In the quiet, sterile glow of a hospital room, the world seemed to disappear. There was no sound of monitors or hushed footsteps in the hall – only the scent of warm lasagna from Genova’s Italian Restaurant and the sound of a couple who had spent the last 45 years finishing each other’s sentences.
As Ken’s discharge date approached, the staff at NMC Health helped turn his room into a sanctuary for a private Valentine’s Day date night. Ken and his wife Sarah spent the evening eating, laughing, and looking back on the decades they had shared. For a few hours, the worry washed away. Sarah crawled into the hospital bed next to her husband, their hearts finally at ease as they planned for the years to come.
“We just melted,” Sarah said. It was the moment they realized the hardest part was finally behind them.
The choice that changed everything
It’s not every day you meet a couple like Ken and Sarah. You can see their bond in the way they look into each other’s eyes. It’s a look that has remained steady even through life’s greatest challenges.
After living most of their lives in Junction City, they started to think about their future. Ken had been told he had Parkinson’s disease, and they knew they needed a place where they would be supported. They looked all over Kansas for their next home—north, south, and west. They chose Showalter Villa in Hesston because “everyone acted like they cared,” Ken said. “That is just how people treat you here.” It was a happy surprise for both of them, but they had no idea just how much they would come to rely on all of that care.
A simple errand, a sudden fall
One day, Ken and Sarah went to the store for a simple errand. They had just left the doctor’s office. Ken’s blood pressure had been acting up, and the doctor was watching it closely. On the way to Casey’s, they joked about who would go inside to buy hamburger buns. Ken was the man for the job. He was on a mission.
As he walked down one aisle, another man came around the corner. To avoid a bump, Ken stopped fast. His feet tripped, and he fell hard. The sharp, hot pain in his left leg told him immediately that something was wrong. He was so thankful for the two “guardian angels” who were having coffee in the store and ran to help him. 911 was called, and Ken was taken to the NMC Health Emergency Department. His leg was broken at the hip.
"Your people made me feel at home. They made it so we can now stay in our own house."
Dr. Jessica Brozek of NMC Health Orthopedics and Sports Specialists performed the surgery the next day. It was a very sad and scary time for the couple. Ken and Sarah were used to being side-by-side, and being apart felt wrong. The nursing staff understood. They saw that Ken didn’t just need medicine; he needed Sarah.
Sarah was allowed to lay in the hospital bed next to her husband. They had missed each other so much.
“NMC Health staff will do anything for you,” Ken said. “You do not have to ask twice. What you have here is just wonderful.”
The darkest nights
Recovery in the inpatient rehabilitation unit, however, was a mountain Ken wasn’t sure he could climb. “I did not want to come,” he said, “but your people made me feel at home. They made it so we can now stay in our own house.”
The work was very hard. There was physical, speech, and occupational therapy. At the start, Ken felt lost. “I was so upset,” he said. “When you cannot sleep at night, you start to think. When you think too much, it can be scary. I was crying. I just lost it.”
Yet, he kept going. The staff cheered him on. Even when he was nervous and doubted himself—even when his tremors got worse and his mind felt full of worry—he pushed through. He says that if you do not have the right mindset, you are not going to make it.
"Everyone has gone out for their way for me ... The feel here is so much different than any place I have seen. If I have to be in the hospital, I want to be here."
Recovery is a long, hard road. Sarah saw it firsthand. “I followed him to therapy the first time to see what it was like,” she said. “I told him, ‘I have to go home, you wore me out!’”
A new strength
When Ken was told he had passed all his tests and could go home, he smiled and raised his hands. “Praise Jesus!” he said. This hard time taught him that he is stronger than he thinks. He also says he feels “more holy.” He turned those sleepless nights into time for prayer. Please be with me and carry me through this, he would pray. I will do my part.
His wife sees a big change in him, too. Sarah remembers that first night in the ER when Ken was crying. He felt like he had failed her and failed himself. But now, that guilt is gone. He is sure of himself again. They are going home to keep that momentum going. “We have promised each other to keep this going,” Ken says.
Before he left, Ken told a nurse he wanted to tell the head of the hospital how happy he was. He did not know the nurse would go right to Val Gleason’s office. Val, NMC Health’s President and CEO, came to Ken’s room and spent an hour talking with him about the care he received.
“Everyone has gone out of their way for me,” Ken said. “They told me I was doing fine and not to worry. They were going to get me well. The feel here is so much different than any place I have seen. If I have to be in the hospital, I want to be here.”
