eLeVate Recovery

🧠🩵🧡 What We’re Looking Forward To…

Watch out, world… Patty & her Recreation Therapist are back together again-eLeVatin’ one city at a time!

At eLeVate Recovery, Patty and her Recreation Therapist, Lindsay, refuse to wait until the hard stuff goes away to feel joy.

This summer, they’re looking forward to creating meaningful memories through Recreation Therapy and community adventures, including:

🐐 Wild Summer Nights at the Detroit Zoo and meeting the goats along the beautiful Fred & Barbara Erb Discovery Trail

🎶 Live music under the summer sky

🧀 Grilled cheeses, bookstores, sunshine… and maybe a beer or two. 🍻😉

🛟 Adaptive tubing adventures

🚙 Off-roading and exploring new places

🐶 Tarot card readings at their favorite dog & human bar

Every adventure is an opportunity to promote community reintegration, confidence, cognitive engagement, social connection, movement, stress reduction, and overall quality of life through meaningful leisure experiences.

One experience they’re especially excited about is their upcoming visit with the goats. Along with all the smiles (and maybe a few playful nibbles! 🐐😊), Lindsay hopes to encourage relaxation, support non-pharmacological pain management, and if Patty is up for it- incorporate her affected arm while brushing and petting the goats to encourage gentle reaching, stretching, functional movement, and increased use of her weaker side.

Here’s to eLeVating one another’s lives—one epic adventure at a time. 🧠🩵🧡

❤️🖤 We can’t thank The Recovery Project, LLC enough for trusting eLeVate Recovery with another patient referral.

Did you know our founder, Lindsay, was once a patient at The Recovery Project before later joining The Recovery Project team as an Adaptive Wellness Trainer and Neurological Sales & Marketing Representative?

The Recovery Project believed in Lindsay long before eLeVate Recovery ever existed. They first welcomed her as a patient, then gave her the opportunity to join their team. Through incredible mentorship, collaboration, and the opportunity to learn from exceptional therapists, doctors, and leaders in neurological rehabilitation, Lindsay developed an even greater passion for neuro care while becoming a stronger, more knowledgeable CTRS. Those experiences continue to shape the care we provide every day.

At eLeVate Recovery, we believe healing extends far beyond physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Recreation Therapy helps bridge the gap by focusing on quality of life, community reintegration, cognitive exercise, confidence, purpose, and meaningful participation. Working together, we can help patients reach their greatest potential.

When the right team believes in you, your life can only eLeVate.

Thank you, The Recovery Project, for believing in Lindsay, helping shape the Recreational Therapist and clinician she is today, and trusting eLeVate Recovery to help eLeVate the lives of your patients alongside your incredible team. We are forever grateful. 🧠🧡🩵

Don't let the heat steal your momentum. ☀️

Small victories still count.
A short walk.
A few stretches.
A little fresh air.

Recovery isn't about perfection. It's about progress, one step at a time

Hot weather doesn't have to mean staying inside.

A little sunshine, fresh air, and movement can do wonders for your body and mind. Whether it's a shaded walk, fishing by the water, or simply enjoying nature, every step is progress.

Stay cool, stay hydrated, and keep elevating.

The forecast says HOT.

Good thing recovery can happen at your own pace. Early mornings, shady parks, and cool breezes make the perfect setting to reconnect with movement and confidence.

What's your favorite way to enjoy summer?

Swimming?
Walking?
Kayaking?
Casting a line?

Let us know below!

🧠 This is one of my favorite images when I think of living our best lives.

The image below illustrates a concept called an “enriched environment.”

One environment provides the basics.

The other provides opportunities to explore, move, learn, problem-solve, socialize, and experience the world.

As humans, we’re not much different.

Our brains need challenge.

They need purpose.

They need opportunities to try new things, make decisions, solve problems, build confidence, and stay connected with others.

This is especially important following stroke, brain injury, neurological conditions, disability, or simply as we age.

While appointments, therapy, and medical care are important, life happens between appointments.

It happens during a trip to the grocery store.

A walk in the park.

A conversation with a friend.

Trying something new.

Learning from mistakes.

Building confidence one step at a time.

The goal isn’t just to survive.

The goal isn’t just to attend appointments.

The goal is to continue learning, growing, participating, and living.

