Tag Archives: Solaris rehab

Recovery-Part 7

9 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I really must tell you about Dorothy – or Dot as she likes to be called.  This is a sweet old lady – I believe she passed her 99th birthday recently with a lot of fan-fare.  She has always smiled and waved at me – and WINKED at me.  But that’s not all.  One day, as Fred and I were on our “walk” we passed Dot and the healthcare nurse who sits with her occasionally.  We stopped to talk, and Dot not only smiled at Fred, she winked at him…and blew KISSES at him!  With me right there!  I pretended to be shocked and outraged, but laughed at her.  She was grinning from ear to ear!  So whenever I see her family with her, I stop and tell them her outrageous behavior toward my husband!  We all get the best laugh out of it.

There is one lady who I had a difficult time getting to smile and wave at me.  She would watch us like a hawk as we walked by, but never anything else.  Her son would arrive every afternoon and sit with her and watch a TV program, but he didn’t acknowledge us either.  And then, one day when Fred and I were leaving the urologist office – there they sat in the waiting room!  The son said, “well, hey!  Look who’s here!”  From that moment on, whenever I see her, she grins and waves at us.  If we are on our afternoon walk and we walk past her room door, they both smile and wave at us.

And then there is Susan.  Susan was a hard nut to crack.  She’s Dorothy’s roommate and her bed is by the window, and I’m convinced she has hearing issues.  The only time I’ve been able to connect with her is when she is in her wheelchair and out in the hall – not very often.  She’ll be wheeling along and I’ll say something like, “And Susan is off to the races!!” and she’ll giggle.  But I’ve seen her in her room, with Shalena (pink scrubs – cleaning lady) sitting opposite her in a chair, and they are having a wonderful conversation.  But to call her from the doorway – no response at all.  I complimented Shalena about her interaction with Susan, telling her that I had not been able to connect with Susan.  Shalena just likes people.

Then there is the lady they moved into the room across the hall from Fred’s room.  Her husband visits every day with their little dog.  The puppy is a sweet one who loves just everyone!  He said he could let her leash go and she would go directly into his wife’s room – and she does.  She does like to bark sometimes – kinda yippy – but it’s not unpleasant.  The lady is in for a foot injury, but her husband said she was in memory care before she came here.

There are two couples I want to mention….one is a Mom and her son.  We frequently find them sitting outside …sometimes under the trees in the shade or under the portico in the shade.  Again, I think she came from the islands, as she always has a sweater around her shoulders and a blanket over her legs and feet.  They are always up for a nice conversation, and the son once helped me get the wheelchair into the trunk.  Sometimes his daughter and granddaughter come to visit as well

Then there is the husband and wife couple…she is disabled somehow.  She’s always in a wheelchair.   We’ve had some lively and fun interaction with them.  He’s there nearly every day.

I hope my readers can see, by these stories of some of the people we met at Solaris, that it was a bit difficult to leave them behind.  After five months in that facility, many of them had become good acquaintances if not actual friends.  But neither Fred nor I were ready for him to become a permanent “resident” there.  I am remembering these people fondly, and writing about them has brought them to mind again, with joy!

Fred is home now, and doing well – going to out-patient therapy twice each week, and I see improvements in him.  Please keep him in your prayers…I miss terribly the man he was before the strokes.

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Recovery-Part 4

19 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I previously mentioned Cindy and the bird feeders.  As we walked the corridors of the facility, we came to some offices – Chief of Nursing, Deputy Chief of Nursing, Medical Records, copy room, beauty shop, etc.  At the end of one of those areas was one wall completely made up of large glass squares.  There was a chair and a small love seat located there.  Outside those windows were three bird feeders.  Most of the birds we saw were mourning doves.  But occasionally we would see a red-winged black bird, and once we saw a pair of sandhill cranes.  And several times a squirrel.  Cindy was the one who took a bucket of bird seed out and filled those feeders.  We were not the only patients/residents there who liked to sit and look out the windows and watch the birds.  It was a lovely addition to the facility.

