Glenn's story

Glenn George’s body was betraying him.

It came at the worst time. The retired deputy sheriff was working his day job, instructing a class of law enforcement recruits at the Akron University Police Academy. Three hours into class, a wave of sickness crested over him.  

He wound up vomiting once, then again, then a third time. At lunch, he told the commander he couldn’t go on. He drove home, lay down and hoped it would pass. 

It didn’t. By late afternoon, his wife, Raette, drove him to Cleveland Clinic Akron General’s emergency department. Doctors discovered scar tissue from old hernia repairs was twisting his bowel into knots and causing a severe obstruction. Several hours after he arrived, a surgeon wheeled Glenn into an operating room.

Surgeons took 11 hours to cut and repair what they could. Afterward, Glenn spent about two weeks in intensive care. The prognosis was grim. Doctors told Raette “we have done all that we can. It's up to God now.” 

A fragile recovery

 Glenn survived, but his troubles weren’t over. He received sustenance from a central line for total parenteral nutrition, a liquid formula that bypasses the gut. Waste exited his body through an ostomy, a small opening doctors had created in his abdomen that drained into a pouch. During his stay, an infection flared, and he needed more surgery. His abdomen remained open for five months.

When he left the acute hospital, he was still tethered to tubes and dressings. He moved to Select Specialty Hospital – Akron for complex care. There, doctors managed his nutrition, wounds and pain. They placed a tube for long-term feeding. Imaging showed progress. He began sipping liquids while the central line continued sustaining him.

Toward the end of his stay, Glenn could sit at the end of his bed, thanks to the work of his physical and occupational therapists, who helped him start to regain some of his ability to move by having him sit at the edge of his bed and practice transferring to a wheelchair. He could once again stand long enough to move from his bed to a wheelchair, although he still couldn’t pivot, and, through his practice at sitting and moving, his core strength had begun to improve.

After six weeks, Glenn faced the next step: inpatient rehabilitation. He wanted a program that could share his medical records and keep continuity – a facility connected to Cleveland Clinic. When the case manager said Edwin Shaw, Glenn and Raette knew it by reputation. It was a bright spot after weeks of bad news. The couple cried.

“It was the first time my wife cried in front of me,” Glenn said.

Starting over

 Glenn arrived at Edwin Shaw on a stretcher. He could manage to sit up in bed. He could stand up for a few seconds. Walking was out of the question. Bathing, dressing, toileting — all of that required help.

He felt nervous about a new hospital, but that faded fast.

“After the first day of PT, all the nervousness was gone,” he said. “I knew I would probably be able to walk out of here.”

The goal was simple: walk out the door of Edwin Shaw.

Glenn’s therapists began with parallel bars, letting him lean on his arms while his legs learned to carry his weight again. His therapists introduced a specialized walker with a padded frame that supported his upper body. Another device allowed him to practice moving from a seated to a standing position. As his strength grew, he started making the move without the device.

He worked on knee extensions, leg lifts and repeated stands with resistance bands and cuff weights. For upper body power, he used an upper-body strength machine which allows wheelchair users to pressing handles to build muscle for transfers.

Progress came in inches, then feet. He took on a standard rolling walker. Then stairs. He climbed four steps with one rail and a therapist close by.
His turning point came in a hallway.

“My ‘aha’ moment happened when I was by the café doors and being able to walk to where the hallway gets narrow and without stopping,” he said.

“Each time I made it further and further.”

By discharge, Glenn walked 150 feet with a walker and stood long enough to dress without strain.

Occupational therapy
Early sessions were humbling. Glenn needed maximum help for bathing and total help for lower body dressing. Fatigue forced breaks every few minutes.

Therapists taught pacing—sit to bathe, rest between steps, plan tasks. He practiced with adaptive tools: a reacher for pants, a sock aid for shoes. He built endurance on a recumbent stepper and an arm bike, adding time and resistance as strength returned.

He learned kitchen mobility and laundry, parking the walker, reaching safely, avoiding twists. By the end, Glenn managed bathing, dressing and using the toilet on his own.

Nurses trained Glenn and Raette for home. They taught insulin checks, wound care and feeding tube setup. They explained infection signs and how to keep lines clean. The team encouraged rest between efforts.

Glenn saw the whole picture.

“Like I have told many people already, it is a whole team,” he said. “Doctors, aides, nurses, dietitians, housekeeping, wound care team. We have never experienced anything like this ever before, and it has been a good experience.”

Home and hope

 Glenn went home with home health support: nursing for his feeding tube, wound care and physical therapy twice a week. He faced another surgery down the road. For now, he focused on walking farther and standing longer.

He looked forward to quiet things — time with Raette, their cat Cubby, and the rhythm of home. Friends and chaplains sent prayers and messages. 
“I feel like I have lived in the middle of a miracle these past 13 weeks,” she said.