Because when the right person—or team—believes in you, your life can only eLeVate. 🧡

What are some ways you keep your brain challenged and engaged?

Today I mailed a handwritten note to the family of a new eLeVate Recovery client.

Along with the paperwork, I wanted them to receive something else:

A reminder that they are seen.

Behind every diagnosis, therapy appointment, and care plan is a family member who has spent countless hours advocating, supporting, encouraging, and loving someone through life’s challenges.

Sometimes a handwritten note simply says:

💙 I see you.
🧡 I appreciate you.
💙 I understand challenges.
🧡 I see your advocacy.
💙 I believe quality of life matters.
🧡 I’m here to help.

At eLeVate Recovery, people will always matter more than paperwork.

Sometimes the smallest gestures leave the biggest impact.

🧠 Saturday Spotlight: Looking Back, Moving Forward

Today also happens to be World MS Day.

If you know Patty G., you know she's hilarious, incredibly intelligent, full of s***k, and always keeps people laughing. When Patty misses something, her absence is noticed and felt.

Patty has a way of helping other people's lives eLeVate despite facing her own adversity.

For those who don't know her, Patty was diagnosed with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis more than 30 years ago.

A quote that always makes me think of Patty is from Cheryl Strayed:

"We don't have a right to the cards we believe we should have been dealt. We have an obligation to play the hell out of the ones we're holding."

Whether it's life's hand of cards or her tarot cards, Patty does exactly that.

Some days are hard, to say the least. Yet she still shows up.

She is a writer, a concert-goer, the best seated chair Zumba dancer I know, witty, resilient, incredibly intelligent, a wife, a mother of three, and my friend. She started high school at age 12 and graduated from the University of Michigan at age 16.

For years, I've had the privilege of walking alongside Patty, not just at an MS Walk, but through adaptive pickleball, therapy, & adaptive group fitness classes, nights out for pizza, with plenty of laughter!

Last week we checked out Road Less Traveled Bookstore and were impressed by both the accessibility and kindness we found there… & Ikons picture up on the wall!

Patty independently navigated the bookstore in her power chair, browsed the shelves, cracked jokes, and purchased a shirt that read:

"GET LIT."

While checking out she said,

"I can't read naked... at least not in public."

Needless to say, we were laughing.

Afterward, we grabbed a brewski and grilled cheese on the patio at Farmington Brewery.

Tonight we're getting amped for Bingo together.

Next week she's headed to share her story at Baker College to Dr. Metti’s master level of OT students class, go Adaptive Scuba Diving in Howell, and in August we'll be attending Dirt Days, an adaptive off-roading event in Holly!

Remember that quote?

We're doing exactly that.

Patty, thank you for reminding me that our strengths will always outweigh our limitations. Thank you for your friendship, your humor, your perspective, and your ability to make every room a little brighter.

Thank you for helping my life eLeVate!!

See you soon, girl. 🩵🧡

Many people assume my passion for neurorehabilitation began after my stroke.

Truthfully, it started long before that.

When I attended the University of Toledo, I knew I wanted to work with people, incorporate animals, and help others reach their goals and greatest potential. Long before my life-altering surgery, I became a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and fell in love with the brain, human behavior, physical medicine & rehabilitation, emotional healing, and quality of life. Figuring out what lights people up again.

Then life came full circle.

After my own brain surgery, coma, stroke, and rehabilitation journey, I gained an entirely different perspective..not just as a clinician, but as a survivor.

Recovery is so much bigger than physical progress.

Sometimes it’s a favorite song.
A dog.
Nature.
A feeling of purpose.
Ordering a coffee on your own.
Someone believing in you.

Because when the right person believes in you, your life can only eLeVate. 🩵🧡🧠

Sharing an article that tells a little more of the story.

This Memorial Day, we pause to honor and remember the courageous men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.

At eLeVate Recovery, recreation therapy is all about helping people reconnect with what matters most: family, friends, community, purpose, and the activities that bring joy and meaning to life. The freedoms we enjoy to gather, play, heal, and create memories are possible because of the sacrifices made by so many.

As you spend time with loved ones this weekend, whether it's sharing a meal, enjoying the outdoors, or participating in meaningful traditions, we encourage you to take a moment to reflect on those who made it all possible.

From all of us at eLeVate Recovery, we wish you a safe, meaningful, and memorable Memorial Day. ❤️🤍💙