Watertown, NY – A week in the hospital was never something on Bonnie Trudeau’s Christmas list, but it might be one of the best gifts she’s been given.

On Christmas Day in 2023, Bonnie was admitted to Samaritan Medical Center’s Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit to recover from a stroke she had experienced three days prior. She had already spent a few days at the Upstate Comprehensive Stroke Center in Syracuse, and she had no function in the left side of her body. She and her husband, Paul, were scared their lives would never be the same.

“We were very scared,” Bonnie recalls. “When you’ve had a stroke, it’s very emotional. You feel helpless, and you have no clue what to expect.”

Fortunately, those feelings were short-lived. Despite arriving on a holiday, Bonnie was welcomed by a compassionate team who helped her settle in, answered her questions, assessed her condition and worked with her to establish recovery goals.

“The bottom line is, they were fantastic at Samaritan,” she said. “They got me settled in and they explained what rehabilitation was all about. I had to commit to complete occupational and physical therapy. The next day, I started right up. It was just like a job.”

Inpatient rehabilitation is strenuous and requires several hours of effort per day from patients. For some, it can be too intensive. For Bonnie, a retired nurse and breast cancer survivor in her 60s, it was a challenge she would face head-on.

“Honestly, the difference was amazing from one day to the next,” Bonnie said. “I could see my progress, and the positive reinforcement from the physical therapists and occupational therapists kept me going. They were very compassionate to what I was going through psychologically at that time, but they knew how eager I was to get stronger, and they would push me.”

Bonnie’s rehabilitation was targeted to her needs. Her therapists made sure she could prepare meals, get in and out of the bathtub, blow-dry her hair — all the daily tasks that were important to her. They also checked-in regularly with her husband to see how he was doing.

After eight days, Bonnie was able to return home. She declined a walker as she left the hospital; it was important to her to walk out on her own, with no assistance, which she did. The next day, she began six weeks of twice-weekly outpatient physical therapy, which she describes as a “seamless transition” of care.

Today, Bonnie has 100% of her mobility and function restored. She enjoys traveling with her husband and their friends, visiting family members and relaxing at home in Sackets Harbor.

“I have absolutely no residual effects from the stroke. I’m very blessed.” she said. “I’ve been able to come back to my full retirement life, living it to the fullest. I am so grateful to the acute rehabilitation and outpatient therapists.”

“There is no reason to leave Jefferson County for these services. We have state-of-the-art service right here at Samaritan Medical Center. I had fantastic care.”

Learn more about Samaritan’s Rehabilitation and Therapy Services at samaritanhealth.com/rehab.