Warner Robins woman walks again thanks to nurses at rehab facility

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – In the spirit of giving back this holiday season, one Warner Robins woman who was a patient at Elberta Health Care, stopped by to say thank you. 

A car accident left her with gruesome injuries preventing her from being able to walk. 

This time last year, Lametric Shelley wasn’t able to stand up on her own two feet. The mother of three was in a car wreck in Warner Robins in February 2013.

“I had to learn how to dress myself, you know just pretty much groom myself, and stand up,” Shelley said. 

She had several broken bones including one in her neck. Doctors call the break a “hangman fracture.”

Lynn Davis, the administrator at Elberta Health Care, says Lametric’s insurance didn’t cover all of the care she needed for rehabilitation. 

“We had to fight tooth and nail with the insurance company, but finally I got to the right person at the top that was able to help us,” Davis said. 

Neither Davis nor Shelley stopped fighting. 

“I can’t even put it into words because they made me feel comfortable about everything. Even though it was limited, the stuff I did do it was hard,” Shelley said. 

Nurses at the rehab facility cared for Lametric as much as they could. Even then, she had to leave the center still in a sling, with a halo around her head, and in a wheelchair. 

“I couldn’t catch a break. It was like well you’re putting limits on what you would pay for me to have, but it’s not helping me at all in my recovery,” Shelley said. 

With the help of family, friends, and tips she got before she left Elberta Health Care, Lametric didn’t give up — she made it her mission to walk again. 

After about year of self help and motivation from others, she was back on her feet. 

“Walking in on her own without a halo, without assistance, with just a cane was just amazing,” Rebecca Berry, the social services admissions director said. 

She’s working and praying, putting one foot right in front of the other. 

This week, nursing homes all across the state are participating in the “Share a Moment of Love This Holiday” campaign where people are invited to spend some time with nursing home residents. 

Lametric says she waned to share love with the staff at Elberta Health Care for getting her to walk again.