A Carson Valley Health Rehabilitation and Outpatient Therapy Facility Patient Story

How Teamwork, Support, and Relationship Building Fostered a Career

The Carson Valley Health Rehabilitation and Outpatient Therapy Facility expansion project will provide a state-of-the-art hub for recovery through physical, occupational, and speech-language pathology therapies in the Carson Valley. The Facility will expand from 2,800 to 8,500 square feet and offer patients new equipment, expanded services, reduced wait times, and easier, more convenient access to outpatient therapy services.

Though the facility is expanding, maintaining patient services makes the CVH Rehabilitation Center a true beacon in the recovery process. The same type of service that Ozzie, now a physical therapy technician at CVH Rehabilitation Services, received during his senior year of high school when he dislocated his knee, tearing 90% of the ligaments.

Lost

In March of 2020, Ozzie returned home from work on a snowy night. He wanted to see his friends in case the upcoming pandemic shut down his school. They went driving in the snow and ended up sledding on a hill late at night. Ozzie said he opted out of sledding because he didn’t feel it was a great idea, and he fell on loose gravel walking back down the hill. The injury required two surgeries, three months of bed rest, and nearly a year of rehabilitation at CVH.

“I instantly knew it was dislocated,” Ozzie said. “My friends didn’t understand why I couldn’t just get up and walk it off. The top of my leg was facing in a different direction than my foot was. I turned the top of my leg, and the foot didn't move.”

Ozzie thought his dislocated knee would maybe require setting it back into place and a six-week recovery. He said he was surprised when his doctors told him the severity of his injury required emergency surgery and that Ozzie was lucky he didn’t lose his entire leg.

Ozzie went from being a normal high school senior working a part-time job, pursuing a passion for acting, enjoying his friends and preparing to graduate, to becoming bedridden during the height of the pandemic and unable to leave the house, except for medical appointments.

“Before this happened, I was very lost in life,” he said. “I didn't know what I was going to do after high school and high school was ending for me. So, when this whole thing happened, it was kind of the climax of being lost and just not knowing what was next. So then, obviously, I did all the rehab, and I didn't get to see my friends.”

Found

For months on end, Ozzie said the only people he saw outside of his family were the staff at the CVH Rehabilitation Center.

Ozzie’s physical therapy appointments sometimes lasted two hours at a time, which is longer than typical appointments. His therapists began teaching him how to do his rehabilitation exercises himself, and by the end of his treatment, he was offered a job at the center.

Ozzie said he found a purpose and a community in his injury that changed the trajectory of his life for the better. He is currently attending school to get an associate degree and hopes to eventually attend physical therapy school as well.

“I've been told that these appointments are what people look forward to in the week,” Ozzie said. “That's just super incredible because I've also been there in that position of having my sessions at the Rehab Center be the only thing I have to look forward to. It's really cool to pay it forward and be able to do that for other people. That's incredible. That's the most fulfilling part of the job.”

Learn more about our Rehabilitation Center Expansion Project here

Rehabilitation Services

At Carson Valley Health, we offer individualized therapy programs where you will be treated by our team of skilled and knowledgeable therapists. Our goal is to help our patients achieve maximum independence and mobility.

The types of services we offer include

• Physical Therapy: This program helps patients restore or improve their strength and range of motion after an illness or injury.
• Occupational Therapy: This program will help address any functional limitations that prevent you from carrying out daily activities.
• Speech Therapy: This program includes speech-language pathologists who can help patients of all ages with impaired speaking, reading, writing, or other processing abilities.

While treatment at the CVH Rehabilitation Center requires a provider referral, you can learn more about our orthopedic rehab, physical therapy, or occupational therapy services, by calling us at 775-782-1519.

The CVH Rehab and Outpatient Therapy Center is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm.

Learn more about our Rehabilitation Services here