Welcome back!
As some of you know, as my father was leaving a birthday party about ten days ago, he blacked-out at the top of a stairwell and fell face-first down a short flight of steps to the landing.
Thankfully, the landing stopped his forward movement although he sustained a number of bruises including several on his head. Following a 911 call, he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.
After a three-day hospital stay for numerous tests and x-rays, he was sent to a local rehabilitation center for follow-up care. Although he was supposed to stay in the rehab center through the end of next week, he has worked very hard and they have allowed him to leave this Saturday.
Because of this incident, I have learned how often people are sent to a rehab location following surgery or accidents such as my dad endured. I had not realized how common short stays in such facilities were or why people were sent there in the first place.
The doctors never could confirm what caused the blackout, but we are moving forward in the hopes that changes in his medicine, the exercise regimen at the rehab center, and now the assistance of a cane or walker when needed will help prevent further falls.
The role of rehabilitation
Rehabilitation facilities exist to restore or augment one’s functional ability and quality of life when they struggle with physical disabilities. Because of Dad’s age, eighty-six, and the problems he is having with balance, the doctors knew he could receive additional physical support through strengthening exercises.
As I was researching what rehabilitation at such facilities entails, mainly because I am the curious type, I found that the goal is not necessarily full restoration of one’s physical ability, but to provide a way to live with the disability someone now experiences.
I am glad I found that out that because Dad was walking without assistance prior to the fall, but the rehabilitation he received included the use of wheelchairs, walkers, and canes. I was very surprised they let him leave a week early without having him reach the level of walking without assistance.
I hope that once he gets home he will continue to improve and gain strength to the point where he can again walk without assistance. Although we may never know what caused his fall, he has had a wonderful team of health care professionals, from the EMT’s to the hospital staff and then on to the rehabilitation center who all took an avid interest in his physical and mental health.
An unexpected positive experience
Sometimes we hear negative stories about the care received by those who have had emergencies, but Dad was treated very well all along this unexpected journey. I am very grateful to those who I have met and talked to, and those who I will probably never meet, for taking such good care of a senior citizen who means a lot to our family.
He is our patriarch, and that means a lot to us. According to the number of daily phone calls he received during the last ten days, it also means a lot to his children and grandchildren.
It was interesting to hear his voice grow stronger each day as he pressed forward to meet his physical goals. He enjoyed reporting his daily accomplishments. I believe the unexpected stay in a wonderful and progressive rehabilitation center has given him a new perspective on life.
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