Skilled Nursing & Short-Term Therapy That Changes Lives: A Patient's Story

Life Care associates are in the business of quality care.

The services we provide, from skilled nursing to short-term therapy, are intended to help people reach their maximum levels of independence and live with comfort, confidence and peace of mind.

Because of this, patients, residents and their families often express to us how much our associates mean to them. That is feedback we strive for and cherish.

But it’s not every day that we get a heartfelt letter –– or story, really –– from a patient detailing their experience with Life Care associates and how much their service has touched their life.

The following is a letter from Tyrone Fitzpatrick, patient and resident at Rivergate Terrace, about his care experience.

A patient's story of perseverance and gratitude

I want to tell you a story. This is the story of a man and his journey while living in a nursing home. Now this story is not fictious in any way, in fact, it is 100% real and true.

On May 5, 2021, this man entered a nursing home, and when I tell you he was broken, he was literally broken down to his knees. He thought he had come to that nursing home to die, but that wasn’t God’s plan for him.

God took that angry, broken and bitter man and introduced him to a group that would show him that life was too precious to give up on.

Daily, they would come to bring him medicine, give him a shower and even have a conversation with him, even though during that time it was hard for him to speak back to them. Still, everyday they came.

After a short while, the man started feeling better. He also started to have some hope that he would get up out of that bed and walk again.

Through the unwavering efforts of the nurses, CNAs and physical therapy team, the man walked out of that room one day because he would not be defeated by his illness. The man thanked God over and over for everyone who played a role in his recovery.

But unfortunately, the man fell ill again and had to be intubated and placed in a coma, where he remained for seven days.

After returning to the nursing home, the man was nursed back to health as far as he was concerned by the most loving and caring people he had ever met.

But again, the man fell ill and had to have a track placed in his neck and a feeding tube in his stomach, and yes, the man was nursed back to health yet a third time, thanks to the caring staff at his nursing home.

Through it all he managed to gain relationships with staff and residents that will last a lifetime.

I am proud to say the nursing home is called Rivergate Terrace, and the man I’m speaking of is me, Tyrone Fitzpatrick.

I just want to say it has been a wonderful three-year journey, filled with both joy and pain. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of one of the most loving families I have ever met. I love you with all my heart, and God bless you all.

Respectfully,

Tyrone Fitzpatrick