‘I can’t thank everyone enough for everything they did to help me’
April 25, 2023
Barry Leabo was at a business conference in Las Vegas, and attended meetings all weekend. But he was not feeling well, and by Monday, he started feeling tingling and numbness in his legs. The following day, Leabo was unable to stand.
Leabo was brought to Valley Hospital, where he was found to have complications from a previous back surgery. He quickly underwent two procedures to address the issues.
The two surgeries involved surgeons removing part of the vertebral bone to help ease pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots, which is known as a laminectomy. After surgery, Leabo still showed weakness in his lower extremities and was diagnosed with a partial paralysis of his lower body (incomplete paraplegia). He was transferred to Valley Health Specialty Hospital on Nov. 9 for physical and occupational therapy.
On his first day of physical therapy, he required total assistance to get out of bed and sit up, and was unable to walk. In his occupational therapy session, he required assistance with dressing, toileting and transfers. The next day he began experiencing shortness of breath and was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. He was transferred back to Valley Hospital, where a device was surgically implanted to block clots from traveling to his lungs, what’s known as an inferior vena cava filter. He returned to Valley Health Specialty Hospital on Nov. 22 for additional therapy.
On Dec. 15, Leabo was discharged from Valley Health Specialty Hospital. At the time of discharge, he was able to get himself in and out of bed, shower, dress and walk as far as 170 feet without assistance.
Before flying back to Kansas with his wife, Leabo said, “I can’t thank everyone enough for everything they did to help me. The staff at Valley Health Specialty Hospital was amazing.”