Seventy-four-year-old Cathy Lacy from Great Valley, NY, has devoted her life caring for others. As the primary caregiver for her son, Eric, who is a quadriplegic due to multiple sclerosis, and her husband, who has multiple health problems, Cathy’s days are filled with love, devotion, and hard work. What was to come, she would have never imagined—needing care herself.

 

While tending to Eric, Cathy tripped over a sheet and fell hard, hitting her shoulder against the ground. At first, she brushed off the pain, determined to carry on as she always had. However, after tripping and falling a second time, the continued discomfort lingered, she sought the advice of her primary care doctor, Dr. Arun Patel at the Olean Medical Group. After a series of tests, Cathy received news she wasn’t prepared for—she had suffered a torn rotator cuff and fractured humerus.

 

Dr. Patel strongly encouraged her to consult an orthopedic specialist. However, as Cathy awaited her appointment, she turned to her friends, her church, and colleagues at her part-time job at the Ellicottville Library for advice. “Everyone I spoke to had nothing good to say about getting my shoulder fixed,” she recalled. “They all had horror stories of others who had gone through surgery and ended up worse.”

 

Despite her apprehension, Cathy met with Olean General Hosptial’s (OGH) orthopedic surgery and sports medicine doctor Mohaned Al-Humadi, M.D., who explained the necessity of surgery. The thought of a long recovery terrified her. “I had so much to take care of—my son, my husband, and our farm, even if we only have chickens now,” she admitted. The weight of responsibility was immense, and the idea of being incapacitated for months made her stomach churn. As anxiety took hold, Cathy rescheduled her surgery—not once, but twice—convincing herself that she could manage without it.

 

However, as the pain worsened and simple tasks became more and more difficult, Cathy finally revisited Dr. Al-Humadi. “He asked if I was actually going to show up this time,” she chuckled. Gathering all the courage she had, Cathy went through with the surgery at the Mildred Milliman Outpatient Surgery Center. “Afterward, I had this huge sling and cast for my arm—I couldn’t move it at all,” she recalled.

 

Her next step in recovery was rehabilitation. When given a choice of where to have therapy, Cathy selected OGH’s Outpatient Occupational Therapy (OT) Department. After her past experiences with a different therapy service for her knee replacements, she was reluctant to get started. But from the moment she stepped into the OGH OT department, her fears began to fade. “I was greeted with a big hello from the entire team, they were all the sweetest and most personable people I had ever met,” she said. “Two staff members really stood out to me, Sophia Sheldon, OTR/L and Aimee Faulkner, OTA, their demeanor and care just really put me at ease.”

 

Over the course of her treatment plan, Cathy diligently attended her weekly sessions. “It became like visiting family,” she shared. “They always had something new to work on, and they took every concern I had seriously.” The therapists adjusted her exercises according to her abilities, ensuring that she was challenged but never overwhelmed. “If something was too intense, we took a break and worked back up to it.”

 

What made her therapy even more special was how Sophia and Aimee incorporated Cathy’s love for art into her sessions. A retired art teacher, Cathy was given the opportunity to decorate the department’s windows with a festive Christmas theme. “Everyone loved it. I got so many compliments,” she said, beaming. “It made therapy fun.”

 

By late November, Cathy had officially graduated from therapy, feeling like a new person. “There wasn’t anything I couldn’t do,” she said proudly. More importantly, she could fully care for her son and husband again—something that meant the world to her. “They gave me my life and my ability to care for my family back. It’s an honor and responsibility to care for them, and now I can do it even better.”

 

Filled with gratitude, Cathy wanted to send a heartfelt thank you to those who had helped her along the way. “I can’t thank everyone enough—from the surgical team to the doctor’s office staff, and especially Sophia and Aimee. You are all tremendous caregivers. Everyone was so kind and knowledgeable. With your guidance, my previous expectations for recovery were shattered. You are all truly the best.”