the BRAIN - Shepherd Center

“Shepherd brought her
back from the dead.
Had God not led us
to Shepherd, Lauren
wouldn’t have gotten well.”
—Donna Rushen, mother of
patient Lauren Rushen
“Initially, only a few insurance companies agreed to pay for this level
of care. In time, many insurance companies began to see the benefits
with fewer rehospitalizations down the road.”
And Shepherd’s SHARE Initiative, which began in early 2008,
provides additional care to U.S. soldiers who sustain brain and/or
spinal cord injuries while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. SHARE is a
partnership between Shepherd, the military’s healthcare services provider
and Atlanta philanthropist Bernie Marcus, whose gift started the
program. SHARE funds cover needs and services outside the scope of
benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Humana
Military Healthcare Services. Examples include personal support
services, transportation, housing for family members, groceries and
Shepherd’s Beyond Therapy activity-based therapy program.
Photo by Eric Schultz
Above: After more than a year since her
stroke, Lauren Rushen is working part
time and living with her family, enjoying
their horses, dogs and pond that sit on
the family's 40-acre farm southwest
of Huntsville. Her mother, Donna,
thanks God that Lauren came to
Shepherd for rehabilitation.
Young Stroke Program
Fortunately for Lauren Rushen, 25, of Hartselle, Ala., Shepherd Center
has a subspecialty program designed specifically for patients like her.
On Sept. 17, 2008, Lauren got a bad headache – or toothache, she
thought. She couldn’t specify exactly where the pain originated. But it
was bad. And the timing for it was bad, too. Lauren, a case manager at
the North Central Alabama Mental Retardation Authority in Decatur,
Ala., was preparing for a visit the next day by Medicaid reviewers, who
routinely examine the agency’s files.
“I woke up Sept. 18 and couldn’t go to work,” Lauren recalls. “And on
that day, it was a big deal. I had gone to the dentist the day before, and
he thought maybe I needed a root canal, and he gave me some penicillin
and Percocet. Then on this day, I got up and went to the chiropractor,
thinking it might be TMJ (a jaw condition that causes pain).
“I went to my mom’s house, and she was sick with a stomach virus, and
we were both kind of reclining, her on the couch, me on a chair. I tried to
get up and slid into the floor as my left side just collapsed. I couldn’t get
up. My mom called 911, which we all thought was an overreaction.”
But Lauren’s mom, Donna Rushen, wasn’t overreacting.
Lauren had experienced a stroke that was severe enough for doctors
in Huntsville, Ala., to put her in an induced paralytic state for 12 days
and perform a craniotomy to help relieve the swelling of her brain.
Initially, doctors were unable to offer the Rushen family any hope for
Lauren’s recovery.
But now, a year later, Lauren is home, working part time and living
with her family, enjoying their horses, swimming pool and pond that
sit on their 40-acre farm southwest of Huntsville. Mom and daughter
bicker a bit at one another: “She calls me Attila,” Donna says. But it’s
good-natured ribbing – born from relief and fed by the reality that
they came close to losing one another. Recalling Lauren’s initial prognosis
still brings tears to Donna’s eyes.
“When we left Huntsville for Shepherd Center, I had no idea she’d
be like she is now,” Donna recalls as she makes iced tea in her kitchen.
“We’d never heard of Shepherd, but while we were at the hospital in
Huntsville, we heard from nurses who told us, ‘Don’t go anywhere but
Shepherd.’ God took us there. I’m sure of that.”
6 Spinal Column w w w. s h e p h e r d . o r g