Working in a rehabilitation hospital, a Physical Therapist gets to spend a lot of time with each patient - up to 7.5 hours a week. As a result, we get to know patients pretty well. Here are the stories of a few of my favorite patients from my time in Tucson.
Patient E came into the hospital after a stroke. He had global aphasia (unable to understand spoken or written word, unable to speak or write), right hemiplegia (unable to use his right arm or leg), and pusher syndrome (felt like he was falling to the left so was constantly pushing his whole body to the right where he had no strength to catch himself). He stayed 5 weeks and was almost exclusively my patient for PT for most of that time. About 3 weeks in, with my instructions, he stood up from his wheelchair to a walker, stepped and turned his body to sit on a mat, and sat down gently. I said, "E, you're a champ!" He looked at me, looked at my name tag, then responded slowly, "No, Nancy, YOU'RE a champ!" I was excited that he had both read the name tag AND said a complete sentence. A couple of weeks later, he was able to go home with his wife, with a daughter, granddaughter, and niece available to help him. He told me he couldn't have done it without me.
Patient D is 91, and had also come into the hospital with a stroke. She was unable to stand, and her ability to move was further complicated by a strangely healed old humerus fracture - apparently, it had never been set so her right upper arm was floppy. It was hard to understand how she had been able to use the arm at all. Her biggest barrier was that she had a very defeatist attitude on the surface. Fortunately she would grasp at any positive words, although she would want lots of reassurance that the things I said were really true. With a lot of encouragement and innovation, she progressed to the point where she needed very little help to move from her bed to her wheelchair, and was able to walk with minimal assistance. The day she left, she said, "Nancy, you are really good. When you graduate, they're all going to be fighting for you!"
Patient F told her cardiologist (in my presence) that during her 8 months in hospitals with various PTs, the two best were one from her previous location and me. She broke down in tears as she told him, "this girl taught me how to walk again, when I didn't think I could!" She was another stroke victim with multiple other complications including rheumatoid arthritis and acquired hemophilia. Those complications led to her long hospital stay, and she developed contractures in both ankles making both feet point down and inward. She could use her affected arm and hand, but her affected leg had minimal response and even the stronger leg was weak from so much time in a hospital. I was able to teach her husband how to massage and stretch her affected foot so he could help her fit it into her shoe and brace so she could walk again by the time she went home.
Patient K is a 9-year-old who was hit by Guillain-Barre, a disease that somewhat rapidly takes away function, starting from the feet and progressing upwards. At its worst, it can leave a person with only their brain functioning - on a ventilator and life support. The amazing thing is that 80% of its victims experience a full recovery. This little girl cried almost constantly because she'd spent a few weeks in the hospital and just wanted to go home. I spent three sessions with her - two of which were cut short by her tantrums. My success with her was spending an hour in the therapy pool with her keeping her active, smiling, and able to see her own improvement.
Patient B is another older man who had suffered a stroke. By the time I met him, his body was functioning fairly well, but he was still completely unable to express himself in words. I am pretty sure he didn't even try to speak because he had come to the conclusion it didn't work any more, so I never heard a sound out of him. Nevertheless, he found ways to communicate via facial expressions, gestures, and body language. It was fun to see the delight he took in being able to make people laugh even without using words. I bet he had a great sense of humor and loved to make people laugh before his stroke...
