From Local 3 News: A Cleveland man, who is now at Siskin Rehabilitation Hospital where he is undergoing rehab, is getting a second chance at life.
From Local 3 News: A Cleveland man, who is now at Siskin Rehabilitation Hospital where he is undergoing rehab, is getting a second chance at life.
It is one of the biggest projects of the year for the Salvation Army. Joel Rogers was hard at work in Cleveland trying to make sure children in his community had a good Christmas.
Joel Rogers, a patient at Siskin, says on December 13, 2023, he was at work at the Salvation Army doing the Angel Tree.
“One of our biggest projects of the year. My favorite day of the year.”
But something was off. Joel didn’t feel well, but thought he was just tired because he had not had a lot of sleep lately.
Joel says, “I text my wife and said come out here I need you to get me to the E-R. Was only a two-to-three-minute drive to the hospital here in Cleveland. Thank God!”
Joel says his heart was racing when he arrived at the emergency room. The medical staff initially thought he was having a heart attack.
“I’m still screaming with pain in my lower back. Two EKG’S showed nothing. Had an X-ray.”
That X-ray raised serious concerns. Joel says an aortic root had completely torn away from his heart.
That’s when doctors called for a medical flight to Chattanooga.
Joel says, “I am blissfully unaware of the situation, but they tell my wife, they tell her you need to kiss him goodbye. We’re not 100% sure he is going to make the flight.”
But Joel says in that moment he felt peace. He arrived at the hospital and was rushed into surgery. It lasted 10 hours, he coded three times, and had serious complications.
Joel says, “You’re alive, but your kidneys may never function right again. You will probably be on dialysis for the rest of your life. Your bladder is not going to function.”
Joel was finally able to be transferred to Siskin Hospital for rehabilitation, where he had to learn to do basic things all over again like learning walk, talk, and eat.
Sara Tinter, Speech Language Pathologist at Siskin Rehabilitation Hospital says, “The muscles that protect our airways were not doing what they were supposed to do. Things could go into his windpipes. So, working on strengthening those muscles. I think his favorite part of the day was to get ice chips.”
Joel says he is getting stronger every day. Sara says the biggest things for patients like Joel is meeting them where they are.
Sara Tinter says “I would say let’s try ice chips. But also understanding this is a tough day. We don’t have to do as much today. Understanding, but encouraging.”
To learn more about Siskin’s Rehabilitation Hospital, you can visit their website.
