Mo Dunne’s Story

Jun 25 , 2009

Mo Dunne, a Senior Vice President at National City Bank in Cincinnati, came to Drake Center following a massive stroke in 2006. She never would have guessed that a virtual reality computer game would help her get back on her feet!

I had my stroke in the middle of the night. When my alarm clock went off that morning, I got out of bed but could tell right away that something was seriously wrong-the right side of my body wouldn’t work. I dragged myself over to the phone to call a friend, and when she answered,  my words came out garbled. She rushed over to my house and called 911. The paramedics took me to the hospital, and an MRI confirmed that I’d had a stroke.

I was hospitalized for five weeks, and by the time I returned home my speech had returned to normal, but my right arm and leg were very weak. I returned to work part time in January 2007, but I still had a ways to go with my recovery. My doctors urged me to go to Drake Center for rehab therapy and to take advantage of the facility’s research programs.

I received outpatient occupational and physical therapy at Drake Center for about eight months. I was just amazed by Drake’s facilities- the equipment is really sophisticated and the staff was great, very compassionate and professional. I qualified for a research study that involved playing virtual reality computer games. The therapist would use electrodes to hook up my weak leg to the computer, and by lifting my leg I could control the game action. This helped establish new pathways in my brain so that I could walk in a more coordinated and natural way.

When I got to Drake, I was using a cane and my gait was very awkward. Now, I’m back to work full time, I can run on a treadmill and even my golf game is back to where it was before the stroke. I tell other people that Drake Center has the best rehab program available, and that we’re very lucky to have this facility here in Cincinnati.

 

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