Not really to breeze through my acute rehab but everyday was really about the same. Except weekends. There was no therapy on weekends and I was extremely bored. I wanted so bad to be doing therapy. So I did do a lot of puzzles and self range exercises. I didn’t like laying in bed all day doing nothing. I couldn’t even enjoy TV or Netflix. That’s not like me at all. I’m losing precious time. And I want to get better!

I was extremely grateful to have friends stop by to visit me. One by one they came. Every-time someone new showed up on the floor, the nurses knew they were visiting me and would direct them towards my room. We chatted we laughed, we cried and they told me how they believed I would get better. Keep my head up, it’ll be ok. But in the meantime my depression and worry continue to grow. I would never express how incredibly scared I was. They all knew how strong I was. I’ve been through a lot in my life but this would be my hardest trial by far. I would cry to God every night and every morning. At this point I was nowhere close to mobile. I couldn’t move my arm at all. I had feeling but no movement. Everything felt heavy. But shortly my fingers started to form in a fist and get really tight. I’m now experiencing spasticity (tone). We all want to be toned but too much tone causes spasticity and that’s something nobody wants. Basically my brain cells are over firing to my muscle causing extreme tightness, pain and unwilling movement.

Spasticity = Intense Pain

My hospital prided themselves with 100 days no falls. Of course until I showed up. I really wanted to do things on my own so I attempted to “walk” a few steps toward my walker. That didn’t go so well, I stood up on both feet but the moment I shifted weight to walk, my ankle went spastic and gave out; luckily, my food tray was close by. I grabbed it for support but since it was on wheels, it was a domino effect and knocked my wheelchair over and off it went. I managed to inch my way to the bed and get up on the bed before a nurse came in. I guess nobody heard the commotion and I was a pro at turning off the chair alarms. The trick was to attach it to something not on me. When someone finally came in and saw the wheelchair flipped on its side 2 feet from my bed, I didn’t have the heart to break their 100 day no fall record so I said I kicked the wheelchair away and it must’ve flipped. They bought it now it’s our little secret 😀

Everyday my schedule consisted a lot of the same. It was always an hour of speech, physical and occupational therapy. I was allowed to shower as am often as I wanted but I had to be supervised. I started doing a lot of lip and tongue exercises to strengthen my swallow and build my throat muscles. After 2 weeks another swallow study was done and I went off thickened liquids and was cleared to drink thin liquids. My daughter had spoiled me and was bringing a lemon loaf and hot chocolate every morning for me. But my hot chocolate had to be thickened and it was just not the same. Thank goodness I was cleared and could drink my hot cocoa normally.

There was no major improvement in my left arm. I would catch myself crying over just trying to get toilet paper. I never realized you actually need 2 hands to grab and tear the toilet paper. Then of course I desperately needed my left hand to pull up my pants. after a few weeks I noticed I was improving, I was able to just stand up without rolling my ankle. I noticed my toes would curl up when I did but I was at least not turning my ankle a darker shade of purple. I no longer would need to ask the nurse to help me pull down my pants. It’s a very humbling experience when you constantly pee on yourself because once you realize you need to go, it’s already too late. From the moment my body says it’s time to pee and I push the little red help button to the nurse coming to my room. The minutes of waiting was too much for me to hold. Oh the things I used to take for granted.

During my hospital rehab, they fitted me for a custom AFO (ankle foot orthotic). That was used to ensure my ankle didn’t drop and I could walk with out tripping over my foot. With my AFO, I learned to walk, climb stairs, transfer into a fake SUV and walk on grass like surfaces. They were preparing me for discharge. I had grown fond of my rehab team and wanted to stay. I kept thinking it couldn’t get better than this ….

I was nervous the days leading up to discharge. I had been in acute rehab for 3 weeks and will be going home a week before starting my next rehab facility. The people from the other facility came to meet me so I could ask questions. I asked how is your facility different? She said “we teach you how to walk, talk and chew gum at same time while pointing to a color on the wall.” Sign me up, I want to do that. So it was settled in a few weeks I would be going to my new rehabilitation facility.

From the first night in ICU to the last day of rehab, all in the same hospital, 30 days had passed.

On July 21st, we spent our 20 year anniversary in the hospital. We never had a honeymoon so we had planned a nice, relaxing trip to Islamorada for a week by the beach, swimming with dolphins, sea lions and parasailing. That trip will need to get rescheduled for a later date. My husband is really the sweetest man. I know I’m an extremely blessed girl.

I left the hospital walking with a hemi walker. I would be home 2 weeks before I could start my next rehabilitation facility.