Looking Forward

Looking at 33-year-old Kevin Sei, M.D., a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, you probably wouldn’t guess he was a patient at Shepherd Center for more than three months last year. But the long scar on the back of his head sometimes gives it away — his own patients sometimes ask him about it.

In the spring of 2024, Kevin was serving in the military, completing his residency in internal medicine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He woke up one Friday morning with a horrible headache. When he went to get a drink from the refrigerator, he realized his hand was numb and he couldn’t feel the cold temperature of the drink. A few days later, he saw a neurologist, who sent him to the emergency department. There, they found dozens of cavernomas — malformed blood vessels — in Kevin’s brain. Two of the vessels had bled, leading to the symptoms he was experiencing.

The neurosurgeon thought Kevin’s symptoms were not severe enough to warrant the risk of surgery, but over the following week, they worsened.

“I couldn't move my right side really, so I couldn't feed myself because I couldn't lift my right arm high enough — and I couldn't step into the shower because my right foot was dropping,” Kevin explains.

When it became clear that surgery was necessary, Kevin transferred to nearby Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, but even after surgery, his symptoms escalated.

“I just got worse … and then my left side went down, too, and I couldn't really move anything. It was essentially like a person with quadriplegia,” he says. “My family was there at the hospital at that time — my mom would hold my head up and my uncle would feed me.”

A second surgery resulted in marked improvement. Although he was weaker than usual, Kevin could move his left side right after surgery, and his right side was also slowly improving.

“The neurointensivist over in Virginia was like, ‘Hey, you're from Atlanta. Shepherd Center is one of the top places to go for rehab for brain injury, spinal cord injury, and stroke, and that's where she recommended.”

Kevin transferred to Shepherd Center’s inpatient Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program. When he arrived, he required assistance from two people to walk. He was immediately impressed with his care team at Shepherd.

“When I was first admitted, the nurses, the techs, and everybody made me feel welcome and like part of the family. And the therapists and the doctors, they took my opinions and what I wanted to get out of the treatment plan, and adapted physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech [therapy] to me, personally. So, I gave them my goals, and they were able to come up with a plan and execute, and they really pushed me, too. Their attitude during the whole process was phenomenal. They're all professional, nice, kind, and treated me and my family like their own family — and that's what I truly appreciate about Shepherd Center.”

After he graduated from the inpatient program, Kevin participated in the Day Program at Shepherd Pathways, a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation program for people recovering from brain injury.

Throughout his rehabilitation, he worked on improving his strength and mobility. His walking improved. Eventually, he started playing basketball with his therapist — practicing shooting and dribbling — and trying other pastimes he has always enjoyed, like hiking and pickleball.

But he knew he had another big challenge ahead — studying for his medical board examination.

“Pathways helped a lot with cognitive stuff, and it was really helpful with study techniques because before, I was just able to study like the whole day … for maybe 10-12 hours,” he recalls. “I had to learn how to cut down and maybe do 10 or 20 minutes at a time, take a break, then another 10 to 20 minutes because it was hard at first because mentally it was draining … but over time I was able to increase the length of time that I could study.”

After discharge from Shepherd, Kevin continued therapy closer to home. His doctors suspect the cavernomas are hereditary, so he’ll continue to make sure his blood pressure stays under control and be careful to avoid risk of head trauma. He has built up his strength and hopes to run the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race in July. He studied for the boards, and this summer, he moved to Augusta, Georgia, to serve on the Graduate Medical Education Staff in Internal Medicine at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center.

Kevin recently found out he passed his boards, and he’s back to doing what he loves — seeing patients, with whom he can empathize on a new level.

“I knew what patients went through before, but now, being a patient myself, I understand that better — and not saying that I understand what the patient is specifically going through, but I have my own understanding of that process and what it feels like to be a patient,” he says.

And for those patients who ask about his scar, he has a story to share.

“I'm just blessed to be doing what I love again, which is taking care of patients and also just being alive and, you know, living life.”

Written by Ruth Underwood