JACKSON, Miss.—When Linda Lewis arrived at work one January morning last year, she complained to her co-workers of a splitting headache throbbing at the top of her head. It was a headache that wouldn’t go away for days.
“The next Tuesday, I almost blacked out in the shower, it hurt so bad,” the Clinton resident recalled.
After treatment at a local hospital, Lewis learned she had a cerebral aneurysm and would need rehabilitation to reclaim her life.
JACKSON, Miss.—Like most folks, Marshall Magee didn’t know a lot about stroke until he experienced it firsthand.
More than a year later and after countless hours of therapy at Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson, the 54 year-old president and general manager of Proteus Communications (radio stations Arrow 94.7 and WVIV 93.9) is back at his desk. But he’ll be the first to tell you, it wasn’t easy. A stroke is nothing to play around with.
JACKSON, Miss.—Heredity, poor diets and unhealthy habits combine to make stroke a major health risk in Mississippi. It is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the state. Awareness of warning signs, advances in drug treatments and comprehensive rehabilitation are essential to preventing or recovering from a stroke.
JACKSON, Miss.—Imagine football in bumper cars with the intensity cranked all the way up and you have an idea of how quadriplegics play rugby.
It’s two teams with four athletes apiece in specialized wheelchairs slamming into each other working to get a volleyball down a basketball court and across the goal line.
“It’s a lot of fun,” says Scott Davis, 38, of Ovett, a member of the Jackson Jags quad rugby team, which is sponsored by Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson.
JACKSON, Miss.—On the second floor of Methodist Rehabilitation Center near it’s Atrium Mall, Charlie Carmichael and Lucy Millsaps have been hanging paintings and drawings since 8:30 a.m. It’s now 1 p.m.
They are preparing for the 13th annual Goodwill Art Exhibit that is held each year at the Jackson hospital. A reception for the artists and the public is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 6. The art will remain on display at MRC for the public to see until June 11.
PEARL, Miss.—When Clinton Police Sgt. Creston Berch writes a traffic citation for an unbuckled safety belt or—like today—gives a speech to a room full of teenagers about driving safety, it’s not just business. It’s very personal.
Five years ago, Berch and his partner were late for a training exercise and were speeding on Interstate 20 trying to make up for lost time, he said. They weren’t wearing seat belts.
JACKSON, Miss.—Dr. Dobrivoje Stokic, director of the Center for Neuroscience and Neurological Recovery at Methodist Rehabilitation Center, was the keynote speaker at the Jackson hospital’s annual employee recognition banquet on April 17.
HATTIESBURG, Miss.—For Jamie McPherson, complete recovery from the amputation of his lower right leg meant more than walking, running and jumping again. It meant helping others through their time of need as well.
The former University of Southern Mississippi defensive end who lost his leg to an on-the-field injury, not only lives a fully active life with his artificial limb, but now works with other amputees as a Methodist Rehabilitation Center prosthetic technician. He’s now building prosthetic limbs for others.
PORT GIBSON, Miss.—When Frank Gambrell found himself suddenly confined to a wheelchair and diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1986, doctors told him to put his personal affairs in order and be ready for the worst.
Today, however, the Port Gibson resident travels to Jackson each Tuesday to volunteer his time at Methodist Rehabilitation Center and to practice with the Jackson Jags, the Jackson hospital’s wheelchair rugby team. He has gone back to Alcorn State University and earned his degree in Biology with a 3.6 grade point average.
JACKSON, Miss.—Teamwork, courage and determination was on display at Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson as current and former patients from around the state joined with staff and visitors to welcome the Jackson Bandits home after their long road trip.
A large rally complete with cheerleaders, music, banners and signs was held in the hospital’s two-story Atrium Mall on March 15.