Concierge: Susan Akers
Admission Date: 2/3/21
Admitted From: Saint Thomas West Hospital, Nashville Tennessee
Discharge Date: TBD
Discharged To: TBD
Length of Stay: 87 Days
Reason for Stay: Borderline Diabetes, Spinal Stenosis, Fibromyalgia, Weakness in lower extremities and Wound Care

Details of experience:
Ms. Thaendra Christenson arrived at Trevecca Center for Rehabilitation & Healing on February 3, 2021, following an extensive inpatient stay at St. Thomas West Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Christenson had been admitted to the hospital as a result of repeated falls, complications with weakness in her lower extremities, severe pain due to spinal stenosis, and a wound on her left heel.  Due to the high degree of pain from these conditions and a total loss of functional mobility, Trevecca Rehabilitation was determined to be the best facility to assist her in regaining her strength, healing, mobility, and independence.

Upon arrival at Trevecca, Ms. Christenson was evaluated by a dedicated medical team that included Josh Mitchell, her Physical Therapist, Kinsey Day, her Occupational Therapist, and a wound care nurse to address the wound that was present on her heel. 

The first, second, and third weeks of therapy focused primarily on decreasing her pain through exercises designed to increase her bed mobility. Initially, she required 100% assistance from the therapist to adjust her position and sit on the edge of the bed for ten seconds. Gradually her tolerance levels increased allowing her to hold a sitting position on the edge of the bed for extended periods of time. The wound care nurse cleaned and applied fresh dressings to the wound on her heel daily for the first 15 days of her care.

During Ms. Christenson’s fourth, fifth, and sixth weeks of therapy, her bed mobility had improved, but transfers from the bed to her wheelchair required the use of a Hoyer lift, as her level of pain and lower extremity weakness were still too severe to tolerate bearing weight. 

The sixth, seventh, and eighth weeks of therapy involved adaptive equipment, such as a reaching tool and a sock aid to improve her balance using “static sitting” exercises that require movement and stretching. Additionally, Kinsey, the Occupational Therapist, implemented ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living) tasks, such as: bathing and dressing of her upper and lower body and stretching exercises to improve her core strength, which is extremely important in the goal of advancing her mobility. The therapist introduced stretching exercises utilizing a theraband to increase functional reaching and improve her balance.

Additionally, she experienced Trevecca’s first-class therapy gym, where she gradually began to bear weight by standing, utilizing the parallel bars with assistance from her therapist! 

Each day has brought greater mobility, as she has been able to rise from a sitting position with minimal assistance from therapy and gradually walking utilizing a walker up to 25 feet!

Ms. Christenson stated that “a great deal of physical recovery is mentally realizing what you are capable of doing, even through discomfort, and trusting the therapy team to guide you there!” 

We wish Ms. Christenson continued improvement and the best of health and well-being on her journey.