Stanley's Story
Stanley Catoire took a momentous bite of his Burger King Whopper.
The 63-year-old savored it ― the tomato slices, the sesame seed bun, the smoky disc of ground beef crossed by grill lines. He hadn’t had a lot of unhealthy habits before his accident. Stanley usually got plenty of exercise, camping and fishing with his family and working outdoors every day, but he’d eaten plenty of Whoppers on the fly while running his own tree-cutting business near his home in Reserve, Louisiana.
Seldom, however, had a bite of Whopper tasted so good ― or meant so much.
It was the first morsel Stanley had eaten by himself in weeks. Ever since a nasty fall brought the landscaper to the brink of paralysis, he’d depended on others – his wife, nurses or sometimes his therapists at Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital (ORH) – to raise food to his lips. Now, after weeks of exercising with weights, absorbing electrical currents into his muscles and working with devices like poles with hinged graspers at the end, progress was literally at hand.
Stanley had the strength to eat his guilty pleasure his way.
“Lord,” he said, “I love that Burger King.”
Weeks earlier, Stanley had been too busy to think much about food at all. He’d been showering after work when he slipped on the wet tile floor and hit his head on the sink. The fall wrenched his neck, and his wife found him in a heap on the floor, moaning through the blood that trickled from his nose and mouth.
Stanley couldn’t move. He couldn’t feel anything in his arms and legs.
Paramedics rushed him to Ochsner Medical Center, where a doctor diagnosed him with compression of his cervical spinal cord. Stanley had a good chance of a recovery, the doctor assured him, but he needed surgery right away.
Afterward, during his four-day stay at the medical center, sensation started to return to Stanley’s feet, but he still felt very weak. He couldn’t sit up in his hospital bed. Stanley’s doctor suggested he rely on Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital. There, a physician-led team of physical and occupational therapists could help him climb the rest of the way back to his old life.
When he first arrived at ORH, his care team noted he’d lost strength in his core, so he required the use of a mechanical lift to get him into a wheelchair. He had very little use of his arms and hands, and although his legs were strong, he couldn’t feel his feet or sense where they were in space without looking at them. The lack of sensation also threw off his coordination, and it was clear standing and walking were impossible.
“Our goal is for you to walk out of this facility,” they told Stanley.
That, at first, seemed impossible to Stanley. “I couldn’t move,” he said. But he was grateful they wanted to try and he was game for anything. “Thank God for you guys,” he told them.
His physical therapist worked on his sitting balance and leg coordination first. Next, he tried standing up with the help of parallel bars or with a harness to support his body weight. After weeks of hard work, he was ready to start taking steps with a walker.
Stanley also needed people to assist him with almost every part of his day-to-day activities – dressing, using the bathroom, transferring from his wheel chair to other surfaces. And eating, of course.
Stanley’s occupational therapist focused on increasing his upper body strength. She used electronic stimulation – placing electrodes over his muscles and pulsing them with low levels of electricity – to strengthen them. The therapist also tried specialized stretching, compression and contraction techniques to give him a broader range of motion. Stanley also deployed devices and techniques to make daily rituals like getting dressed easier. He tried reachers – polls with pinchers on the end that allowed him to pick things up he couldn’t reach – elastic shoelaces and devices to pull his socks.
“They thought of everything,” he said.
Sometimes, Stanley performed the activities while standing, even when sitting might have been more comfortable. The idea was to improve his balance.
The work wasn’t always easy. “They keep you motivated,” Stanley said. “They’re very good at that.”
For nearly two months, Stanley kept at it. Improvement was steady and slow. Standing came easier. He worked with an exoskeleton, a robotic device that assisted his legs, and each day pushed a little further on his walker. Before long, he was walking 500 feet.
His date with the Whopper his wife brought him one evening was a big milestone, a return of one of the small pleasures of his old life. By the time he was ready to return home, he could dress and bathe himself with only minimal help. He’d had a catheter throughout his stay and still needed it when he returned home, where a urologist helped him eventually get rid of the device.
At home, Stanley continues to get better. He still has some weakness in his hands and upper extremities, and he’s getting outpatient therapy for that. But he’s ditched the walker. In both hospitals, he never gave up on the duties of his job – taking phone calls and answering texts in between exercises -- but now he’s returned to work sites. He’s starting to drive again and rides a three-wheeled bicycle for fun. He’s camping and fishing with his family again.
Stanley’s advice if you need therapy: “Don’t give up. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.”
As for the Whoppers … well, Stanley lost 30 pounds during his recovery. The meals he had at Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital were delicious – and healthier than what he was used to. The portions were smaller. They served fish, chicken and a more fruits and vegetables than usually find their way onto Stanley’s plate. “I was surprised they didn’t have vegetables for breakfast,” he said.
Stanley continues to eat healthier. But every once in a while, he mixes in a Whopper. As a royal treat.
After all, Stanley now can live the famous Burger King credo. He can have it his way.