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When a rare winter tornado ripped through Ellenboro in January, it threw Byron Cole about 75 feet from his home into a field.
And as Cole’s community began the process of rebuilding his home, Cole himself began working toward healing from a broken femur, an injury he sustained during the storm.
“I had a broken right femur about an inch lower than my hip,” Cole said recently while undergoing physical therapy at OneSource Rehab in Forest City. “It was a clean break, and I had surgery so they could put a plate with screws in it to hold it.”
If the injury had been any higher, said OneSource Physical Therapist Brandi Holtsclaw, it would have required a hip replacement, and a much longer road to recovery.
Cole began his rehabilitation in mid-April, and was only 50% weight bearing to begin. Within a month, Holtsclaw said, he went from using a walker to a cane to walking unassisted.
“It’s been really easy for us in therapy, because he hasn’t had any pain,” she said. “We haven’t had anything limit us.”
Therapy began in the pool, one of Cole’s favorite activities. Holtsclaw also put him through various exercises not only to strengthen his leg but also to help him with balance. In addition to treatment at OneSource twice a week, Cole also has an at-home exercise plan to follow.
Cole said his expectations were not only met, but exceeded. He’s back to his job as a bus driver for East Rutherford High School, and his next goal is to get back to walking five miles a day.
“If he can return to his routine of walking that far every day, then I feel like I’ve done my job,” Holtsclaw said.
OneSource Rehab provides comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation services in Forest City, offering a wide variety of physical, occupational and speech therapy services. Services require a prescription from your primary care physician or specialist. For information on OneSource Rehab, visit MyRutherfordRegional.com/Rehabilitation.
