A longtime businessman in the Bakersfield community, Dave Williams enjoyed running a family-owned company and spending time with his family outside of work. When Dave suffered a stroke five years ago, he was fortunate to return to work after a month with no deficits. But when Dave suffered a second stroke in 2023, he and his family embarked on a long journey of recovery.

One night in June, Dave awoke with symptoms of facial drooping, right-sided weakness, and aphasia. Dave’s speech abilities were severely impacted, along with his ability to walk.

“My mind turned on and off like a light switch,” remembered Dave. “I told my wife I needed to go to the hospital.”

Dave’s recovery journey began with acute rehabilitation at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital. In August 2023, he joined the Day Treatment program at Centre for Neuro Skills’ (CNS) Bakersfield clinic. Dave, who initially required a Hoyer lift to be moved, slowly relearned how to stand and walk by using the Zero-G Gait and Balance System. He also worked closely with his speech therapists to overcome the communication difficulties caused by aphasia.

“I was ignorant about the first stroke although it was much bigger. The second stroke I had was miniscule, but it did a tremendous amount of damage,” recalled Dave.

At the age of 77, Dave and his family were unsure of his ability to recover. Dave’s nephew, Brian, credits the CNS therapists for providing the proper tools and encouragement Dave needed to recover.

“The way they pushed him through the tough moments led to big changes right away,” said Brian.

Through daily, intensive neurorehabilitation therapy, Dave has not only regained the ability to walk with a walker and speak clearly – he has also regained hope. Although Dave has passed along the family business to his children, he continues to be highly involved and offers valuable input. Dave has found a renewed sense of motivation to rebuild his daily abilities so that he can travel with his wife, Gail, and spend time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

“I truly believe that my dad would not be here today if it wasn’t for CNS,” said Dave’s daughter, Brenda.

Watch the story of his recovery journey here.