Experiencing rehab from both sides of the camera

Ed Buffman was the man behind the magic of Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital’s latest television commercial, a production he was particularly proud of. The commercial spoke to how deeply committed hospital employees were to the patients in their care, and how their dedication helped to inspire brain injury patients to recover. In his line of work, Buffman had heard that it was all about the people before, whether it was a bank, law practice or hospital, but he could tell that with Bryn Mawr Rehab, it was the real deal.

So, when Buffman’s motorcycle veered off the road in early May and he ended up with fibular and tibial fractures, a meniscus and ACL tear, bruises on his left thigh and hip, a ruptured spleen and six fractured ribs, he could think of only one place he wanted to go for rehabilitation.

Following the accident, Buffman was sent to Paoli Hospital, where doctors were able to repair his spleen during a catheterization by plugging his bleeds internally to avoid abdominal surgery. During the accident, Buffman’s left pinkie finger had been crushed as his left side hit a tree, but Dr. Jack Abboudi was able to repair it. Fortunately, Buffman had been wearing a motorcycle helmet and full suit, so he was able to avoid any skin injuries.

“The staff at Paoli told me that I needed to go to rehab and I told them I wanted to go to Bryn Mawr Rehab. I had spent so much time talking about how great it was, so it made sense that I wanted to go there,” explains Buffman.

From the beginning of his stay at Bryn Mawr Rehab, Buffman saw that the hospital staff was authentic, encouraging and helpful to everyone in their care. During his stay, his roommate was in worse condition, something that made Buffman tune in to the way the staff was treating their other patients.

“No matter what level of care you needed, there was so much dedication and encouragement from the staff. Every patient there is treated equally and with as much concern as everybody else, no matter what their condition was,” he says.

Thanks to Buffman’s physical health and the protection he wore during the accident, his stay with Bryn Mawr Rehab was on the shorter side. But during his time there, he worked closely with physical and occupational therapists to restore strength to his left side and bounce back quickly from his accident.

He credits his speedy recovery in part to the communication between different therapists, saying he didn’t need to explain himself or his injury at every turn, because his records and progress had already been reviewed and shared.

“I felt that everyone that worked at Bryn Mawr Rehab wanted to be there, and everyone that was there wanted us to get better so I was very, very pleased with the level of commitment from everyone,” he says.

Today, Ed is back on his feet and back to work. He has upcoming video shoots locally and will be traveling to Washington, DC in the coming weeks. Although he knows his accident could have been worse, he is grateful for the care and support he received across the board at Main Line Health.

“I guess that’s the bottom line: I felt an overwhelming positive energy from everyone there, at Paoli and Bryn Mawr Rehab, at every turn.”