Luis Martinez, injured by a car accident that left him in a wheelchair, is now employed by South Texas Rehabilitation Hospital, which is celebrating National Rehabilitation Week, in Brownsville. Martinez is just one of many Brownsville residents who have benefited from rehabilitative therapy.
For anyone who has suffered a serious medical setback, completing everyday tasks can be a milestone—and can make a tremendous difference to quality of life.
The SouthTexasRehabilitationHospital in Brownsville is celebrating National Rehabilitation Week, which runs this week and aims to educate the public on the benefits of rehabilitation and the capabilities of people with disabilities.
The rehabilitation hospital opened in 2005 to serve locals with rehabilitation services, such as occupational, speech and physical therapy. A press release issued by Letty Kretz, director of marketing and business development, explained that rehabilitation is a medical specialty that helps people to recover after disabling diseases or injuries.
In 2009, Luis Martinez, a father of three, was involved in an accident when a tire blew out and spun his car out of control before it flipped over 10 times in Memphis, Tenn.
Martinez was paralyzed from the waist down and received a surgery a week after being hospitalized in Memphis to help mend his broken back. Martinez spent the next four months in physical therapy at the hospital, trying to regain as much mobility as possible. Soon after, Martinez was transferred to an out-patient facility to learn how to drive again using custom controls.
Martinez, who uses a wheelchair, has since moved back to Brownsville and works as a PBX operator at the SouthTexasRehabilitationHospital, where he handles incoming calls.
Martinez said he learned about the hospital two years ago at a Sprint store while shopping when he was approached by South Texas Rehabilitation Hospital CEO Jessie Smedley. Martinez impressed Smedley with his great attitude, and she immediately offered him employment at the hospital, Martinez said. Martinez began by performing maintenance duties around the hospital — painting, inventory and working with the nurse’s station — before working in the PBX department.
Martinez is currently a student at the University of Texas at Brownsville and is pursuing a degree in psychology so he can learn to communicate and understand the needs of patients at the hospital. The care and encouragement Martinez received on behalf of rehabilitation therapists have affected him and motivated him to serve others.
Martinez hopes to obtain his degree and become a counselor at the hospital. Kretz said Martinez motivates other patients through his hard-working example. Martinez explained that paraplegics are especially susceptible to bed sores, which can very dangerous because poor circulation prevents the sores from healing quickly. Activity is vital to their health.
“People need to understand that there is life after incidents like this,” Martinez said. “It is possible through therapists who encourage patients to push themselves.”
Martinez contends that he owes much of his success to rehabilitation.
“We are lucky to have the South Texas Rehabilitation hospital here in Valley. It’s the kind of thing you don’t think about until you or a loved one need it,” Martinez said.