Tag Archives: stroke recovery

Recovery-Part 5

26 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I must also tell you about the people who did the cleaning.  The rooms are cleaned every single day.  Those ladies in pink really do their job and do it well.  Of course, the CNA’s wash the residents (they help with showers, too) and change the bed linens every day, and the linens are taken away and cleaned every day as well.  One cleaning lady stands out – Shalena.  She was quite industrious in her cleaning, and was always up for a good joke or story.  One day, she was cleaning Fred’s room as we took one of our walks.  The floor in his room was still damp when we returned, so I told Fred we would walk a bit more. 

 Then I told him to keep walking, and I went back and told Shalena the story about the policeman who called his Captain and told him he was going to arrest a lady who shot her husband.  When asked why she did that, he said “she had just mopped the floor, and it was still wet, and he walked on it.”  When the Captain asked if he had arrested her yet, he replied “no.”  “Why not?”  “The floor’s still wet.”  Shalena;s laugh could be heard clear down the corridor!

Sometimes there were two men who cleaned and mopped the corridor floors that were not carpet.  I believe they were both from the Islands, as they would always greet me with “Good Morning, Mama.”  I loved that!

As Fred and I took our “walks” around the corridors of the facility, I would look at so many of these people – residents – and my heart would ache for them.  Many of them never leave their beds.  Almost all are confined to a wheelchair or walker.  This has become their home, and I seldom see any visitors for many, many of them.  Someone told me that some of them had just been “deposited” there by relatives, then forgotten.  So I made it my mission to help as many of them as I could to let them see that someone actually SEES them as people, and give them a wave and a smile.  Some have taken a while to smile back and perhaps wave, but most of them are getting there. 

As I mentioned, Fred and I take “walks” down the corridors of the facility, giving him some “exercise” and a way to get out of that room for a bit.  He’s still in a wheel chair, but he actually does the “walking” by pulling himself along with his feet.  I encouraged him to do that after I saw many residents doing just that.  Unfortunately, I never could get him to use his hands on the large wheel of his chair, as he said it was too painful.  I may have my hands on the hand grips of the chair, but he’s doing the work – I just guide occasionally.  So, in our walks, as we pass the residents rooms, many who are in bed.  If they are awake, I will smile and wave at them, and they will usually smile and wave back at me.  I like to think I’m bringing a little sunshine into their lives.  One resident is usually in her bed – only occasionally have I seen her in a wheelchair – and her name marks her Vietnamese.  It took me a while to get her to smile and wave at me, but every once in a while she will smile and put her hands together in Asian greeting.  Beautiful.

~~~~~~~~~~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 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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