Recovery is possible—with the right care and community.
Five days after spinal cord surgery, Ivan “Kaulana” Duldulao arrived at REHAB Hospital of the Pacific in a wheelchair, unable to walk on his own.
Seven days later, he walked out under his own power.
Between those two moments was an intensive rehabilitation journey—and a team of people who helped Kaulana believe in what was possible.
“Hope began to be restored with each passing day,” he says.
Rebuilding Strength and Independence
Through physical and occupational therapy, Kaulana worked to rebuild his strength, balance and independence.
His physical therapists challenged him with exercises designed to improve his mobility and build on his athletic mindset. At the same time, his occupational therapy team helped him relearn everyday tasks that had suddenly become difficult—from safely showering to putting on his socks—and learn new ones, like caring for his cervical collar.
Each small victory built his confidence.
“The daily check-ins, the care, the encouragement—it made everything seamless and meaningful,” Kaulana says.
As his rehabilitation continued, he began to understand how many different areas of expertise are involved in helping someone recover. But what stayed with him most were the personal connections he made along the way.
Therapists found common ground through sports, golf and friendly school rivalries. Staff throughout the hospital greeted him by name and brought encouragement and aloha to his days. Even seemingly small interactions helped make a difficult experience feel more personal.
“You can feel their passion,” Kaulana says. “They care about every patient, and about each other.”
Continuing the Journey
Those relationships remained important even after his inpatient stay ended.
When Kaulana had the option to continue outpatient therapy elsewhere, he chose to return to REHAB and the team he had come to know and trust.
Over the following months, he continued building strength, stamina and balance. He progressed from struggling with a bodyweight squat to running on a Zero-Gravity treadmill—a milestone that once would have seemed far away.
Today, Kaulana is back at work, staying active and golfing regularly. But recovery gave him more than physical progress. It also gave him a renewed appreciation for the people around him and the everyday moments that can be easy to overlook.“I remain forever grateful to the REHAB ohana,” he wrote.
For Kaulana, moving forward means carrying with him both the lessons of his recovery and a perspective he now shares with others:
“I tell everyone now—every day is a gift. Don’t take anything for granted.”