Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Deb Wetta
Deb Wetta, RN, is a Director of Marketing/RN liaison for Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital, an affiliate of HealthSouth, provider of inpatient and outpatient physical, occupational and speech-language therapies and exclusive home of the AutoAmbulator, Makoto and Interactive Metronome. Deb can be reached at Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital, 8338 W. 13th Street in Wichita, 316-729-1140.
Health & Medicine
2007-07-01 16:13:00
Helping loved ones recover from surgery
QUESTION: My husband is home from the hospital after getting care for a hip fracture followed by a mild stroke. He says he feels fine but he seems to be getting weaker and it is more difficult for him to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom. The doctors expect him to fully recover but I’m concerned about my ability to care for him until he is completely back to his former self. What are my options?
ANSWER: A good way to address your husband’s condition would be to have a qualified professional, often referred to as a nurse liaison, come to your home to perform a free evaluation. This evaluation can help determine if your husband may benefit from a rehabilitative care program that would include such as physical, occupational or speech/language therapies. Through a rehabilitative program tailored to your husband’s needs, he would have a good chance of regaining much of the strength and functionality that he had prior to his stroke. Options for rehabilitative treatment may include scheduled visits for him to receive care in an outpatient facility, visits from home health professionals or a brief stay in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. If the latter of these options is determined to be most appropriate, then your husband would also receive specialized rehabilitative nursing care. In performing the evaluation, the nurse liaison will ask you and your husband detailed questions about his medical history and his current medical condition. The liaison may also have him perform a few simple physical tests such as walking across the room or standing up from a sitting position. A qualified medical professional such as a physiatrist, who is specially trained in rehabilitative care, will then make a determination on the best course of action for helping your husband return to his former level of independence.
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates