My Rehab Experience

That Worked Out Well…

Kim & Duke — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:20:44 +0000

I missed a somewhat dreaded dentist appointment today. Unfortunately, it was because I had a migraine.

Good Riddance and I Guess Things Are Back to ‘Normal’

Kim & Duke — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:02:46 +0000

Apparently the first OT I had is leaving for another job next week. She is now across the hall being yelled at by a patient because they don’t want to stand up from the wheelchair to get in bed like they have done all Xmas at home. Sigh… I guess it’s back to listening to her calling the nurses and everyone who dares to be in the hallway into her room at all hours…

Where Did The Last 24 Hours Go?!

Kim & Duke — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:24:57 +0000

Last night and today has been pretty messed up. After a spasms sent me out of bed yesterday morning it was decided that I would start taking Clonazepam because it’s a bit stronger and more long-lasting than Diazepam (Valium). I am also taking two other kinds of muscle relaxers.

Anyway it turns out that all the Clonazepam does, besides make my arms slightly weaker and calm the muscle spasms in my upper body down slightly is make me so confused and tired that I slept for most of the past 24 hours and can’t remember the parts I was awake for, including any meals and my shower.

I’m suppose to take it until Tuesday when things will be re-assessed, but I will start refusing to take it tonight unless things get really bad!

I’m Pretty Sure I Would Have Remembered That

Kim & Duke — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:56:15 +0000

I’ll get into why I haven’t had Internet access for awhile later, but right now I must vent a little (OK, maybe a lot)!

Tonight I asked the nurse what was happening with my bowel program. I’ve been having so many spasms recently they deemed it unsafe for me to get in the chair I use to do it and I was wondering if it was happening in bed or in the chair. That’s when my nurse informed me that I had “moved my bowels” this morning! Well, if I did it was news to me! I’m pretty sure I’d remember someone coming into the room, takin my pants off and sticking an enema up my butt even though I can’t feel it!

Instead of taking my word for it the head nurse called another nurse that was working today to get the phone number for the nurse I had today to ask her if my bowel program was done or not!

After all that, it was determined that my memory is indeed still intact and that I didn’t have my bowel program or any type of accident. So much for actually listening to the sane patient and not wasting time… I guess that makes too much sense, and we all know how Eastern Health was behind the door when the sense was passed out!

It Happens to Even the Strongest of Us

Kim & Duke — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:39:48 +0000

There’s a funny thing about rehab. You work really hard to get out of here. When you are physically ready, you are happy to be able to go home, but there are so many mixed emotions. One of the other patients who has a SCI just stopped by to say good-bye. He is leaving tomorrow to go to a hospital closer to his home to wait until the renovations are complete so he can have access to his house again. His voice was shaky and he sounded like he was about to cry as he said good-bye. One of the roommates I had when I was here at first cried for days before she left, and one of the girls from just down the hall started crying at the elevator long before she got to my room when she left. As nice as it is to go home, you still miss the people you have met and become friends with. Of course on top of that you know that you are being thrown out into the world and are not going to be as sheltered as you have been during your rehab stay. It’s really a mixed bag of extreme emotions!

I wish him all the best in life and am happy that both him and his family are moving forward and I know he will continue to enjoy life and do great things!

What Is That Thing In The Sky?

Kim & Duke — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:54:16 +0000

Everyone’s been talking about the unusual thing in the sky today. Some people don’t know quite what to think of it. Other’s have a vague recollection like they should know what it is. It’s caused so much confusion. It’s big and shiny and round. Oh wait… It’s coming back to me now… It’s the sun! Oh sun, how we’ve missed you…

A Short Update

Kim & Duke — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:38:32 +0000

It’s about time for a bit of an update. I’ve been waiting for reliable internet service and finally got it sorted out yesterday! Not a lot has been happening really. I got an iPod touch and am more than pleasantly surprised by just how accessible to blind people it really is! (Seriously, are other companies ever going to catch up?)

Last Saturday I had a spasm that pushed my head against the bed rail and hurt my neck. It’s feeling a lot better now, but isn’t quite back to normal yet. I got a new bed because I kept getting my legs caught in the railings on the other one. It’s so much quieter (except for when the mattress shifts the air around because the box at the end of the bed vibrates) and it goes really low. So low in fact that I can reach most of the things I drop on the floor!

