See these doctors are so smart, they know exactly when to use the nocebo effect. Telling you you won't recover. That elicits the response of; 'I'll prove you blithering idiots wrong.'
Told he’d never walk again, Castle Rock man defies odds after stroke
Dan Leffert dedicated most of his life to traveling across the globe to places like Switzerland and Germany. He spent most of the time outside, riding his motorcycle for thousands of miles. So hearing the words “You’ll never walk again” felt like the end of the world.
He lost his mobility after having a stroke in 2016 and now 70, he has undergone countless hours of physical and occupational therapy.
With the inspiration from his grandkids and the help of a medical device, Dan is walking once again. And, like his motorcycle riding, he’s measuring his miles. Dan has a goal of walking 200 miles by the end of the year and even more the next year. He says it’s not about trying to get back to where he used to, but more about seeing where he can go from here.
“I’ve got to do 300 next year,” Dan said. “It’s not more what I had, it’s what I’m going to do.”
Everything changed on an ordinary February day in 2016. Dan was sitting next to his wife, Vicky, taking part in a homeowners association meeting in Castle Rock, speaking, when his words began to slur. Their property manager asked if he was alright and when Dan responded “No,” 911 was called.
“I was coherent, but not speaking well,” said Dan.
The initial CT scan verified Dan had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, causing bleeding in the brain. Multiple times throughout the night, he was taken in for more scans to monitor the bleeding, which eventually stopped.
Stroke is not only a leading cause of death for Americans, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also states that it’s the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the U.S.
There are two main categories of strokes according to the American Stroke Association, ischemic and hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke, which accounts for 87% of strokes, occurs when a blood vessel or artery going into the brain is obstructed.
A hemorrhagic stroke is when a blood vessel leaks or ruptures and bleeds into the brain, putting pressure on the brain, in turn, causing damage.
Dan was in the intensive care unit for six days before spending the next five weeks at Spalding Rehabilitation Center in Aurora.
He didn’t know how he could keep it up, but little did he know that one of his inspirations had been born just months earlier: Hailey, his granddaughter, who he calls his angel.
“We brought Hailey into the ICU, into rehab every single day and laid her on his belly and said, ‘This is why you have to get better,’” Vicky said.
The stroke left Dan in a wheelchair for a year and a half. He was paralyzed on the right side of the body, his dominant side. He continues to learn how to adapt everyday, oftentimes with unique products his kids find.
For some time, he struggled with insurance for his occupational and physical therapy, but his speech therapy was located at Sky Ridge Medical Center. While at speech therapy one day, the couple noticed occupational and physical therapists. They realized they wanted to be with those therapists. Vicky walked up to the receptionist and asked how she could get her husband in.
Dan soon began therapy to relearn movement and coordination skills for over two years at Sky Ridge. Typically with insurance, Dan said there were only 20 visits per year for occupational therapy and 20 visits for physical therapy, but he went 100 days a year, paying out of pocket.
He did multiple forms of therapy, including constraint therapy, aqua therapy, acupuncture, deep needle therapy and massage therapy.
“I was looking for anything,” said Dan . “Everything I did contributed to getting better.”
Then, a friend from one of his motorcycle groups came to visit one day. He told Dan about a medical device called Bioness L300 Go, which the friend’s father had used after having a stroke. After some research and learning their insurance wouldn’t cover the device, the couple met with a Bioness representative.
“It came down to, we don’t care what it costs,” Vicky said.
With one device on his thigh and two others on a knee and a hand, the devices promote recovery by activating neuromuscular pathways required for walking and movement. It’s a functional electrical stimulation system that produces mobility improvements for patients who have instability or mobility issues.
The device also has an app on the phone in which the patient can alter the intensity and an adaptive algorithm that can predict walking patterns and provide stimulation when needed to make it easier to move, according to Bioness.
Needing more intense therapy, Dan began seeing a neuromuscular massage therapist in addition to using the devices.
It was during his first year with this therapist, Dan was back on his feet. He walked a mile-long track. That distance has gradually gone up each year, reaching 120 miles in 2023.
Although the recovery has been long and frustrating at times, said Vicky, it’s also been rewarding. Their two youngest grandsons have learned how to walk alongside Dan and the walking has become easier with the help of his new puppy, Grizzly Bear.
Both Dan and Vicky want to encourage those who have had a stroke to not give up.
“You can do it,” said Vicky. “Try any and everything that’s out there because it all brings something to the table.”
