Patients Age: 92
Admission Date: 8/18/17
Admitted From: Phelps Medical Center
Discharge Date: 10/16/17
Discharged To: Home
Length of Stay: 2 months
Reason for Stay: Syncope and Collapse, General Muscle Weakness and Fracture of Vertebra due to Wedge Compression, with diagnosis of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Hypertension.
Details of Experience:
When Mr. Lawrence arrived at The Grove from the hospital on a Wednesday evening in mid-August, he was warmly welcomed by the staff, but his mood and orientation was puzzling. He couldn’t recall the reason for being here or a contact person, he seemed very confused. Mr. Lawrence was in poor physical condition, he was not ambulatory and needed assistance with all his ADL’s (activities of daily living). Who he was a mystery to us, until the hospital provided his neighbor’s contact information.
Due to HIPAA regulations, Mr. Lawrence’s neighbor was not informed by the hospital where he was being transferred to for rehab, while at the hospital Mr. Lawrence was unable to indicate his recognition of the neighbor. After a few days at The Grove, he began recalling more of his personal life and his orientation improved. The social worker reached out to Mr. Lawrence’s neighbor, the neighbor was more than thrilled to hear where Mr. Lawrence was, another senior neighbor whom he looks out for was previously here, and immediately visited The Grove community. Mr. Lawrence was beyond ecstatic to see a familiar face and recognized the need to appoint his neighbor as his health care proxy.
Mr. Lawrence was a successful engineer and lived a very independent life. He would regularly dine out, “known to always wear a well-pressed shirt, car in pristine condition and was deeply admired by all the neighbors,” his friend shared. Mr. Lawrence lost his wife a few years ago and has no children or family. His recent accident was a big shock to him, his loss of consciousness (Syncope) caused him to fall and he sustained head trauma, which resulted in memory loss and temporary loss of physical independence and mobility.
After a few weeks of intense physical and occupational therapy, Mr. Lawrence regained significant strength and was making great recovery strides. He was determined to get well and fast. His warm and friendly character was well received by both staff and residents. However, his balance required continued improvement and his mildly impaired cognitive function put him at risk for another potential fall. As much as he had to learn how to be mobile again and perform his daily activities independently, he also had to learn his limitations – he will need devices to assist him in walking and a companion throughout the day. Understandably, this frustrated him, “I want to drive again, I may even buy an island and start a resort.” But with time, he stoically accepted his limitations and pushed harder in the gym.
Mr. Lawrence was able to return home in less than two months! It took an interdisciplinary team to usher incredible levels of recovery from all departments. We are so excited to hear from Mr. Lawrence’s neighbor that “He is acclimating really well back at home and is very receptive to his 24 hour companion!”