The View From My Bed

Kim & Duke — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:39:54 +0000

This is the view from my bed out into the hallway. Can you handle the excitement? Duke, my guide/service dog can’t come here to work because the management chose to not follow the law and let him, so I spend about 90% of my time in bed, or sitting next to my bed in a wheelchair I can’t move. It gets more than a bit boring after two months! (Not including the five and a half week hospital stay.) Especially when it’s busy and everyone else is going about their day.

Power Wheelchair Fitting and The Royal St. John’s Regatta

Kim & Duke — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:47:43 +0000

The power wheelchair fitting was done this week. There is so much more involvement than with a manual chair. My arm length was even measured. They are still not entirely sure they can get me a power wheelchair although I need one because I can’t see, but I think the fact that the OT finally contacted the guide dog school I got Sophie, my first guide dog from has helped. I had been telling her to contact them for quite a while now, but she only did after contacting a school in the UK and being told about the other school by them! It’s messed up, but I’ve learned how things work here a long time ago. You take all sense and throw it out the window, then whatever is left gets done!

On Wednesday evening, I went to the 193rd running of the Royal St. John’s Regatta with three Recreational Therapists and four other patients. It’s the oldest continuing sporting event in North America. It was misty when we left the building, and by the time we got to Quidi Vidi Lake (which happens to be very close by) it was already starting to rain. After exploring the area a bit to see what booths were around the RT that was with me found us a good spot at the starting/finish line and we waited in the rain for the race to start. We were cold and wet (we both only wore sweatshirts) so I ended up going back to the bus where two of the other patients were waiting. They didn’t even get off! (Maybe they had a bit more sense than the rest of us lol!) As one of the patient’s husbands, who pushed me back to the bus and I waited to get on we heard the starting pistol. Once I was back in my room I realized that I hadn’t felt as happy to be cold and wet and tired in a very long time. It felt good knowing that it happened because I was outside! The RT brought me back some nachos and I picked at them until I fell asleep.

Just Another Day At The Miller Centre…

Kim & Duke — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:27:55 +0000

The first thing I was faced with this morning was a visit from the OT. I was kind of expecting it because she was trying to get an appointment with the seating person to get the power wheelchair order ready to go. Well, she told me that we will be meeting with her on Wednesday morning, which seems like a long time away when you are waiting so long, but it isn’t too bad. The first thing she asked me though was if I have a Vet that I would rather take Duke to. It turns out that she has taken it upon herself to make up even more issues that don’t even exist!

She talked about getting Duke checked to make sure he is healthy and “don’t die in three months time” if they do go ahead and get me a power chair! What the hell?! Is she serious?! Now she is going to end up calling the vet and sticking her nose into places it don’t belong creating false issues wherever she goes! I’m so sick of this crap! She also said I need my vision checked even though I can’t see because she thinks she can’t prescribe a power wheelchair to someone who can’t see because she didn’t do it before. She don’t even know if they can get me a power wheelchair because of their prejudice although she knows I need one!

She also talked about contacting tons of people to ask them about guide dogs and power wheelchairs even though 99% of them don’t deal with it at all, but at the same time she is refusing to listen to me (the person with the experience who knows how my body and Duke works)! Then she had the nerve to have an attitude about how I was reacting and how I wasn’t just going along with all of her crap! I was also informed that there are other people here who can’t push their own wheelchair, but she is still failing to realize that I am capable of getting around if they would follow the law and allow my guide/service dog here! She said I wasn’t allowed to go out into the hallway because it was too dangerous. It is dangerous because they are making it dangerous for me and everyone else here.

I was also informed that it is going to take a very long time to get a power wheelchair (if they do, even though it’s the only way I can get around) because they don’t know what they are doing and don’t want to listen to someone who do (me)! Then I found out that I have absolutely no therapies of any kind on the board for today, even though it’s Monday. What is the point of laying here waiting for something that will never happen because of the attitudes and so-called rules here? This is beyond frustrating…