Nearly six months after a motorcycle crash left him with more than 20 broken bones and dozens of traumatic injuries, Darren Barto returned to Reading Hospital on Friday, this time walking on his own.
Barto and his wife, Karen, visited the hospital’s Healing Garden in West Reading to reunite with members of the medical team who treated him following the April 12 crash in eastern Berks County.
The Collegeville couple returned to express their gratitude to the doctors, nurses, therapists and others Barto credited with helping him through a recovery that included emergency treatment, blood transfusions, multiple surgeries and rehabilitation.
Barto said he had been riding his motorcycle when another driver turned left in front of him, resulting in a head-on collision. First responders transported him to Reading Hospital’s trauma center, where doctors determined he had suffered 27 traumatic injuries, including more than 20 broken bones.
Despite the extent of his injuries, Barto said he did not suffer a brain or spinal cord injury.
He ultimately spent 43 days receiving hospital and rehabilitation care, including acute rehabilitation, an additional surgery and subacute rehabilitation. After leaving the hospital system, he continued with physical and occupational therapy, sometimes spending six or seven hours a week working to regain his abilities.
Months later, Barto said he can now do most of the things he was able to do before the crash.
“Today was just a day to come back and just share my gratitude, my wife’s gratitude, for everything that this hospital and the team that works here did for me,” Barto said.
For Barto, the relationships he developed with members of his care team became an important part of his recovery.
“The big thing I felt here is I felt like a human, not a patient,” he said. “They made me feel like Darren, not just another patient.”
Barto said doctors and nurses took time to connect with him even while working in a busy trauma environment, providing encouragement that helped him remain focused on recovery.
He described the staff as being on “Team Darren” throughout his time at the hospital.
Jennifer Barney, Reading Hospital’s Injury Prevention Outreach Coordinator, said reunions between trauma patients and their medical teams can be meaningful for both sides.
“Trauma survivor meetings can provide a sense of closure for both survivors and the healthcare team,” Barney said. “Survivors can share their story and reconnect with those who cared for them, while healthcare staff can see the person behind the injury and hear how their care made a difference.”
Throughout his recovery, Barto said he tried to focus on small goals rather than everything he still could not do.
“Every day, my goal was I wanted to do something new that I couldn’t do the day before,” he said.
Sometimes, that meant doing an abdominal crunch while still confined to bed. Other days, it meant lifting a leg he had been unable to move the previous day.
“Every day was about just doing something new, and I live that even today,” Barto said. “Because then every day’s a win.”
He said one of the biggest lessons he would share with someone facing a similar recovery is to remain focused on the present rather than worrying about every possible setback.
“It may not be the same. Your life will never be the same, but it’s going to be okay,” Barto said. “And you can get through this.”
His recovery was also supported by a large network of friends, family members and coworkers.
Barto recalled friends mowing the couple’s lawn, mulching their property and walking their dogs so Karen could spend time with him during his hospitalization.
Karen said that network also made sure she was supported while Darren concentrated on healing.
“The doctors, the nurses, the therapists, and our friends and family not only rallied to keep Darren focused on healing,” she said, but also made sure she was eating, resting and receiving the support she needed.
Karen said the experience changed the way the couple values ordinary moments together.
Before the crash, she said, they might have talked about their next trip. During Darren’s recovery, something as simple as sitting together on the couch and holding his hand became something she looked forward to.
“Those little moments we still never take for granted,” she said.
Darren has since returned to his full-time job, which he performs from home, but his recovery is not finished.
He continues occupational therapy to improve the range of motion in his wrist and expects to undergo surgery in December to repair his rotator cuff. He hopes to resume work-related travel next year and has set additional physical goals, including eventually running a 5K and completing a 20-mile bicycle ride.
He does not, however, plan to return to motorcycling.
Barto said the experience showed him that he could push himself further than he previously realized, physically, emotionally and personally.
For now, he continues approaching his recovery the same way he did during those first weeks after the crash: one goal at a time.
“I always have something I’m shooting for,” he said. “I have to have something to go for. And that keeps me pushing.”
