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"MASON STRONG" continues to be the rallying cry for Mason Martin, who suffered a significant brain bleed and a collapsed lung during a Karns City High School football game in September of 2023.

Since the incident, Mason has embarked on a rehabilitation journey at ACMH Hospital where he is facing challenges with staunch determination and achieving significant progress along the way.

Denny Martin, father of Mason Martin, recently took a break from assisting Mason during a therapy session to share an inspirational message of hope for his son and express gratitude to the team of physical, occupational and speech therapists at ACMH Hospital who are assisting Mason with his rehabilitation.

“He’s always improving - sometimes with big jumps, sometimes in small increments, but he's having a good day so far today,” Denny smiled as he looks on while Mason receives therapeutic muscle manipulation to his legs. “He's doing really well.”

Denny explains the progress Mason has made during his time with the ACMH Rehabilitation Department by describing how the process of walking him on the treadmill has improved. “At first, it was just an all-out workout for 20 minutes for all of us.”

“The Physical Therapists were soaked in sweat, I'm exhausted and we're all spent because it was so hard to move him,” Denny recalled. “Now we can sit there and do the same exact thing and chit-chat while we're doing it, because it's so effortless.”

 “The progress is easy for us to see,” he continued. “If you're not hands on with him, you might not even know it’s happening, but from when we started until now, there’s a huge improvement.”

Mason is not only enrolled in physical and occupational therapy, but also in the speech and swallowing rehabilitation program at ACMH.

“The things he's doing in speech with Heather, I mean, it’s unbelievable,” said Denny.

Speech-Language Pathologist Heather Baileys is implementing a comprehensive plan for Mason which includes restoring Mason’s swallow function - so that he can enjoy his favorite foods and drinks again and establishing various means of communication so Mason can express his wants, needs and feelings. Heather’s goals for Mason also include improving cognitive-linguistic skills such as attention, working memory, comprehension and facilitating the return of his speech and voice.

“I am blessed with the opportunity to make a difference in Mason’s life, and it is a responsibility I do not take lightly,” stated Heather. “Rehabilitation after a traumatic brain injury is intense, but Mason is immensely resilient. He is relearning how to eat, think and communicate more with each therapy session.”

“It has been incredibly fulfilling to watch Mason smile as he experiences eating foods such as cream of wheat, banana and hulless popcorn again,” she added.

Heather has many clinical goals for Mason, but also shared a personal one as well. “As I’ve told Denny and Mason, I look forward to the day we can have lunch at Mason’s favorite restaurant together." 

Denny shared his enthusiasm for the progress Mason is making with Heather and the team. “I never could have imagined that he'd be doing the things he's doing now, especially cognitively.”

Speech-language pathology plays a crucial role in improving cognitive function which is necessary for achieving success in physical and occupational therapy. “Mason and I work on attending to and processing auditory and visual information so that he can follow directions and perform the consecutive repetitions that the physical and occupational therapists need him to do during their sessions.” Heather explains. “I know that what they are doing will benefit Mason’s ability to meet his speech therapy goals too, such as maintaining upright posture when eating, drinking or holding a stylus and reaching out to make choices on his choice board app.”

“I am thankful to be part of such a great multidisciplinary team that truly wants to see Mason achieve greatness,” Heather concluded.

“Anytime we see an improvement in speech, we're seeing an improvement in physical therapy and in occupational therapy as well,” added Denny. “It all starts with speech, because he's got to think his way through it.”

 

THE ROAD TO ACMH

Denny explained how Mason’s rehabilitation journey began at ACMH. “Originally, we were going to go to the Lemieux Sports Complex for rehab, and that's an hour drive for us. Within the first week, something went wrong with Mason’s feeding tube and I had to take him to Children's Hospital. It was a six hour round trip to get him ready and pack up all of the stuff to take him all the way down and back home.”

“By the time I got him there, he was exhausted, completely wiped out,” Denny stated. “And then I thought… how am I going to do this three days a week going to the Lemieux Center? He's going to be wiped out and then have to go through three hours of PT. What can I do?”

“So I reached out to a buddy of mine who I go way back with, Ben Valasek, and I said, ‘hey, I'm looking for something close,” recalls Denny.

“Can they handle someone like Mason at ACMH?” Denny asked Ben. “And he said ‘absolutely’!”

Ben Valasek, who is a Physical Therapist at the ACMH Health Pavilion in Ford City, PA, gave Denny the confidence to schedule that first consultation with ACMH.

