Allyson Forshaw did not expect to have a stroke at age 45. But when her speech became garbled and she was overwhelmed with dizziness and a splitting headache in 2009, she joined the legions of Toronto residents who found themselves in need of major physical rehabilitation.
Paralyzed on the left side of her body, unable to walk and capable of uttering only single words, Ms. Forshaw was referred to Toronto Rehab by her hospital social worker.
Treated as an inpatient for 10 weeks, followed by three months of regular visits, she was subjected to an intense rehabilitation program involving the innovative use of Botox to immobilize some muscles as a way to exercise others.
"I was really, really scared but at the same time, kind of optimistic because I'd heard such good things about the program," she said recently, her speech and mobility almost fully restored. "They really get you back to the land of the living."
It's a strange claim to fame, but thanks to the work of Toronto Rehab, the city has become one of the best places in the world when something bad happens to you.
Officially formed in 1998, through the amalgamation of the Rehabilitation Institute of Toronto, the Toronto Rehabilitation Centre and Lyndhurst Hospital, Toronto Rehab has approximately 2,000 employees and 500 volunteers working at six sites across the city helping patients to recover from strokes, heart attacks, brain injuries and other maladies.
Treating more than 2,500 patients a year in their continuing care programs and accommodating 140,000 annual outpatient visits, the centre does more than just physical rehabilitation. A major research centre, Toronto Rehab is dedicated to developing the most effective treatments and technologies to help people overcome the challenges of disabling injury and illness.
With an aging population, the demand for rehabilitation services is expected to increase sharply in the coming years. To that end, Toronto Rehab will unveil a $36-million state-of-the-art research centre of Intelligent Design for Adaptation, Participation and Technology next year, dubbed iDAPT. With three new labs at locations around the city, slated to open in May, the centre will house the world's largest and most advanced network of rehabilitation research facilities.
Already, Toronto Rehab is considered to be a model of effective health care.
Its program for stroke victims earned it the Stroke Services Distinction from Accreditation Canada, awarded to health organizations that exceed the best standards of care.
Each year, its heart attack program helps more than 1,650 people make lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of subsequent problems.
And it's good to its own people, too. Named as one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers for 2011, the centre has drawn the best specialists in the field, from physicians to clinicians and researchers.
And its work extends beyond the city limits.
Last year, the centre sent a group of therapists to Haiti in the aftermath of the country's devastating earthquake.
"It's hard to imagine what my life would be like without them," Ms. Forshaw said.