I got the call on Monday morning - "Are you still interested in inpatient rehabilitation?", "Um, yes! A thousand times yes!" I was told to arrive at 11am the next day and to bring comfy clothes, shoes (yikes) and my medications. Righto. I spent the rest of Monday cancelling appointments and home care and packing up my stuff. I was sad to have to leave home so soon, but excited to start therapy.
When I arrived on Tuesday I was told that since I came from home, I could go home on weekends! This was a most pleasant surprise. Here I had been trying so hard to avoid going from home and then it turns out to be the best way to do it... Anyway, the rehabilitation and restorative care facility is in an old hospital about 15 minutes from home. It shares the facility with a Veterans nursing home - though this is in a totally separate wing. In a lot of ways it feels like a nursing home. We have hospital beds and a communal dining area and recreational areas. Most of the other patients are seniors and we spend our evenings putting together puzzles and playing cards.
My friend with GBS has been there for a month or so and it was great to see her again. It was also very encouraging to see how much progress she has made. The nursing staff are very nice as are they physio an OT staff.
I was originally assigned a bed in a semi-private room but was moved to a private room on Wednesday. I am very happy about this and really hope I don't get moved (this could happen if someone needs to be in isolation for an infection or something). I have a window that looks into a little courtyard. I also have my own washroom. The room is very utilitarian, but it's bright and clean and quiet. I've been sleeping well.
Tuesday and Wednesday were kind of orientation days. I went through a lot of assessments to see where I am at and to allow them to come up with a plan for me. I get 2 hours of physiotherapy a day and one hour of occupational therapy a day. I may also sign up for recreational therapy - possibly yoga or Tai Chi if I have the energy to add more. I will only get one hour of each therapy in IVIG weeks as I will be at the hospital for infusions in the mornings.
My morning physio is pretty similar to the exercises I have been doing only with some different gadgets to assist. I was able to lift my butt off of the mat doing supported bridges, which is new and very exciting. Physio also has this neat neurological bike that senses how much effort you can do and compensates for the rest. I did 20 minutes of this on Thursday and it really felt good. I think this will make a big difference pretty quickly. In the afternoons I am doing an upper body workout with weights.
Occupational Therapy has some overlap with physio but is more focused on fine motor skills. I am doing a lot of exercises for my hands and wrists in these sessions. I am also starting to work on sliding my feet out in front of me from a seated position. I will be ecstatic when I can do this.
I find that I am exhausted but in a good way at the end of the day and I am just really happy to be getting this therapy. I feel stronger already and am really working on doing as much as possible for myself. The nursing staff are all great and really like my attitude. Apparently I have a doppleganger among the staff, though I have not met her yet.
The food is much better than at the hospital and it turns out one of my neighbours works in the kitchen, so I'm taken care of. It was a little scary when my first 'vegetarian' meal came covered in gravy.... but we have since sorted that out.
I'm home now for my fist weekend and am happy to be here. The dog was really excited to see me:) I'll write more about rehab as the weeks (and probably months) go by.
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