Denny explains how his faith played a role in his selection of ACMH for Mason’s rehabilitation. “I’m a man of faith, I believe that the incident where I was taking him to Children's Hospital was intentional and for a reason.”

“I knew then that we had to go somewhere else, and that somewhere else was here at ACMH.”

THE WORK BEGINS

After the initial consultation, members of the ACMH rehabilitation team quickly got to work and helped Mason start his journey. “I liked how they got started and kind of dug in.” recalled Denny. “And the fact that it's local, it's close to home and everyone is familiar with his story, it really just adds a little bit more to it.”

Brad Greenawalt, a childhood friend of Denny, would end up being one of the key member of Mason’s rehabilitation team. “I know him,” Denny explained. “I know he's going to give my son the same type of care as if he was his own kid.”

A Physical Therapist with the ACMH Rehabilitation Department, Brad enthusiastically embraced working with Mason. “We have been working with Mason and really focusing on repetitive, targeted exercises to help with improving his neuromuscular control while also training specific movement patterns,” explains Brad. “We are focusing on activities such as functional transfers, sitting balance, body weight supported standing and ambulation with assistance.”

 “It’s really about repetition and practice,” Brad added. “As Mason continues to recover we will continue to add in as much task-specific training as possible.”

Repetition and practice is something that Mason is very familiar with, as he was a stand-out player on the football field at Karns City. Much in the same way that Mason relied on his teammates to achieve goals on the field, Mason has a strong support system in place at ACMH and at home.

“Mason has great support from everyone in his family,” stated Brad. “The nurses that work with him on a daily basis continue to build on what he is doing in therapy.”

“Denny and the nurses have been very involved with his progress here at the clinic,” Brad continued. “It really has been a team approach to try to maximize results in our therapy sessions.”

 

PART OF A PLAN FROM THE BEGINNING

Heather Baileys recalls hearing news of Mason’s injury shortly after it occurred. “When the news station first shared Mason’s injury during his football game, like so many did near and far, I prayed for him, his family and his medical team,” she recalled. “I continued to follow his story, waited for the next update, shared social media posts and sent birthday cards with my daughter through the link posted by the news station.”

When news that Mason was finally being discharged to home was released, Heather knew how important therapy was going to be for him and couldn’t help but wonder if his rehabilitation journey would lead him to ACMH.

“I assumed Denny and Mason would likely pursue rehab through one of the many wonderful rehabilitation facilities Pittsburgh has to offer,” she recalls. “But having a passion for helping those that have experienced a neurological event such as a traumatic brain injury regain their life back, I prayed that I would be given the opportunity to help Mason someday.”

Heather could not contain her gratitude when she first learned that Denny was bringing Mason in for a consultation. “When I saw Mason’s name on my schedule for the first time, I realized my prayer was answered,” she recalled. “I am so thankful Denny is trusting ACMH with Mason’s rehabilitation.”

Denny also shared an emotional recollection of those early days. “During our first consultation, Heather was getting choked up, telling us this story and I thought, this is the kind of people you want around your kid. You know what I mean? You want people that are going to get emotional, right?”

“I want the type of people that are emotionally invested in the care and they love - and that's what I would say we received when we came here, was love,” Denny continued. “I can't say anything better than that.”

Heather agreed with that sentiment. “Both Denny and Mason inspire me to work hard and pray harder,” she added. “And that is something I will keep with me throughout my career and personal life.”

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Denny offers advice to anyone who may be in a similar situation and considering rehabilitation options for a loved one. “You’re faced with a hard decision, but remember, you’re not just going to a building or a location - you're going to a place because of the people,” stated Denny. “I've been in some of the most reputable rehab centers in Western Pennsylvania and this place is right up there with them.”

“ACMH Rehab is every bit as good as what they're doing at the Pittsburgh facilities, and it's because of the people.” Said Denny. “We just kept our faith in God, and He provided us with the right people.”

Denny acknowledges the long road ahead for Mason, but expressed confidence that he and Mason are where they need to be to achieve their goals. “Just last night, we were here in the ACMH Emergency Room,” recalled Denny. “We had to bring Mason into the ER and everyone was just so welcoming, compassionate and caring. I had no hesitation bringing him here because I know that’s the type of care we've received here.”

“So when we had an emergency at 11:30 or 11:45 last night, I asked myself, are we going to take him to Pittsburgh or are we going to take him to ACMH?

“We’re going to ACMH,” Denny concluded. “I trust ACMH.”


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