.”
On October 1, 2024, Linda felt under the weather. After lying down, she felt numbness in her left arm, followed quickly by the same feeling in her leg. It didn’t take long for her and her husband to recognize the signs of a stroke and call 911.
“We knew the signs and what to look for; we’ve both taken [first aid and] CPR for years, so there was no way I was going to ignore it. My whole left side went, my arm felt like it was asleep, I couldn’t walk, and my face fell. The ambulance came very quickly.”
Linda spent 10 days at Kingston Health Sciences Centre. She was then transferred to Providence Care Hospital and stayed on Lakeview 1.
“Our front-line staff on Lakeview 1 have specialized training to work with patients recovering from stroke,” says Rehabilitative Care Manager Mark Hazell. “Patient recovery from a stroke takes an entire team meeting the patient where they are and creating an individualized care plan.”
Individualized, personalized care is precisely what Linda says she is most grateful for.
“When I had my initial assessment with my physiotherapy team, they asked me how much I wanted to do, and I asked: ‘How much can I have? I’ll take everything,’” she laughs. “They ask you about your goals, and one of mine was walking before Christmas, so they worked with me to accomplish that.”
Through physiotherapy and occupational therapy, Linda worked on regaining strength and mobility on her left side. From lifting her head, to chewing, as well as walking, Linda focused on many tasks of everyday living with her team. Her team also helped her achieve her special goal of getting up and down from sitting on the floor safely. As a grandparent to small children, making sure she could play with them the way she used to before her stroke was important to her.
“Recovery looks different for everyone, which is why it’s so important to put the patient at the centre of their care,” says Teresa Broers, Clinical Manager, Rehabilitative Services. “Patient goals are deeply personal, and that’s what makes them so powerful in a rehabilitation setting,” she goes on to explain.
“When we build care plans around what truly matters to our patients — like being able to play with their grandchildren, walk a dog, or return to work — it not only gives purpose to the therapy, but it also drives motivation and progress in a meaningful way.”
Through hard work, commitment, and dedication, Linda was home for Christmas and with care and a little bit of support, could get up and down from the floor to play. Once an outpatient, she was enrolled in Providence Care’s Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation program, which offers intensive outpatient therapy, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and social work. Once again, services in the outpatient program are tailored to the patient’s needs.
“The Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation program is designed to be a seamless next step after leaving hospital,” says Program Manager Sheryl Gibson. “It’s a program where patients have access to skilled clinicians who take an interdisciplinary approach, meaning they work closely together and share their expertise to create a personalized care plan. Each therapist builds on one another’s tailored approach to support the person’s unique goals and needs, all under one roof.”
“The staff in the program, from the reception desk to all the therapists, are very accommodating,” explains Linda. “Once I got permission to use the pool, I added pool therapy to the mix, and I went three times a week. Everyone was very helpful in coordinating my pool times to also align with my physiotherapy and occupational therapy appointments.”
The Outpatient Stroke Rehabilitation program also helped Linda work on something called left-side neglect — a condition that can happen after a brain injury, like the one caused by her stroke. It makes it difficult to notice or respond to anything on the left side, even though there’s nothing wrong with vision or hearing. In therapy, Linda spent time retraining her brain to recognize and respond to sights, sounds and sensations on her left side again, slowly rebuilding her awareness and independence.
“We played a lot of games, and one of my favourites was a big board that lit up that required you to hit buttons when you saw the light. It forced you to engage with that left side.”
After eight weeks of inpatient care and twelve weeks of outpatient care, Linda is now closer than ever to independence, hopeful to get her driver’s license reinstated in the coming months. She is walking with a cane currently, and her goals in private therapy are to build stamina and continue to focus on her balance and strength.
“I’m actually putting an album together of this whole experience because when you’re in it, it’s hard to see progress, but when I really think back to what it was like when I came to hospital, I’ve really come a far way and I’m grateful to everyone, the staff at Providence Care, my family, for their support,” she says.
“There’s a sign on the door on Lakeview 1 that says, ‘Never say never, and I’ve adopted that saying now,” she explains. “Never say never.”
You can help make recovery possible for more people like Linda. By donating to Providence Care’s fundraising arm, you’re supporting specialized therapy, life-changing equipment and personalized rehabilitation programs that help people rebuild their lives after stroke.