The second day in the nursing home and beyond got much better. I started therapy and started using the walker again. It was pretty clear that they had not communicated with the hospital as to how well I was already doing in therapy though because I was made to start over again in many ways but rather than argue I decided to go with the flow and just get it done. As they saw how much I could do for myself, and how little pain I was was having, they expressed amazement at my quick progress.
The funniest part was that I had to go to Occupational Therapy. Now, I'm not sure why I had to go to OT except that I think they weren't sure I was able to do anything for myself like toileting or dressing but it was comical as they struggled to find things to show me to do. Putting on my socks became an almost daily routine with the OT as they insisted I use the adaptive aid pulling the sock over my toes with a plastic device and then trying to grasp it with a reacher and pulling it on. I kept telling them it wasn't necessary and they kept telling me that if I was home alone I would need to be able to do this. Finally I just said, "Please, watch this!" and I reached down, with my hand, and put on my own socks independently. The OT sat there kind of stunned and we just moved on. She never mentioned the sock thing again! Ha! I spent two mornings loading and unloading a dishwasher which was great except I don't have a dishwasher at home so it was a useless activity. Really, I was doing everything for myself while at the nursing home so there was very little for them to show me how to do. I didn't need OT so my time spent with them was not necessary. But I did it. What the heck, I was there and what else was I going to do?
Physical therapy was entirely different! My therapist, Cheryl, was the bomb! She was gentle but demanding and listened to me but challenged me. She got me moving and let me try even when she thought I might be pushing it a little. She got me on the stairs and it was great! I was actually disappointed when the weekend came because there was no therapy on the weekends. But Cheryl gave me exercises to do on my own and I went for walks on my own to keep my new knee limber and keep working those muscles. My goal was to get home!! Because, at the end of the day, being a nursing home for any reason, is a boring, tedious affair.
Next time I will talk solely about the food...ugh...
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