Inside Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Ocala, a hallway is dedicated to sharing past patient stories. Staff have come to refer to it as the “Wall of Fame,” and there is a reason that Michael Polizzotti is one of the former patients featured on it.
Polizzotti is a U.S. Air Force veteran and two-time patient at the Ocala, Florida rehabilitation hospital. His care team remembers him well for his positive attitude and remarkable recovery.
“He would just brighten up the whole gym when he was there,” said Monica Edwards, director of therapy operations. “He was a motivator not just for himself but for other patients.”
A Frightening Fall
Micheal’s wife Toni remembers exactly what she was doing the day he broke his back in 2022.
“I was doing the dishes, and I heard his ladder falling,” she recalled. “I got to him, and his head was bleeding. I didn’t think he was going to make it.”
Michael suffered multiple injuries, including a head wound and multiple breaks in his back. He was taken by ambulance to the local Veteran’s hospital. Once his condition stabilized, he was referred to Encompass Health for rehabilitation.
He admits he didn’t know what to expect. “I didn’t know anything about Encompass Health when I first got here,” he said. “The staff was amazing, very encouraging.”
Entering Rehabilitation
When Michael arrived at Encompass Health Ocala, he couldn’t walk or perform everyday tasks on his own.
“He was in a lot of pain,” said Saloni Agarwal, a senior physical therapist at the rehabilitation hospital. “He had difficulty doing the simplest things like getting out of bed and going to the bathroom. When you have a spinal cord injury, it’s hard to bend, so it makes those things hard.”
Michael was determined to get better. His motivation: his wife and four dogs. “I wanted to get back to my wife and animals; that was key.”
In the inpatient rehabilitation setting, Michael received a minimum of three hours of therapy a day, five days a week, from both physical and occupational therapists. With 24/7 nursing care and frequent physician visits, he also had a hospital level of care to help him continue healing from his injuries.
Despite his pain, Michael was eager to get to therapy each day, not only to help in his recovery, but to offer encouraging words to those around him.
“Before we could even ask how his day was going, he would ask us,” Agarwal recalled. “He was always trying to be positive and was ready to work hard every day.”
After about a month at Encompass Health, Michael was able to walk out of the hospital and could once again care for himself, as well as his furry friends.
A Second Rehab Stay
Two years after his fall, Michael had to have surgery on his back. When it came to his recovery and rehabilitation, he said it was a no-brainer this time, he would be returning to Encompass Health Ocala.
“They made me feel like I was part of the family,” he said. “It’s been a great experience, it really has.”
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