Nurse Practitioner with Excelsia Injury Care, Frederic Maniraho, reflects on the power of compassionate care, perseverance, and small steps toward recovery and renewed independence.
I had the privilege of caring for a woman in her early 70s, whom I’ll call Miss Coffee, over five months following a motor vehicle accident. She was driving through a green light when her vehicle was T-boned.
Before the accident, she was active and independent. She showed me a video of herself dancing at a party just a week earlier—healthy, energetic, and full of life.
When she first came to my office, however, in significant pain and walked with a pronounced limp, leaning noticeably to one side. At first glance, I wondered whether there might be a spinal or structural problem contributing to the way she was walking. It was difficult to reconcile the vibrant woman in the video with the person sitting before me.
We began working together to address the different pieces of her recovery. She participated in physical therapy and chiropractic care, and I referred her to neurology for evaluation of her neurological symptoms and post-traumatic headaches. Imaging her neck and back revealed disc abnormalities. We also incorporated medications, including anti-inflammatory agents, muscle relaxants, and lidocaine patches, while supporting her interest in natural remedies when appropriate.
Beyond the treatments, our work was grounded in listening, reassurance, and a collaborative approach to her care. At each visit, we celebrated small signs of progress.
By her third appointment, she arrived without her cane. Although she still had a slight limp, she was standing straighter. At subsequent visits, her walking continued to improve. And something else had changed—her outlook. She was smiling, talking about her plans, and looking forward to returning to gardening.
Eventually, she did just that.
At her final visit, she told me she had resumed gardening and had probably overdone it a little, but she had not reinjured herself. She was also no longer relying on her medications as regularly as before.
She was proud of how far she had come, and I shared her joy.
When we first began working together, neither of us knew how much of her condition was attributable to the accident or whether it had aggravated an underlying problem. We did not have all the answers, but we continued to work together, adjusted her treatment plan, and focused on her progress.
After five months of treatment, I had the privilege of discharging her. It was a particularly rewarding moment for me—not simply because she was walking better, but because she had regained something bigger: her confidence, independence, and excitement about life.
Miss Coffee’s story reminds me that healing does not always come from one dramatic intervention. Sometimes healing is the accumulation of small, consistent improvements, a patient’s commitment to recovery, and a clinician’s willingness to listen, encourage, and walk alongside the patient throughout the journey.
— Frederic Maniraho, NP, Excelsia Injury Care
About Excelsia
Born in 1993, Excelsia Injury Care’s mission is to restore quality of life through patient-centric care and support for those injured in a motor vehicle or work-related accident. With over 90 patient care centers across the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Mountain West regions, our vision is to be the leading provider of injury care—setting the standard of excellence in the communities we serve and expanding access to high-quality care nationwide.
At Excelsia, we offer the full continuum of care with an integrated care delivery model. Our diverse team of medical specialists provides the full spectrum of treatment, including physical rehabilitation, medical care, and other ancillary services. We are committed to supporting patients through prompt treatment, successful recovery outcomes, and full management of the complex insurance claim reimbursement process. With Excelsia, your clients are never far from the care they need—with the compassion they deserve.