Phil Shelapinsky, 77, was six months away from retirement when a baffling fall changed his life.
In June 2024, the active, healthy lawyer spent a quiet evening at home. His wife was away for the night with friends in Grove City. Around midnight, he got up from his chair to head to bed.
He wasn’t dizzy. He wasn’t lightheaded. There were no signs of illness. No warning.
“I remember taking two steps and then the next thing I remember, I could hear my neck bones cracking, and I was on the floor,” Phil says. “I have no idea why.”
He spent 12 hours lying there on the floor, unable to move, until his wife, Loretta, returned home.
“It was pretty devastating,” she says. When she came home, she saw his car outside, but couldn’t find him.
“When I did, it was horrific,” she adds.
An ambulance whisked Phil away to the nearest hospital. Doctors found no signs of stroke, heart attack, seizures, or anything that might have caused the fall.
A neurosurgeon performed surgery on Phil’s neck and spine. Following the procedure, he was in the intensive care unit and spent two weeks in the hospital.
The Road to Recovery
The next step was inpatient rehabilitation.
“Everybody kept saying the sooner he gets to rehab, the better his recovery,” Loretta says.
Phil transferred to a rehabilitation facility and spent six weeks receiving care, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
“They were wonderful, but what we realized several months later was that it wasn’t the specific care he needed,” Loretta says.
At that time, Phil was still unable to walk or eat. He also had a feeding tube due to a bone spur in his throat. He returned to the hospital for surgery on his throat to remove the bone spur.
Specialized Spinal Cord Rehab
After time in a skilled nursing facility, and another short rehab stay, Phil arrived at UPMC Mercy in August 2024. The couple said they noticed the difference in the more specialized rehabilitation and care for spinal cord injuries.
UPMC Mercy is nationally ranked in rehabilitation by U.S. News and World Report.
UPMC Rehabilitation Institute’s inpatient rehabilitation is known for specialized care for patients like Phil with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), as well as those who’ve had strokes, traumatic brain injuries, or other serious injuries.
“The care I got was just tremendous,” Phil says. “They had more technology and the people at Mercy were just outstanding.”
Just as important was the support. Since the day of his injury, Loretta had spent countless hours and days on the phone with hospitals, insurance companies, and organizations trying to figure out exactly what care Phil needed and how to get it.
That all changed when they met Lonna Perella, BSN, RN, a UPMC nurse manager.
“The day I met Lonna, I think that night I just cried because I thought finally there’s someone who can hold my hand and guide me,” she says. “All I wanted to do was help Phil and get him the care he needed, and I didn’t know how to do it.”
Home Sweet Home
After seven weeks of specialized inpatient therapy at UPMC and more than four months after his fall, Phil and Loretta prepared to bring him home. Lonna guided them every step of the way.
“She started explaining that going home is going to be a completely different scenario, talking about what we needed — equipment and supplies, home health,” Loretta says. “I think we were both so overwhelmed, and she could see it. And she said, ‘I will be here with you all the way. Here’s my cellphone number, here’s when I work.’ It gave me such a sense of security.”
Lonna helped the family find and rent a handicap-accessible van. She also explained the benefits of – and how to get connected with – in-home therapy for the first few weeks while they adjusted to their new routine. Then, Phil began outpatient therapy at UPMC Rehabilitation Institute.
“Lonna was just a lifesaver and hooked us up with everything we needed and made sure we had supplies when we came home, had the names of places we needed to make contact with,” Loretta says. “I still tell her when I see her that I thank God for her. She really was a lifesaver. I don’t know what we would have done if we hadn’t met.”
The couple was also connected to a smart technology study at UPMC through the University of Pittsburgh. The research team set Phil up with technology in his hospital room and at home after discharge. The technology includes a voice-activated remote control and a tablet for the TV, window blinds, doorbell camera, garage door opener, and inside door opener.
“It’s been a huge benefit for both of us,” Phil says. “It allows me to do things like change the channel or lower the volume on the TV right now while I still struggle with the remote.”
Slow and Steady Progress
Phil still goes to outpatient physical and occupational therapy several times a week. He’s working on walking again and can now hold up about 90% of his body weight. He’s also learning to use a modified walker and improve his grip.
Through everything, Loretta says Phil has stayed positive.
Recovery hasn’t been easy. Phil loved playing golf, staying active, and taking long evening walks. Now that he’s retired, life looks very different from what he imagined.
“It happened so suddenly,” he says. “Initially, you are kind of numb to what’s going on, and then gradually you realize I’m making progress, but I didn’t realize how incredibly slow that progress is.”
Not knowing what’s ahead is hard, too.
“If you break your arm, you know you’ll go through some rehab and be just fine with some menial limitation,” he says. “With this injury, you don’t know what the future holds.”
Phil is thankful Loretta has been by his side the whole way. She feels the same.
“I’m just glad he’s still here with us. That day, I just didn’t know where things would end up,” she says. “We are lucky to have each other.”