It has taken me awhile to write this letter. My daughter Stephanie came to The A. Sorells Speech Solutions practice a year ago. Stephanie was suffering from her throat closing up which is challenging and startling experience.

Mrs. Sorells was very thorough and intuitive from the beginning. She left no stones unturned from the beginning. She left no stones unturned from Face Time conferences to reach out on a continual basis with her primary Physician Dr. Merrill.

Words cannot say how much we appreciate all the time and love she put into Stephanie. When Mrs. Sorells realized, with collaborations with the primary Physician, our daughter had a more serious issue called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome she did extensive research to understand this condition. This was not her responsibility, but just the person, speech pathologist, and practice she runs there. Afterward, she helped Stephanie by relentlessly seeking a referral to one of the only facilities in the state that deals with EDS.

The hoops she went through from hours of calls to taking documentation to the hospital personally, it was beyond amazing. Our family cannot say enough to thank this practice. We will always be appreciative and highly of this business.

With sincere gratitude!

On September 5th, 2017 my whole life changed. I came home and was complaining about a headache and nausea. My wife, Jolly brought me to the Naval Hospital at NAS Jacksonville, they sent me home stating I was dehydrated. Reporting to work the next day I was still not well, Jolly brought me to St. Vincent’s hospital. An MRI was administered, and they discovered I had had at least one stroke.

Further examination revealed I had 3 strokes, pneumonia, and a collapsed lung. Shortly after I slipped into a coma for three and a half weeks.

Weeks of testing by specialists revealed I had contracted vial mosquito bite, an extremely rare disease, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), or Triple E. According to the Center for Disease Control ( CDC), an average of two human cases is reported in the Western Hemisphere annually. With a 33% mortality rate and a 95.6% chance of lasting impacts, I like to think I am both an extremely lucky and unlucky man.

After diagnosis, I was transferred to James A. Haley VA hospital on October 17, 2017; unable to walk, talk feed, or bathe myself for the next four months. I found myself in a dark place mentally. Not being able to talk has been a very difficult struggle.

I started working with Andrea Sorells in September 2018, and it has been truly amazing. I came to her with very little to no voice due to multiple strokes. She has helped me get a voice! She constantly researches new techniques to help my speech. She is wonderful, not only a therapist but a compassionate human. She has changed my quality of life tremendously!

My quality of life would not be what it is today without Andrea. She has helped me be more confident when speaking. As a result, I can order pizza over the phone!!!! She helps me realize that I CAN TALK!