Feb. 2, 2010 began as an ordinary day for Cloyd and Helen Richardson. They drove to Columbus to see their eye doctor, and when they were done headed back down Route 23 on their way home.

But when they turned their little Ford Escort onto Highway 361, their lives also took a turn – for the worst. An oncoming car crashed full-speed into them leaving both Cloyd and Helen seriously injured.

Cloyd suffered a broken sternum and broken leg, and Helen had a broken spine, arm and leg.

Paramedics rushed the couple to the Ohio State University Medical Center where they began their long road to recovery. Helen spent six weeks there while her husband was hospitalized for 14 weeks.

Eventually, they were transferred to the rehabilitation unit of the Adena Greenfield Medical Center. They worked with rehab team members day and night to regain their strength and mobility.

“When I got to Greenfield, I couldn’t even stand,” Cloyd recalled. In time, however, his physical therapy, and the encouragement he received from AGMC’s staff, began paying off.

Before long, he was sitting and standing, and eventually walking with the help of a walker. “It felt like I walked 400 miles a day,” he said with a smile.

His wife’s therapy was just as demanding, and after two months of rehabilitation, she was able to return home.

But leaving was bittersweet. “I cried when I left,” said Helen, who spoke glowingly of the staff who helped her so much.

Even after Cloyd was released from AGMC, he and his wife still make a point of visiting the hospital to thank those who helped them so much.