MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Nearly two decades after suffering from a traumatic car crash, a Myrtle Beach man is finally regaining the movement he never thought he would get back.
William Jarvis was in a coma for five weeks and spent 18 months in the hospital suffering broken ribs, a crushed vertebrae, and a traumatic brain injury.
He had been unable to stand up on his own since the crash.
After a severe fall and a call to 9-1-1, Jarvis was ready to get the independence back that he had been missing for decades.
William Jarvis has been going to physical therapy on a regular basis twice a week for several months at Tideland’s Health Rehabilitation Center in Myrtle Beach.
Tideland’s Health Physical Therapist, Michelle Sine, has been working with Jarvis to regain movement that he lost from a traumatic brain injury years ago.
The two of them would walk on the treadmill and practice leg and arm exercises for strengthening.
Day by day, not only did Jarvis achieve his goal, but he exceeded it.
Sine would break down complicated tasks and movements into simple steps.
“Many patients that come to us with a neurological problem like a brain injury or a stroke, may have trouble processing multiple step commands at one time,” Sine said.
Breaking down the steps allowed her to see where Jarvis’s strengths and weaknesses were and where to put their focus for their next session and continue moving forward with progress .
With Sine’s help, Jarvis’s walking and moving was getting stronger everyday.
Jarvis and Sine both admit there were a few harder days than others.
“I think Bill has a really strong work ethic and a strong desire to keep getting better. Even as the aging process happens a lot of people will write off the fact that they can improve,” Sine said.
