Concierge Name: Daniel Wolf
Patient Name: Anna Gargiulo
Patient Age: 63
Admission Date: 08/04/22
Admission From: St. John’s Riverside Hospital
Discharge Date: TBD
Discharge To: Home
Length of Stay: TBD
Reason For Stay: Right Below Knee Amputation
How Did This Patient Hear About Sans Souci? Her Surgeon Recommended It


Details of Experience:

Anna Gargiulo arrived at Sans Souci Nursing Home and Rehab Center on August 4th after a stressful stay in the Hospital. Anna came from St. John’s Riverside Hospital after receiving a right below-knee amputation (BKA). After the amputation, her surgeon recommended Sans Souci as an excellent place to receive therapy and build strength. She was also visited by Dennis Oehler, a three-time Paralympic Gold Medalist and an integral part of the Sans Souci team. When asked for the main reason she chose Sans Souci, Anna smiled and pointed to Dennis. “He was really the reason I chose Sans Souci; he was very relatable and clearly explained how Sans Souci could help,” she shared. After discussing it with her surgeon and Dennis, she arrived at Sans Souci more motivated than ever and confident in her upcoming journey.

When Anna first came into Sans Souci, she wasn’t too happy with how long it would take to achieve success. This all changed when she met Omar Garcia, one of Sans Souci’s amazing recreational therapists. When talking about the beginning of her stay, all Anna can talk about is Omar, “Omar really has the patience of an angel. You see him walk around, and he never changes, he constantly displays his amazing character with every person he talks to,” she said. As she got closer to Omar, she decided to give the rest of the staff the benefit of the doubt, just like she had with Omar. She quickly became a part of the Sans Souci family, advocating for other residents and hanging out with the staff. Her confidence in herself rubbed off on many residents, and she constantly encouraged other residents to push themselves.

Anna couldn’t wait to do therapy; it quickly became her favorite part of her stay. She pushed herself daily to do the most she could, and it became noticeable. After only a few short weeks in therapy, Anna was already crushing the goals that she and the therapy team had decided on. She had progressed from needing assistance to completely being able to perform bed mobility tasks on her own. She was also able to walk 20 feet with only moderate assistance, a big jump from the 10 feet with maximum assistance she was originally able to do. When Anna first came in, the therapy team decided that practicing stairs would have to wait until Anna built up some more strength. Three weeks later, she can do five steps with only moderate assistance. Therapy quickly became Anna’s favorite thing, and the therapists quickly became her favorite people. “Eric is so patient and diligent in his work, he also has a great bedside manner, I definitely don’t think I would’ve come this far without him,” she elaborated.

The awareness and focus Anna brought into each day and the motivation you could clearly see on her face were an inspiration to the whole Sans Souci family. Anna is unsure when she will be discharged, but every day she gets closer. Since day one, she has had her eyes on the prize and her mind on only one goal: to be better than the day before. Anna was very close to her therapists, Eric and Chet. “Chet and I had different views in the beginning about my therapy, but as time passed and he displayed confidence in what he was saying, we slowly started to meet in the middle,” Anna said. “His constant encouragement and motivation really fueled me, and he was flexible enough to make me feel comfortable about my therapy.” There is no doubt that Anna will carry the same mindset she had here when she goes home and continue to improve every day.

The Sans Souci family will definitely feel a little incomplete when Anna goes home, but we wish her all the best, and we will always be here for anything she may need.