Okay, we have arrived at the Rehab after our 10 days in the hospital!
I picked this rehab because I knew it didn't stink, it was very clean, and also had high marks on its therapy programs. On Friday, the social worker said she wanted to meet with me and gather all the information she needed. As we were talking, she said that we will have a case meeting on Mom's progress in about 3 weeks. I just looked at her and said 3 weeks (Medicare pays for 21 days-get the picture)? I promptly let her know that I did not expect Mom to be in there more than a week. If anyone could gauge Mom's progress it would be me. So, I explained to the social worker that I would let her know when Mom was ready to come home. I met with the physical therapist every day. The first day Mom's balance was bad (between being weak, in pain, eating liquids, and not walking much). Each day she got stronger and more balanced. Saturday afternoon, Larry and I got reprimanded by the nurse for taking Mom for a walk (I just can't stay out of trouble). We did it because on Saturday and Sunday there would be no physical therapy as Mom was a new patient and all the scheduling was not done yet. We figured keeping her going was the best medicine. Obviously, the staff did not feel the same way!
So, Monday rolls around and physical therapy is going well. Speech Therapy, on the other hand, not so much. Mom was not on any special diet at the hospital or the rehab but I could not get anyone to understand that she is much better on solids than liquids. I had to be at the rehab for all of her meals to make sure she didn't choke to death. I had spoke to the nurse's at the rehab and explained Mom's swallowing issues and could we please give her real food, but they said I had to speak to the speech therapist. After being persistent, I finally caught up with the speech therapist who had evaluated Mom.
Now, remember I have had Mom in outpatient speech therapy for the last 4 months and we have already had a swallowing test done (her swallowing devices are fine) etc....etc...The rehab speech therapist's thoughts were that if Mom choked so easily on liquids, she would definitely not be able to handle solids. I gave him all the reasons why he was wrong and then asked him if we could go see Mom together with different types of foods to try. I explained to him on the way to Mom's room about her particular form of dementia FTD, because of the swallowing issue and he had the idea that Mom was in another world because she didn't talk much to him. He did not understand at first that her swallowing problems were due to her brain not acting on the art of swallowing right away. Mom's brain needs time to process things, and with swallowing it needs some ques to get the motion going. Before we played with the foods, I asked Mom some questions to prove my point about her intellect and speech. Next, was food therapy. So the therapist started with liquids, than progressed to jello, than a granola bar, and finally a banana. With liquids Mom has to be told to swallow sometimes unless its with a straw than that activates her brain to swallow. The jello, granola bar, and banana got chewed up and swallowed like a charm. The speech therapist was a little surprised. He admitted to me that he did get an education on FTD and he has never had a patient like Mom. So by Wednesday Mom got to progress to pureed foods (yippee).
On Friday, the physical therapist and I walked with Mom up curbs, down long hallways, and then getting her in and out of chairs, bed, etc..She was pretty much back to normal. She still had tummy pain and was still recuperating from the gallbladder removal but she was steady on her feet and ready to come home. So we made the great escape on Saturday just in time for dinner at the house; Mom's favorite and real food-pork chops!!!!!
Mom is doing very well and pretty much back to where she was before this all happened. Mom's disease is progressive. When something else jumps in like surgery, there is a good chance of the person not coming back to the place they were before the event. The biggest difference is she is a little quieter. She's back in Adult Daycare, speech therapy (outpatient), riding in the 68 Stang, smiling, and bopping around.
These adventures at the hospital and rehab have taught me a couple of lessons: Be prepared to explain to every medical professional about Mom's disease, so they don't treat her like she's indifferent and/or stupid. Make sure Mom is taken care of as these places are understaffed and don't get around enough to look in on the patients. Be gentle but assertive to them to meet your needs. Let them know when you appreciate them, because some of them are great medical professionals. And last but not least, I do feel for those of you who are unable to be close enough to know that your loved one is being taken care of and not overstaying their welcome because they have no one to speak up for them or they have wonderful insurance benefits!!!!
As always-Be Happy and Hang Tight!
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