Startling to witness in old videos, Hanna Searcy’s health is stabilizing after two years of struggle.
“Learning how to walk again. It’s so brutal to watch,” Hanna says flipping through home videos on her phone. "Here's me in the hospital. This is when I got released. Yay! And by released, I mean off to a skilled-nursing facility I go."
In the fall of 2022, 27-year-old Hanna, who now works at Good Samaritan Society – Millard in Nebraska, had a week that changed her life and altered her perspective.
The wife and mother of two came down with Influenza A living in Washington state and then out of the blue, GBS.
“It’s Guillain-Barre syndrome. It basically attacks your nervous system and shuts down your entire body,” Hanna says.
Hanna's daughter Amelia, a third grader, watched Mom leave home on a stretcher.
"It was super scary. I thought she was going to be taken away from us forever," Amelia says.
“(I was) unable to walk, talk, feed myself, do anything," Hanna remembers. "I was in the ICU for some time. After that I went to intensive care in a different hospital, and then I went to a skilled-nursing facility just like this one and was there for about six months in recovery."
It wasn’t one of the Society’s long-term care centers and Hanna admits she didn’t enjoy her stay.
“I had some times where I thought I was just going to be done with life in general. Then I remembered I have two kids and I had to keep moving,” Hanna says.
'A place that cared and valued people'
After operations and during intense dedication to occupational and physical therapy, Hanna moved to Millard to be close to family in 2023. She began walking on her own again a week before starting with the Society as a business office manager.
“I wanted to work in a place that cared and valued people who were going through something I went through. So that’s when I decided to move,” Hanna says.
Society administrator Nicklos Norby says Hanna is a team player who goes above and beyond for residents.
“She’s been a joy to work with and really has been a great leader and has done so much for everybody around her,” Nicklos says.
Hanna adds, “When I took the job, my main goal was to have the levels of care be extraordinary because people need that."
Amelia, who also goes by Mia, doesn’t stray too far from Mom these days and often joins in on visits with residents like Fran McQuillan.
“I have a history of falling," Fran says on how she came to live at the Society. "As a matter of fact, that’s how I lost my eye was through a fall."
“She didn’t want to be here at all when she first came aboard," Hanna says about Fran. "It broke my heart because I knew exactly how she felt."
'Have compassion, No. 1 key'
After experiencing the Society’s care, Fran is home.
“If I had to be anyplace, it would be here and nowhere else,” Fran says. “I can’t say enough good stuff about this and thank God for Good Samaritan."
A place providing refuge and purpose for residents and team members alike.
“You have to be willing to do what is best for everyone else," Hanna says about the Society's culture of caring. "Have compassion, No. 1 key. We need to show them what kind of love that they still have in this world or what we can give them."
And there’s plenty of love still on the menu for Hanna too.
“Super happy because I thought she wasn’t going to come back and then she came back,” Amelia says with a smile.
Even though Hanna is doing well now, she still experiences occasional numbness. She continues to work out every day and monitor what she eats to keep improving.
Good Samaritan Society - Millard, in the Omaha area, is also improving and hopes to add a new hall with an additional 20 skilled beds in the winter.
