Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 14 : Fall 2012 | Page 46

High Level Rehab

Close to Home
by The Aroostook Medical Center

Michael Pelletier was watching television late on the
afternoon of June 29th, just as he had done many times
since retiring from his job with the State of Maine earlier in
the year. Suddenly, a feeling of warmth rushed to his head
and his face began to tingle. Something was very wrong,
and he knew immediately what was happening: he was
having a stroke.

“I lay down on the couch, accepted the fact that this
could be it, and started praying,” he said.

He immediately called 911. An ambulance
responded and rushed him to the TAMC emergency
department, where he had a CT scan. The physician
confirmed the stroke diagnosis, and Pelletier was flown to
Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) in Bangor.

Thanks to the treatment he received from the highly
capable staff at TAMC and EMMC, Pelletier found himself
in a position where his life was no longer in danger. But in
the few short hours that had passed since his stroke, his life
had changed. He was left with blurry vision and an inability
to walk. His long path to regaining independence was just
beginning.

Pelletier was moved to the rehabilitation unit at
EMMC, where the therapy staff helped him get started on
his recovery. Progress was slow, and Pelletier began missing
home. He was facing weeks of rehab, and his wife would
either need to take time off from work or face the prospect
of being with him only on weekends. He knew there had
to be a better option for him, and when he asked about
the possibility of continuing his rehabilitation closer to
home, he received pleasan