News

Daily Mail.com
By RONNY REYES FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:26 EDT, 25 June 2022 

A man who lost both his legs after suffering a seizure and falling onto a New York City subway platform plans to take on a 5K  obstacle course and 6K race this weekend after training with prosthetic legs for a year. 

Roman Leykin, 36, a former tech worker from Brooklyn who was diagnosed with epilepsy as a teenager, was stuck with a seizure while commuting to work...

Stamford Advocate
By Brianna Gurciullo
June 25, 2022

STAMFORD — About four years ago, Roman “Rome” Leykin lost both of his legs above the knee in a subway accident.

This weekend, the Stamford resident will participate in two races.

Saturday was the Gaylord Gauntlet at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare’s campus in Wallingford, where Leykin faced two dozen obstacles along a course slightly longer than a 5K.

“Bring it on. I can’t wait,” Leykin said in an interview earlier in the week, adding that he was looking forward to the challenge.

My Record Journal.com
By Sean Krofssik
June 19, 2022 

WALLINGFORD — Almost a year ago to the day, Wallingford teenager Alena D'Antonio had surgery to remove a tumor from the right side of her brain.

It was love from family and friends, along with therapy at Gaylord Special Care, that helped her heal and brought her through the tough times.

So did softball.

Two months after her June 2021 surgery, D’Antonio was back on the field, playing slow-pitch softball in the Wallingford Girls Softball League on a team coached by her dad, Dom.

NBC News
By Jolie Sherman  
Published June 25, 2022

Every year, Gaylord Hospital hosts the Gaylord Gauntlet, a 5k run and obstacle course. The best part: it celebrates athletes who have overcome life-changing injuries. 

Mud pits, walls, and a giant rock were three of the 24 obstacle courses runners tackled on Saturday. Among the participants were strong minds like Jay Ross from Plymouth.

"In 2018, I was in a motorcycle accident that got me paralyzed from the waist down," said Jay Ross, Gaylord Gauntlet's 2022 Feature Adaptive Athlete

 

NBC 30
By Jolie Sherman
June 25, 2022

Every year, Gaylord Hospital hosts the Gaylord Gauntlet, a 5k run and obstacle course. The best part: it celebrates athletes who have overcome life-changing injuries. 

Mud pits, walls, and a giant rock were three of the 24 obstacle courses runners tackled on Saturday. Among the participants were strong minds like Jay Ross from Plymouth.

"In 2018, I was in a motorcycle accident that got me paralyzed from the waist down," said Jay Ross, Gaylord Gauntlet's 2022 Feature Adaptive Athlete.

 

 

Hartford Courant
By Lori Riley

WALLINGFORD - — In 2019, Len Brin ran his fastest marathon time, 3 hours, 27 minutes. He missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by only a few minutes.

But last summer it was a struggle some days for Brin to get out of bed. His heart raced out of control when he tried to run and soon walking and even just standing up became a challenge.

Brin, 52, of Cheshire had COVID-19 in November 2020.

WTNH Channel 8 By Rich Coppola Posted: Jun 20, 2022  MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The mission of the Gaylord Sports Association is improving the lives of people with physical disabilities through adaptive sports and recreation. Garrett Mendez of Trumbull was just 19 when he suffered a brain stem stroke in 2005. Thanks in part to Gaylord Hospital, there is indeed life after a stroke. On Monday, the Great River Golf Club in Milford hosted the Gaylord Annual Golf Classic. It is Gaylord’s biggest fundraiser of the year for the sports association.

CT Insider
By Jordan Fenster
May 31, 2022

Willie Collier’s voice is gravelly from the tube in his throat, though he said he “wasn’t much of a singer” even before he caught COVID.

Collier, of North Haven, went into the hospital with a COVID infection on March 30, 2020. He was in a coma for two months. He was intubated and had a tracheostomy tube, often called a “trach,” put in.

The tube is still there, more than two years later.

The problem, he said, is scar tissue that grew in his trachea while he was intubated. He’d given up hope of ever having it removed. His doctor suggested a specialist in New York City, but Collier was tired of trying.

New Haven Biz
June 6, 2022

Sonja LaBarbera has been guiding Gaylord Specialty Healthcare into a new era.

LaBarbera, president and CEO of Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, has been overseeing a multiyear, $10-million hospital renovation project. More than 100 inpatient rooms along with family and staff areas are being renovated to give the hospital a more home-like atmosphere.

The project is about 50 percent complete.

LaBarbera, who in early 2019 became the first woman to serve in the CEO role, has juggled the construction project while also leading Gaylord through the COVID-19 pandemic.

MyRecordJournal.com
May 31, 2022 09:33AM
By Jessica Simms, Record-Journal staff

As a way to thank the Gaylord Specialty Healthcare staff at the Traurig House in Wallingford, Girl Scout Troop 64099 of Southington donated 240 boxes of Girl Scout cookies recently.

The Traurig House is a transitional living center at Gaylord for patients recovering from a brain injury or stroke. 

Troop leader Jennifer Brush’s son Joshua, 34, was a patient at the Traurig House after he suffered a traumatic brain injury in California in December 2020.