Basketball coach Mike Sutton moved to Cookeville Regional Medical Center
Mike Sutton has taken a major step in recovering from Guillain-Barre' Syndrome. The Tennessee Tech men's basketball head coach no longer needs a ventilator and has been moved from Specialty Select Hospital in Nashville to Cookeville Regional Medical Center.
COOKEVILLE -- Mike
Sutton has taken a major step in recovering from
Guillain-Barre' Syndrome. The Tennessee Tech men's basketball head
coach no longer needs a ventilator and has been moved from
Specialty Select Hospital in Nashville to Cookeville Regional
Medical Center.
"It just happened really quickly," said Sutton's wife Karen. "The
respiratory people saw a lot of improvement and were prodding him
along to get off the ventilator. Once your off, it's time to move
on."
Sutton stopped using the ventilator on Monday and was then transported from Nashville to Cookeville on Thursday where he has nestled into a private room. The 49-year-old Sutton has been taking small steps on his road to recovery from a disorder that has no apparent cause.
Guillain-Barre' Syndrome, an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves that causes paralysis, immobilized Sutton in early April during a trip to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth, Va., where former Golden Eagle standout Willie Jenkins was playing.
After being admitted to Bons Secours DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk, Va., and then moving to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Sutton has been working hard on his physical rehabilitation at Specialty Select.
At first, Sutton was almost motionless and on a ventilator while being listed in critical condition. No longer listed as being in critical condition, he is also showing movement in his lower body.
"We are just happy that Cookeville had a place for him," Karen said. "We are just happy to be here."
Although Sutton has returned to Cookeville, his wife is asking that he doesn't have any visitors before 3 p.m. because of his rigorous physical therapy schedule. She is also discouraging "drop-in" visitors at the hospital.
"Anybody who knows us will know someone who can get in touch with me to make arrangements to come in," Karen explained. "We'll just have to work it that way."
Sutton's move to Cookeville means Karen won't be spending endless hours in Nashville and they will be just a stone's throw away from their house on 10th Street.
"I can run home for 30 minutes and pick up the mail or change out the laundry or have lunch with a friend," she said. "There will be a period of adjustment but it's good just to get our lives back and get back to our support group here."
