Spaulding Rehab nurse whose career is inspired by father’s care will run Boston Marathon for patients

A nurse inspired to work at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital after they treated her father’s brain injuries will be running for the hospital this Monday in the Boston Marathon.

When Walter Rehak arrived at Spaulding in the back of an ambulance, he had recovered from the worst of his physical injuries. Rehak had survived a rollover crash in Peabody in January 2020. A medical helicopter lifted him from the highway to the hospital where he spent 10 days in a coma. Rehak broke his neck and his nose. He had a nasty gash on his forehead. He also had a Traumatic Brain Injury as a result of the impact.

His daughter Sarah Rehak remembers one of the first hopeful signs as he emerged from the coma.

“His eyes were still shut and he said, ‘Hi, my girl.’ And I was like…I lost it. Because I was like, OK, you know that that’s what you still call me, you can speak, you remember,” said Sarah.

In that moment, Sarah knew that her dad remembered their nicknames. He knew who she was. Once he was transferred to Spaulding (part of Mass General Brigham), there were many more hopeful signs. Sarah, who was working as a health care administrator at Boston Children’s Hospital at the time, watched his interaction with his doctors, nurses, and therapists. The care he received and the progress he made was striking.

Inspired to become a nurse at Spaulding

“Spaulding did give me hope that he would be OK,” said Sarah. “Everyone was so friendly with him, he had his therapist that he loved and all his friends that are the employees. And just the change that they made day-to-day, I was like, I want to do this.” 

It also lit a passion for patient care that inspired a career change. Because of her father’s experience and recovery, Sarah left her job as a health care administrator at Boston Children’s Hospital, went back to school full-time, and graduated with a nursing degree from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in 2023. She applied for a position at Spaulding even before graduation. The team with an open position was, incredibly, on the hospital’s brain injury floor.

Sarah began caring for patients where her father relearned the life skills to go home. Rehak remembers how therapists prepared him for life after rehab.

“They said I needed speech therapy. I realize now it was brain therapy. They made me put together a schedule for a delivery from Jordan’s Furniture. They made me figure out how to take the T from here to there. So, as much as that was my speech therapy, it was really making me think. If you’re a Traumatic Brain Injury patient, you’ve gotta learn how to think,” said Rehak. These days, he thinks about how fortunate he is to have recovered so well.

Now two years on the job, Sarah knows she is where she is meant to be.

“I just feel so at home,” she said, smiling. “All the nurses. All the therapists. We work so well together. We are all so connected…I really enjoy coming to work every day. I love my patients, I just want to be the person that can give them a little light, a little optimism.”

Sharing her family’s story often puts patients at ease in a frightening time.

“I think it helps them because I’ve truly been through it. I know how scared they are,” said Sarah.

Nursing Director Mariana Parga, RN points to Sarah’s sunny demeanor as another superpower.

“She’s always happy. And she has this great story to tell of her dad’s success which helps them feel that they can also succeed here. So I think that’s truly special,” said Parga.

Pointing out her dad’s old room, 720, Sarah laughs that she and her family used to consider the room the “penthouse” because of its corner position and its view of the Tobin Bridge. Her dad used to watch the traffic on the bridge so that his visitors knew when to make the drive to Spaulding.  

“Depending on the situation, I’ll share my story with the patient who’s in that room,” said Sarah.

One of Sarah’s patients is 20-year-old Theo Visco, who came to Spaulding after a skiing accident and has since been released.

“When I first got here, I couldn’t even move my right side at all,” said Visco. “And now I’m basically walking.” He said the consistent support is key. “It just means a lot to actually have that one-on-one connection with someone.”

Running first Boston Marathon

On Marathon Monday, Sarah will cross a bridge of her own, from “casual runner” to marathoner. When Spaulding put out the call for Boston Marathon bib number applications, Sarah applied. When she got word that she had been accepted, she was overwhelmed with emotion.

“I started crying happy tears and ran into my boss’ office. We were just jumping up and down!”  Her next thought? “I’ve gotta start training!”

As one of 70 runners on Spaulding’s Race for Rehab team, she is also fundraising for the hospital. To date, the team has raised $700,000 on its way to a $950,000 goal. Sarah’s dad will be at Mile 16 on the Wellesley-Newton border to cheer her on. His journey to wellness now complete, Sarah said she will dedicate her marathon to the patients at Spaulding who are working to regain their strength right now.

“I think me and my family see it as kind of a legacy thing from a standpoint of this is where I got well, started my journey to wellness,” said Rehak. “And I think she sees the good that’s done here.” 

“They’ve all gone through traumatic health scares and injuries. And I just want to be the person who can give them a little light, a little optimism that the hardest parts are, hopefully, now over and they’re starting their recovery.”  

Lisa Hughes

Award-winning journalist Lisa Hughes anchors WBZ-TV News weekdays at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. with co-anchor David Wade.