Sixty-eight-year-old Mary Byrnes, a retiree from Laramie, Wyoming, enjoys an active and creative lifestyle. She spends her time knitting, weaving, reading, hiking, and backpacking. Last year, she completed the West Highland Way, a 96-mile trek through Scotland. She lives with her partner, has two daughters, and shares her home with a dog and two cats.

Mary also lives with Parkinson’s disease and has struggled with right hip pain for several years. When the pain worsened, she elected to undergo a right hip replacement. Following surgery, she began searching online for a medical rehabilitation hospital and discovered Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital (NCRH) through its website. After touring NCRH with the hospital’s director of marketing and business development, she knew it was the right place for her care. “The facility is so clean and spotless,” she says.

Upon admission to NCRH, Mary was using a wheelchair and could only walk short distances with a front-wheeled walker. Her primary goal was to safely regain independence so she could return home and ultimately prepare for her next long-distance hike.

Mary worked with the hospital’s interdisciplinary healthcare team, which created an individualized treatment plan that addressed her Parkinson’s symptoms, mobility challenges, and post-surgical hip precautions. She participated in physical therapy to improve strength, gait, and transfers; occupational therapy to increase independence with activities of daily living; and speech therapy to support communication and Parkinson’s-related needs.

“The transfer over to NCRH was seamless,” Mary says. “Every staff member has added value to my healing. The therapy has been great and boosted my confidence.”

After 10 days at NCRH, Mary has achieved independence in her daily activities and now walks with only supervision. She is excited to return home and even more excited to continue training for her next adventure: hiking the Kerry Way in Ireland, a 136-mile trek she has scheduled for next September.