Faith, family, friends aid White in stroke recovery effort

Thursday, May 31, started out as any other day for farmer Sam White. He had cattle and other chores to tend to keep his farm running smoothly. Shortly after he finished lunch, White headed to the mailbox in front of his house to retrieve his mail. On his trip back to his house, White received a phone call on his cell phone. He completed the call just before a funny feeling came over him. He only had a few steps to go to make it back into his house. He thought he could make it; he didn’t.

“I had to grab a five-foot chain-link fence to keep from falling,” White, 58, said as he recalled the events of that day in May. “I walked from the fence to the third doorstep and sat down. I started to go up to the next step, but I slipped down to the one below. That’s when I knew I really needed help.”

He called a co-worker on the farm, but he got no answer. He then called a good friend, Tom Brannon.

“He asked me if he needed to call an ambulance,” White said. “The Kinsey police arrived shortly thereafter. The chief of police saw that I needed an ambulance.”

Within 30 minutes of his first symptom, White was brought to the emergency room at Flowers Hospital. Little did he know, but he would soon be in one of the toughest battles of his life.

“The thing about it is that I never hurt,” White said. “I had no pain. I was laughing and carrying on with them in the emergency room.”

He wasn’t prepared for what he would encounter next.

“My faculties went out after I was taken to a room,” White recalled. “I lost all my strength in my right side.”

His stay in Flowers Hospital lasted until Saturday, June 4. He was transferred to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital to begin his journey to recovery.

“One day, I was going, doing everything on a farm,” White said. “Then to go to doing nothing the next day was hard.”

Despite the loss of feeling in his right side, White believed he would soon go home and return to his normal routine. Three weeks of intense therapy, led by physical therapist Dawn Richardson, brought about substantial improvement – so much so that he was discharged from HealthSouth and placed in out-patient therapy twice a week.

“What really got me the most, after a week of therapy, I was walking, although it was with a limp,” he said. “I thought I’d be going home and be my old self. That didn’t happen. I had to learn to do things by myself. The people at HealthSouth do a great job of encouraging you while you are going through the therapy. But, I must admit I did get depressed after I went home. I have a Kawasaki Mule that I use on the farm. I couldn’t get on it and go get parts and things like I had been doing before the stroke.”

White says he has confronted numerous obstacles since that fateful spring day in May. However, through his faith, family (including the HealthSouth staff) and friends, he believes his journey through the rehabilitation process will have a positive outcome. From day one, White says he knew he had the full support of the HealthSouth staff in his effort to return to the life he enjoyed prior to May 31.

“My case worker, Loretta Finley, was wonderful from the beginning,” White said as a peaceful smiled etched across his suntanned face. “She prayed with me from day one. Together, we claimed victory in Jesus. I know the Lord had my hand, when I had my stroke. When I fell, I didn’t break anything. I was at home, when it happened. He just gave me confidence in the whole situation. And, through it all, it has taught me patience.”

He readily admits, however, his patience has been tried on more than one occasion.

“It has been a matter of learning how to do things all over again,” White said as he ran his left hand over his silver beard. “But, I can’t say enough about these girls (Cassidy Carter, physical therapist; Angela Newton, occupational therapist). They have helped me get my strength. Really, this is a loving family (at HealthSouth).”

Carter and Newton have witnessed the strides White has made in his recovery. They believe his determination will help him in his fight to overcome the effects of the stroke, which came from a blood clot on the left side of his brain.

“A patient’s motivation is important,” Newton said. “We, as therapists, can want them to do it, but they have to do it. Sam has always been eager and motivated. He has always had a positive outlook.”

“The key thing right now for Sam is endurance and balance, which we’re working on,” Carter added. “The important thing is for him to be safe walking.”

“Walking on a farm is a challenge for me,” White said as he admitted he had recently taken a tumble on his farm. “You’re walking on uneven ground, unlike the flat floor you walk on here at HealthSouth. Here, you feel safe. When you get home, it isn’t the same.”

But, with God’s help and the support of his wife of 35 years, Sherry, and their daughter, Dana Daughtry, White believes he will one day return to the farming activities that he loves.

“I would like to get independent enough to do my chores on the farm,” White said. “Maybe not the heavy work. But I want to help out – to be more than a thinker and a planner. I want to be more of a doer.”

For four months, White has worked with that goal in mind. It hasn’t been easy. But, he knows where the strength to continue the fight comes from each day.

“I thank God, my family, my family at HealthSouth and my friends for the progress that has been made,” White said as he wiped tears from his eyes. “We’ve come a long way. God has really done it for me. He has strengthened my faith in him by what I’m going through. By nature, I’m a very independent person. Now, I’m dependent on other people. The Lord sent me an angel in my wife Sherry. My daughter Dana and Jimmy Brown, who helps on the farm and has been running it for me, really took the bull by the horns through all of this.

“I’m not able to get out and drive and the do the physical things I once did. But, I’m going to get back as much as is possible to get back. I just hope my story helps somebody else along the way.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Dothan will hold a Patient Reunion for all former patients and their family members Thursday, Sept. 22, at 3 p.m. Casual attire may be worn. Snacks will be served.)