On Feb. 8, 2018, St. Paul police officer Matt Webb had a series of four strokes that wreaked havoc over his entire body.
He experienced several common stroke symptoms.
“Initially, I was blind in my left eye. I couldn’t feel anything on my left side. I couldn’t swallow, and I couldn’t talk,” Matt said.
Though things looked grim at first, Matt started to make good progress at a Twin Cities hospital. He moved into that hospital’s rehab program by the end of the month. But soon after, when a chance to transfer Regions Hospital came up, he knew it was the place he needed to be.
St. Paul Police Officer Matt Webb in his room at Regions Hospital.
“For the past 18 years, I have worked as a police officer in St. Paul and have seen Regions Hospital do a lot of amazing things. They’ve been behind a lot of amazing recoveries,” Matt said. “I chose to go to Regions to recover because I wanted to be a part of that.”
Take me to Regions: A great choice indeed
Once Matt checked into Regions, the Acute Rehab team took him under their wing and started a care plan, unique to him.
“When a patient comes to us, we ask ourselves: how can we work together to best serve this patient and their family?” speech-language pathologist Meredith Jacobs said. “In Matt’s case, we talked about his job, his family and what he liked to do in his spare time.”
Matt was slated to be at Regions for inpatient rehab for more than two weeks. But after a mix of physical, occupational, speech and recreational therapies, he graduated from the program in just 10 short days.
Matt works on taking steps during a physical therapy session at Regions.
“Matt is a very smart, caring person. When we were coming up with a plan to get him back to what he was doing before, we built on all those great qualities of his,” Meredith said. “His trajectory from where he started to where he ended up was amazing.”
Matt’s drive played a big role in his success, but he’s the first to thank the care team that helped him along the way.
“Regions’ acute rehab was phenomenal,” he said. “Everyone was so caring and giving toward my recovery.”
Matt’s next steps…literally
Matt continues to have rehab 3 to 4 days a week at the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center. The left side of his body that couldn’t move is now throwing exercise balls and helping him take steps with little or no assistance. His once-blind eye is steadily improving at each therapy session. And his weakened throat muscles are strengthening and allowing him to speak clearly and eat with no restrictions.
Matt and his wife, Jenny, break out the boxing gloves at a therapy session at the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center.
“I’m hoping for a full recovery,” Matt said. “My plan is to get back to work out on the streets of St. Paul and get back to being me again.”
But before he looks too far into the future, Matt can’t help but take a moment to appreciate those who got him to where he is today.
“What has stood out to me during my time here at Regions and HealthPartners is just the overall quality level of care and how much the staff members – doctors, nurses, therapists – truly care about their patients,” Matt said. “I feel blessed to have gotten my care here.”
Rehabilitation at Regions Hospital
When you’re recovering from an injury or illness, you need care that’s focused on you. Regions offers a wide spectrum of rehabilitative care – from innovative inpatient and outpatient therapies to acute inpatient treatment for the most seriously injured. No matter what your needs are, you’ll get care from an experienced, passionate team. We have specialists in occupational, physical, speech, aquatic, hand therapy and more. Find out more about specific therapies and where in the Twin Cities they’re offered.