Thursday was my first day volunteering at Shands Rehab Hospital and it was AMAZING. I volunteered from 9am to 3pm and so I was able to experience a variety of cases. I was also lucky enough to shadow an amazing physical therapist who was very patient and answered all of my questions and took the time to explain each exercise and the reasoning for it.
Our first patient, lets call him Mr. Frog, had recently undergone heart surgery. We were asked to take special cardiac precautions which included frequently taking his vitals to insure that he was getting enough oxygen and that his heart rate was normal. Since his ribs were separated and Mr. Frog has a large incision across his chest we were also supposed to make sure he knew not to use his arms. Have you ever thought how difficult it would be to not use your arms during your ADLs (activities of daily living)?! Well it is hard! We mostly concentrated on regaining endurance and making sure that Mr. Frog knew the safe and correct ways to get in and out of bed without using his arms. We walked all through the hospital and used a bike to increase endurance. Mr. Frog was an excellent patient and really pushed himself to be able to return to health.
The next patient had a spinal cord injury around the T10 level. Lets call her Ms. Chick. Ms. Chick had made excellent progress over the previous week and we practiced transferring from her wheelchair into a bed. We also worked on increasing her range of motion and leg strength through leg lifts. The physical therapist mentioned that she could safely maneuver around the potential obstacles in her house and so would soon be returning home.
Ms. Mouse (again, not real name) had recently had her 5th stroke. With assistance and a lot of encouragement, Ms. Mouse was able to walk her longest distances of 90ft and then an additional 40 ft. She also was able to lift her feet more instead of shuffling them. Again, we also monitored her vitals frequently and when we found that her blood pressure was high, we informed the nurse and rested.
For the purposes of this entry, lets call the next patient Mr. Gator. Mr Gator was such a funny man. When I first met him, he told me that nothing was wrong with his body and that the only reason he was in Shands Rehab Hospital was because he was a spy! He was one of the most entertaining patients, but his story is also one of the saddest. Mr. Gator is an elderly man who lives with his wife. He had been in excellent health until suddenly his wife noticed that he seemed confused and disoriented. Upon getting to Shands Hospital, they found that his brain had swelled. Through the course of his hospital stay, his muscles deteriorated and he became very weak. Since he lives only with his wife, the goal of his stay at Shands Rehab is for him to be able to move around his house and care for himself. Mr. Gator is a new patient and so we spent a lot of time learning the proper procedure of transferring from wheelchair to walker to chair/bed. Mr. Gator is still a little disoriented and so it took a while for him to understand what needed to be done. We also needed to remind him frequently where he was and why he was there. Mr. Gator was freezing through the majority of his therapy and so I suggested that we might walk outside. The PT thought that was an excellent idea and when presented to Mr. Gator, he was very excited and enjoyed the walk despite his fatigue.
During the lunch hour, the PT that I had been shadowing went to lunch along with most of the other therapists. As a result, I was able to meet a few OTs (occupational therapists). One was working with a patient Ms. Crane who had polio as a child. One result was a differing in the lengths of her legs. Through the years this put strain on her hips and back. Mr. Crane recently had 4 different surgeries on her back and a hip replaced. I sat and talked to her as she strengthened her back and leg muscles on a bike.
Also during the lunch hour I was able to meet an OT who was working with a patient Ms. Birdy (not real name). Ms. Birdy was in Haiti during the earthquake and got a spinal cord injuring. Ms. Birdy is young and only speaks Creole. It was interesting to see the OT communicate with Ms. Birdy and help her learn English and also learn ADLs. We strengthened arm muscles and practices transferring from her wheelchair to a bed or chair. Despite Ms. Birdy's language barrier and lack of familial support, she was so sweet and strong. Throughout the session she would tell us that she spake Spanish or Danish and would laugh as she spoke the few words in the language that she knew. I am not sure how to came to be in Gainesville but I am glad she is receiving so much assistance and is making so much progress.
My experience at Shands Rehab hospital was amazing and I am excited to return on Tuesday!
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