Mark's Story
Mark Svoboda, a 62-year old cabinetmaker and Harley Davidson enthusiast, never imagined he would end up in the hospital after enjoying a concert during Arizona Bike Week.
“I was at the Friday night concert for Bike Week at WestWorld,” Mark said. “I suddenly didn’t feel right, I got dizzy and had blurred vision.”
Mark – or Sticks, as his friends call him – thought he could drive his Harley home. But he didn’t make it far. After a short distance, Mark pulled off the highway, but was unable to get off his bike.
He was having a stroke.
He was rushed to Banner Goldfield Medical Center by a friend and eventually transferred to Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix.
“I couldn’t see, I had a little vision but it wasn’t clear,” Mark said. “I could see in the periphery. Full left sided deficits, speech deficits...I had trouble getting the words out and putting them together...I had no strength in my left arm or leg.”
Following a multiple-night stay at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, Mark chose Banner Rehabilitation Hospital East to begin his journey back to his active lifestyle.
Upon arrival at Banner East, Mark continued to struggle with the effects of his stroke, but had clear goals he wanted to accomplish through rehabilitation. He wanted to be independent again, be able to read and get back to his social life – including riding his Harley. Banner East’s physician-led rehabilitation team focused on Mark’s needs and created a customized plan of physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Mark kept his shoulder to the wheel in each of his therapies, including speech therapy where he was challenged to reduce his communication deficits. To that end, he was highly motivated to participate in and learn word-finding strategies. He enjoyed the strategies so much that he requested homework outside of his official sessions and graduated early from speech therapy to focus on improving his physical abilities.
Mark was a rock star in his other therapy sessions as well. Physical therapy activities aimed to strengthen his body, increase his endurance and bolster his activity tolerance. He worked on improving his gait and confidence walking without assistance. He relied on his walker at the beginning of his physical therapy, but with strengthening exercises, he made quick progress. He eagerly accepted the challenge of walking forward, laterally and backwards without it.
Throughout his time at Banner East, Mark was complimentary of his care team. “I don’t know if the therapists realize what they’ve done for me. They made me work and pushed me, and wanted me to get better and because of that, I wanted to get better,” Mark explained.
Mark knows he will need more time until he is back on his Harley and on the open road, but is thankful for the care and renewed sense of purpose he received at Banner East.
“I’m going to stay with family for a while until I feel more confident on my own,” he said. “This is hard, going from independent to dependent on other people … You realize a lot of the things are just not worth it. It’s the little things that are the big deal.”