North Region: Helene Venizelos
Helene Venizelos is not only one of the nicest people you could ever meet, but she’s also one of the hardest working when it comes to her physical therapy rehab.
Helene sought physical therapy due to dislocation of total knee replacement and has been treated by our Warren Clinical Director Dr. Nick Mazzone, PT, DPT, CSCS for several weeks. Nick’s recommendation of Helen as Trinity’s very first Patient of the Month was based on her determination to regain her fully mobility and return to the hobbies and exercise routines that are such a big part of her life.
A resident of Somerville, Helen keeps herself in great shape through a variety of different equipment and classes including the stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical, TRX, Barre classes and yoga.
“The Warren clinic is clean and well-equipped and my therapist Nick is extremely professional,” says Helen. “He’s easy to talk to, cares about my progress and the personal attention has given me the confidence to get back to the classes and activities I enjoy at the gym.”
Trinity Rehab congratulates Helen on her determination and progress and looks forward to hearing more about her return to total wellness!
Central Region: Jerard Cooper
Jerard Cooper is the face of determination. He won’t let anything stand in his way. Fit, motivated and up for any challenge, his attitude is just one reason why Somerset Clinical Director Christine Carlo nominated Jerard as her Patient of the Month.
Jerard has been in physical therapy for roughly 6 weeks and is recovering from surgery that required shaving off some of his ankle bone to avoid further damaging muscles in his ankle. He has extremely high standards for himself and is working toward feeling rewarded for his efforts. Jerard says that one of the most challenging parts of his rehab was running on the ALTER G without pain.
A resident of New Brunswick, Jerard is a Longshoreman and his hobbies include anything that requires grit and stamina. He loves to run, rock climb, and play full contact football among other things.
He loves being pushed to achieve and says that his therapist has really pushed him to achieve. “Christine is like no other,” says Jerard. “She doesn’t let me quit, listens to my goals and constantly tells me why I’m doing each activity. She’s got a glowing personality that rubs off on her patients making it impossible to feel uncomfortable. I feel like I’m part of a family that genuinely cares if I get better.”
Based on Jerard’s personality, there is no doubt he will get back to where he was and surpass that, making himself even stronger than before. We look forward to hearing from Jerard about his accomplishments.
South Region: Lynn Olsen
Lynn is an incredible person with unbelievable drive and determination. A freak accident left her in a wheelchair for a significant amount of time, but that wasn’t going to stop her. Lynn learned to walk again but she still had challenges to overcome, including the complete loss of arm movement.
Fighting through tremendous pain, Lynn wasn’t able to use her arms when she began her therapy at Trinity Rehab. Being in a wheelchair due to her prior accident made her sessions more challenging, and issues with her legs presented difficulties that may have left other patients feeling defeated, but not Lynn.
She had surgery on her right shoulder, which had been frozen for almost a year. Attending physical therapy 3 times a week for 19 weeks showed her commitment to rehab and demonstrated her fortitude. Working with Will Gulli, her physical therapist and Clinical Director at our Howell clinic, Lynn regained use of her right arm.
“Will was amazing and made coming to therapy fun for me,” said Lynn. “He also helped me get in contact with an orthotics doctor that set me up with a KAFO brace for my leg. Raising my arm and getting to walk again was a double bonus reward!”
Lynn inspired the entire team at our Howell clinic, and we know that she will persevere through whatever obstacles life brings her.
