‘One day, I will be walking’ | Myrtle Beach mom regains independence one step at a time

For many people, putting in contact lenses, walking up steps and doing laundry are mundane tasks completed almost on autopilot. For Alexis Prue, these once-simple actions became impossible after suffering a medical emergency in early 2023.

The day everything changed 

When Prue went into cardiac arrest on Jan. 8, 2023, after attending a Tennessee Titans game in Jacksonville, Fla., it changed her family forever. Complications from cardiac arrest made tasks such as walking, doing laundry and even playing with her daughter difficult.

“Once I woke up, I remember the nurses and doctors coming in and asking me questions. At first, I was very confused,” Prue says. “I didn’t even know I couldn’t walk. It was tough and overwhelming.”  

Following 87 days in the hospital, including inpatient rehabilitation, the Myrtle Beach mom was finally able to return home in May.   

Continuing therapy with Tidelands Health 

Since coming home, Prue has continued working toward her rehabilitation goals with the team at Tidelands Health Neurological Rehabilitation Center.  

For Michele Warehime, a physical therapist at the neurological rehab center, the first steps toward building Prue’s treatment plan included asking Prue and her husband, Andrew, which tasks were difficult to do at home, as well as getting a baseline of what she could do at the center. 

“In Alexis’ case, we checked her leg strength, we looked at how her legs were moving on her own, we worked on getting from the wheelchair to the bed,” Warehime says. “That first day, we tried to get her up and into standing with the walker to see what she could do, and we used that information to build our treatment plan.”  

Prue’s plan focuses on meeting certain daily living goals, including her own personal goals of walking on her own and being able to play with her young daughter, India. Katherine Varn, an occupational therapist at Tidelands Health Neurological Rehabilitation Center, and Warehime have challenged Alexis to accomplish a series of daily activities, such as moving from the bed to the wheelchair and walking with assistance from a rollator.  

“Our goals are very patient driven,” Varn says. “We look at what the patient’s goals are, as well as their deficits, and we talk together about our plan and how we’re going to address that and help them progress.”   

Pushing through to make progress 

One year later, Prue is celebrating how far she’s come. She can walk up and down a few steps at a time, do laundry and put in her own contact lenses.  

“Alexis has made great progress,” says Lauren Parks, a physical therapist assistant at the neurological rehabilitation center.  “She's walking more in the house, she's able to sit at the edge of the bed – she couldn't do that when this first happened without any support. She's able to stand up without using her arms. She's started doing stairs now. We're just progressing like crazy.”  

For the Prues, Tidelands Health isn't just a place for therapy twice a week -- it's a place for support, encouragement and compassion.   

“With Tidelands Health, they've continued to encourage her,” Andrew Prue says. “They continue to give her the support and continue to rewrite goals and plans so she can get up and walk one day. To see them constantly working with Alexis as she progresses shows that they care about her and her progression. Together, it’s a team effort.”  

Prue is grateful for that team support. She said her rehabilitation team has become like family – pushing her when needed but also providing compassion and celebrating her wins along the way.  

“Without Tidelands Health, I feel like I would just be lying in bed, depressed and still not walking. My finish line is going to be no wheelchair, no walker, no cane,” Prue says. “Me walking on my own with no support from anyone – that’s my finish line. With all the prayers and with God – I know he’s walking with me – one day, I will be walking.”