Ramblin’ Man
and Stroke Victim
Russ Cohen
NOW WALKING TALL
JON MARKS | JE STAFF
BUT UNLIKE MANY in his situation, Russ Cohen never gave up.

Confined to a wheelchair following a 2013 stroke on his right side, he finally stopped feeling sorry for himself
after the loss of a close friend and decided to get up — literally — and do something. So he started volunteering
at area nursing homes.

And while the wheelchair still sits in his cramped apartment at the Elkins Park House as a reminder, for the
most part he’s walking.

He wants those facing some of the same issues to not feel quite so alone.

“I was depressed,” said the 54-year-old Cohen, whose situation came to the attention of the JEVS Human Services
Nursing Home Transition program about three months after his stroke. JEVS has been at his side since,
now helping him adjust through its Supports Coordination program. “I wasn’t in denial.

Photo provided
See Cohen, Page 24
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM THE GOOD LIFE
MAY 18, 2017
23