Mikel Cauthon

Mikel Cauthon led an active life, playing tennis two times a week and working full time in IT. He and his wife also enjoyed the outdoors and would camp often. Unfortunately, Mikel contracted COVID-19, and his active lifestyle started to slip away.

Initially, Mikel didn’t experience any symptoms and tested negative for COVID-19. A few days later, on Christmas Day, his symptoms started to set in. As his condition worsened, he ended up in the hospital. They treated him for COVID-19 and respiratory distress. Eventually, Mikel required a ventilator.

Amongst other complications, Mikel also suffered a stroke when they attempted to wean him off the ventilator. His family chose Vibra Rehabilitation Hospital of Amarillo for extended care. Mikel’s brother was a patient at both Vibra Hospital of Amarillo and Vibra Rehabilitation Hospital of Amarillo and trusted their care.

When Mikel first arrived at Vibra, he was not very alert. He explained that the point when he woke up and became aware was when he began to progress. He said, “The staff was a tremendous help during the whole process. My therapists Tonna, Heather, and Val were very encouraging.”

Mikel looks forward to returning home and hopes to be able to play tennis again soon. He also can’t wait to go camping again with his wife. Mikel will continue working on walking and ways to compensate for his vision deficit in his left eye. Continuing to achieve his recovery goals will get him back to work and back to the things he loves to do.