When we first arrived at Solaris, it was April and the weather was wonderful.  There was a “courtyard” just outside our wing of the facility – covered – with park benches where we could sit and enjoy the weather, sunshine, and cold water to drink (they furnished a water cooler).  As the time wore on and the Florida weather became hot and humid, they discouraged us from going outside without a hat, etc.  They also restricted the time we could go out to before 10:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m.  I learned that some of the residents were from “the islands” and were accustomed to hot humid weather and enjoyed being outside.  But the facility had a strict policy about it, not wanting anyone to suffer heat stroke.

I knew that Fred needed doctors appointments, but didn’t exactly know how to go about it.  Then Rufina (nurse – blue scrubs) came and asked if I wanted to make the appointments.  I told her I thought it would carry more weight if she did the calling….which she did.  Not only that, but she also arranged for the transport from the facility to the doctors office and back.  Yes, I had to pay for that, but it was minimal.  She did that several times during Fred’s stay at Solaris.  I once told her she was my “go-to person” and she grinned.  One day I stopped at her office door and told her how much I appreciated her and all she was doing for us in particular, and the facility in general.  She sat back and said, “no one has ever told me that before.”  I told her that she needed to be reminded of it often.

In a facility like Solaris, which is actually “home” to the residents, I found there are activities every day for those who can and want to attend.  I have been most impressed with the Activities Director, Rebecca.  Her office is filled with stuff for each holiday, as well as other notable days.  I’ve hardly ever seen her sit down, unless it was at her desk, working on the next project.  She told me once that she is Vegan, and when they had a “cookout” she nearly gagged at the smell of the cooking meat!  I had to laugh.  She is tireless.

I also can’t say enough good things about the therapists at this facility.  There was a change in his physical therapist several times, but all have been so good, and worked with Fred tirelessly.  At one of the group “meetings” about Fred, I found that all three therapists – PT, OT, and speech – report to the Therapy Director, Paul.  Paul takes the reports from each of these therapists and make recommendations to Medicare about whether or not Fred should stay any longer for more therapy.  His was the recommendation that Fred stay another month or two for therapy, which we were able to do.  He is a big-hearted man who is good at his job                                                                                                                  

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Recovery-Part 3

12 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Another “first” person we met was Daniel, one of the two Social Services people at Solaris.  He and Melissa were the two there, and I found out that Melissa was actually Fred’s Case Manager, rather than Daniel.  However, both were extremely helpful in any and all areas of our stay there in any situation.  Melissa was the one who arranged for the wheelchair and other helpful medical equipment from Medicare for us.  At the first meeting about Fred and all the therapists there, Daniel was the one who conducted the meeting.  We were also able to phone conference with our two daughters, which was good.  They both had questions to ask the staff.

There was one other meeting about Fred, shortly before he was discharged, and Daniel was unavailable to monitor, so Cindy stepped in.  I’m not sure I ever knew her title, but she was part of the office staff, with an office in that part of the building.  She is also a nurse – she wore the blue scrubs.  She also was the one who kept the bird feeders filled.  More on that later.  Delightful lady.

I often spoke with another staff/office person, La Tonjua, who is a delight.  She’s the Admissions Director for this particular facility.  She is one of the most elegant women I have ever met, and yet is friendly with any and all who are there.  She has befriended Fred and me, and stops to talk whenever were are walking the halls.  I believe her husband is retired military (that make a good connection with us) as well as a former police officer. She is a joy to know.

There were several people who served as receptionists at this facility, but Adam is the one who stands out in my mind.  He is always gracious, greets me every morning by name, and directs me to the right person to talk to in the office setting.  There are two other young ladies who sit in that chair, but Adam stands out

I simply MUST insert a funny happening here.  Some of my readers know us personally, and know that when Fred sneezes….it’s a freight train!!  Well, one day, when we were taking him “out” of the facility, we were in the lobby – and Fred sneezed!  And that sneeze reverberated around that lobby for a few seconds. One of the ladies was on reception duty that day, and I asked her if she had “jumped” at that sound…and she had!  I told her not to worry – it was just Fred sneezing.  As it turned out, when we returned from the outing, again in the lobby…Fred sneezed again!  I looked at the receptionist (same lady) and we grinned at each other.  Daniel’s office door was open, so I stuck my head in and asked if he was okay.  He had his hand to his heart and said, “what was that??!!”  Again…just Fred sneezing.  He told us later in the day that EVERYone in the staff offices heard the sneeze and jumped!  Fred had made his mark!  I still get a giggle every time I think about it!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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