Brian Propp has been skating since he was a little boy growing up in Saskatchewan, Canada, and skated in many of the world’s biggest arenas over his 15 years in the NHL, but it was his skating on the 3rd floor at Magee that would propel him to recovery from a stroke last fall.
“We were tremendously scared and didn’t know what to do next,” Brian’s wife Kris says. He had been rushed to a hospital in Annapolis, MD at the time of stroke. “I was speaking to doctors back home in Philly when they said Brian would need to go to rehab. Once they mentioned Magee, I knew it was going to be OK.” Propp, who was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1979 NHL entry draft had been to Magee many times before, but those visits were all about brightening the days of patients recovering from injury or illness.
Brian arrived at Magee this time with temporary paralysis in his right arm, weakness in his right leg, and significant issues with speech and communication.
Meeting His New Team
The staff at Magee is often called “Team Magee,” and it was time for Brian to meet his new team.
“They found a way to build his interests into therapy sessions, and that was a great way to motivate him.”
Together, the team worked on strengthening and movement in Brian’s right arm and hand, coordination of his right leg, and dynamic balance. In speech therapy, they worked on improving Brian’s ability to understand and express language, which included vocalizing and writing thoughts.
The road ahead was unclear, but it was a challenge he was up for. She recalls sitting out on the patio with Brian, about two weeks into his stay here, poking his arm and asking “When is this thing going to move?” Suddenly, it did. It was at that point that things started to improve, but he still had a long way to go.
Magee therapists are always trying to get people to do things that they liked to do before their injury, and that’s when a question came to mind: How can we get Brian up on skates again?
Enter the Vector
He began using Magee’s Vector Gait & Safety System, a robotic gait training system. Patients using the Vector are safely secured in a harness that uses a robotic trolley on a conductive rail that senses the patients’ movement and follows along. It’s one of the busiest pieces of equipment used each day at Magee, and this fall, it was put to a new test.
“We had Kris bring in Brian’s rollerblades and a hockey stick. They both smiled at the idea and were excited to give it a try, and so were we.”
And skate he did! Kris recalls being on the elevator with a friend who was preparing her for the worst, telling her about long term effects of stroke. Suddenly, the elevator doors opened, and Brian went flying by on his rollerblades, with three therapists chasing behind him.
Transitioning Home
After more than a month in the hospital, Brian was anxious to go home, and Kris was anxious to have him home. But at the same time, the thought was a bit frightening.
“You are back where you were before, but things are different. There isn’t the same structure to your day. We relied on a different kind of teamwork to help each other with things, even a simple task.”
Brian looked forward to the comforts of home and his favorite spaghetti and salad. He still had a lot of work ahead of him but was happy to be home. After a few days “off,” he returned to a busy therapy schedule and continued to work on strengthening, communication and speech, and, yes, rollerblading: this time in the basement of the outpatient facility.
Moving Forward
Months later, Brian is continuing with occupational and speech therapies as an outpatient at the Magee Riverfront. His OT is helping him to get his right hand and shoulder stronger. He continues to work on speaking and reads out loud at home to practice after therapy. He walks over to Dunkin Donuts in his neighborhood several days a week and joins a group of regulars at a table, just to hang out and talk. He also has begun to talk about the warning signs of stroke with people he meets.
“You can’t just sit at home,” Brian says.
Brian hopes to start to drive again soon, has returned to work on a limited basis with Wolf Commercial Real Estate, and has been a guest coach for the Flyers Alumni hockey team for a few games. He hasn’t started skating on the ice again yet but knows he will in time.
“Every person we met at Magee, from the front desk to everyone involved in Brian’s care, made us feel comfortable and helped us to know we were not alone,” Kris says. “For that, we remain grateful to everyone on Team Magee for helping us to BELIEVE again.”