Rehab is not always a stright line recovery. All too many times we run into some medical problems from underlying prior conditions that complicate things.
All too often we are able to push hard from the very beginning on recovery from whatever they were hospitalized for. They make great progress all week long. We go home for the weekend and come back on Monday expecting to hop right where we were.
Needing more help
Suddenly on Monday we have gone backwards. Not just a little from laying around too much, but a lot more help. So we report to nursing or the MD.
Some blood work or maybe testing for a UTI. And keep pushing while awaiting results.
Most times it’s just a small bump in the road with some antibiotics or a bag of saline. And back to normal we go.
Sometimes it’s not so easy
The most frustrating is when they can’t figure out right away what is causing the problem. We keep trying with Therapy and seem to either stay the same or even continue to back slide. This can be the most frustrating. We are here to fix and we feel like we are spinning our wheels.
Diabetes can really change the game
Diabetes is a very scary disease. Even with constant monitoring of blood sugar levels and sliding scales of insulin. A wound can develop at any time.
Thus is especially true when they are in a decreased state of health. Unfortunately this is 90 percent of the short term residents we are seeing. If they were not in a decreased state of health…..they would already be home.
A wound on a foot…..
Wounds on a foot can be tremendously difficult and completely derail the plan. Suddenly we need to be more cautious about weight bearing.
They could have gone from being almost ready to go home and walking with minimal assistance and suddenly we have to restart and teach how to move about with a weight bearing limitation. Luckily there are some tools that can help like offloading boots. They help but can be awkward because they are very rigid and never equal in height to the other shoe.
Keep shooting for the goal
This is where you really need to regroup and remember that as frustrating as it is for us. Just imagine how it must feel for them. We really need to encourage more than ever and never give up. This road hump will pass also.
