CLARION – After patients have bone surgeries like knee replacements or back surgery, Mike Anderson and his occupational therapy department team have, in many cases, one to three days to get those patients ready to go home.

Anderson and three of his cohorts make up the Iowa Specialty Hospital’s Occupational Therapy Department with locations in Clarion and Belmond.

“No matter who comes into our department,” said Anderson, “our goal is to make them as independent as possible. We want each person to take care of their daily living needs, if that is possible.”

Besides working each patient’s “body parts” – hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders and the like – Anderson needs to determine what is needed at home: Is a bath chair needed? Can walkers get through various room doors?

And Anderson knows of what he speaks.

In 1988 after a hunting accident, he was left a paraplegic.

“I suffered a spinal cord injury with no hope of being able to walk again,” he said.

As a construction worker, Anderson knew that a career change was in the offing.

“I was born and raised in Clarion,” he said, “This community really helped me, by having three fundraisers to help with some expenses connected with my injuries.”

As he worked to regain control of his life, it was the therapy people who impressed him, Anderson said.

So Anderson chose it as his second career, starting his schooling as soon as he was able.

“Because of the support of my family, my good friends, and a great community, I knew that I would like to return Clarion to help people like those who had helped me,” he said. “I didn’t know if that would be possible.”

Getting his first job was a challenge, as potential employers weren’t sure if he could do the job. For three years, Anderson worked for a care center therapy company which covered a number of counties in Iowa, including Wright County and Clarion, before beginning his occupational recovery work for the Clarion-based hospital.

“Mike is one employee who we can count on to always be there,” said Janel Lau, ISH director of Rehabilitation Services, “He cares so deeply for the patients in his care and they know it. It is common for him to come in on weekends to see how a patient might be doing. People are no. 1 in his book, which they should be for all employees.”

When a patient has a hip replacement or suffers an accident as Anderson did, he said it isn’t just the physical portion which is part of his job.

“Sometimes it is psychological as well,” he said. “It took me a year to come to terms with what had happened to me. While I don’t always know the amount of pain someone might be experiencing, I know that a change sometimes takes some time to adjust to.”

Anderson credits all the different departments in helping ISH patients to getting them back to their daily lives.

“We look at the whole person,” he said. “I talk with the surgeons on down. The CNAs are wonderful. If they see something a patient can’t do to take care of themselves and be independent, they let us know so we can help make plans to meet their needs.”

Because of what others did for him to get him back to independent and a contributing member of the Clarion community, Anderson said he looks forward every day to helping others.

“I spend my life giving back, ” he said. “I look forward to coming to work every day.”