Amy Morse, CEO (R), presents Krisztina (L) with her certificate for exceeding expectations in meeting the challenges of overcoming her stroke.

Krisztina is a 38 year old former dentist from Falmouth who experienced a severe stroke in 2004. She was initially hospitalized at Maine Medical Center for acute care and transferred to New England Rehab for intensive inpatient rehabilitation.

Upon admission to New England Rehab, Krisztina's physical issues included left plegia and subsequent deficits in self-care, transfer and mobility. She had a difficult time at first, not only because of the reality of her disabilities, but her immediate family lives in Hungary and not able to be with her during her hardest of times. However, she was supported by her fiancé, who gave her daily strength and hope and by friends who visited her often. Her therapy team often remarked that Krisztina was a fighter and worked very hard to overcome her barriers.

Multidisciplinary inpatient rehab was instituted and Krisztina progressed gradually to being able to coordinate, direct and participate in a full array of personal care transfers. Ongoing physical, occupational and speech therapies continued through New England Rehab's outpatient department services. Now Krisztina is independently walking and driving and has re-integrated with friends and family.