Rehab rituals

Hi everyone, thought you might like to know how I am going with my knee/hip recovery.

When I last left you I was at home, waiting for a bed to become available in a rehabilitation centre. I thought the best way to get through the tendon tear and hip problems was to go to rehab. I knew I needed some intensive physio to get me back on my feet again, so my specialist booked me in. I also wanted Neil to have a well-earned break after being my 24 hour nurse for the past 3 weeks.

During the 2 weeks I spent at Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, I had the pleasure of sharing my room with some lovely ladies, Rhonda, Leila and another Rhonda, who was older. All of these ladies had their own battles to overcome and it was amazing how only after a few days you become so familiar with people, how total strangers can become friends and tell you about their whole life.

The rehab centre had a set-up like a hospital, with shared rooms and wards, but for all meals there was a communal eating area where you had to go to 3 times a day (unless you were told not to get out of bed). They encouraged people to make their own way there, even if you were in a wheelchair. I had to be pushed most of the way as it was taking too much of a toll on my shoulders. The dining room became the place where you would meet many of the other patients and hear about the struggles they faced. “What are you in for” they would ask, making it sound like a prison sentence! At my first meal there, which was lunch, I was quite shocked to see how many amputees there were. I had never been in a room with so many and instantly felt humbled with my condition. As well as the amputees, there was a chap who had just had a liver transplant, a man with a huge metal cage attached to his skull and many older ladies who had hip and knee replacements, spinal injuries and downs syndrome.

The food they served in the dining room was your standard hospital fare but you had a choice of two hot mains and generally sandwiches if you wanted something cold. The thing that made me laugh was that the food had virtually no salt in it so lacked a lot of flavour, yet on the table there were many containers of salt sachets which you would have to use on every meal, meaning you would end up eating more salt than you would have if they had seasoned the food from the start!

Apart from watching the antics of patients and staff and eating three meals a day, my daily schedule also included exercise! Most days involved a hydrotherapy session in the morning, then an hour of physio after lunch. The physios were fantastic. As well as muscle strengthening exercises and painful massage, I learnt much about my muscular skeletal system and how to improve my posture. The Occupational Therapist (OT) was fabulous too, probably the best I have ever come across in all the years of having operations. She went to extra lengths to provide me with the right aids and applied for government grants to purchase wheelchairs and special chairs for home. As part of rehab, they have a kitchen where they can see how you handle cooking from a wheelchair or crutches. This is optional but because I love cooking, I jumped at the chance and cooked a yummy bacon and zucchini slice which I enjoyed one evening for tea with Neil.

After my first week there I was making slow progress and was able to get around a little easier with a frame. I was allowed to go home for the weekend and come back Sunday evening ready for Monday morning’s therapy.

After my first week of rehab and being an ‘inmate’ I started to notice some comical things and thought I would write them down:

• Whilst watching tv in the evening, Rhonda2 turned her tv on and put her earplug in, so not to disturb anyone. The tv seemed very loud. After 10 minutes I decided to ask her to turn it down. She had no idea that the earplug was not plugged into the tv and we were hearing it too!

• Each morning at breakfast, the same 2 patients had the same ‘bed hair’ every morning – sticking up exactly the same way!

• It’s a painful fact that being incapacitated for a long time and taking pain killers can make you constipated. For some of my room mates this was rather a big problem and going “number 2s” became one of the highlights of the day with many shouting “success” as they exited the bathroom!

• Staying with toilet humour for the moment, three of us started to wake up during the night at the same time and almost became synchronised with our toilet visits!

• A comical patient called Ralph who was two sandwiches short of a picnic, would ask everyone for a cigarette and sift through the outside ashtrays for butts. He also had a big appetite and would always ask for seconds at meal times. One of his favourite things to do would be to use the hallway as a racetrack and speed along it in his wheelchair, then stop outside your room and just stare in! He also hated sleeping in his room and would sneak out at night with his pillow and blanket and go to the lounge area to sleep on the couch.

• Another patient who endeared herself to everyone was Margaret. She had downs syndrome and liked to sit with specific people at all meal times. If her friends sat elsewhere, she would not eat her meal until she was relocated to sit with them. She was a sweetie and everyone loved her. It was sad to see her when she had to say goodbye to her friends when they went home.

One other nice thing that I had the pleasure of doing was visiting the “sensory garden“. This garden was built around a beautiful ash tree where patients could go to sit with visitors and explore the interesting features it housed. There were herbs to smell and eat, sculptures and a lovely water feature. You might have seen some photos I took there one day when Neil visited.

After two weeks of rehab, I was able to walk around again, with the use of crutches, so was discharged. My room mates and I exchanged phone numbers and I said goodbye. I still have many weeks of physio to do to build up my muscle strength again, and will need to start a regular exercise regime to keep them in shape so they can support my dodgy hip and to give me the daily strength I need to do the things I want to do. I will need to get my hips replaced again at some stage, but hopefully it won’t be for another couple of years.

Thanks to everyone who have followed my progress and passed on their thoughts.

Cheers
Naomi Creek