Thursday, June 14, 2018

Texas NeuroRehab Center

I spent 3 ½ months in Texas NeuroRehab Center, from September 11, 2017 to December 22, 2017. I was one of the longest stays they had. I was the veteran patient!


One of my first memories was walking down a garden path with my nurse.  I kept complaining about not being able to breathe and my nurse said, “We can fix that.” She pulled out my tracheostomy and handed it to me. I swore that dream was real, I even argued with the doctors and nurses, “I didn’t pull out my trach!” The good news was that I didn’t need it anymore. That dream was very real to me and to this day I can’t believe I pulled out my own trach.

Then there was therapy. At first I wasn’t keen about it. I complained about every pain, saying I couldn’t do therapy because it hurts too much. I bet my therapists loved me. Then during the October family meeting my therapists asked when I wanted to be discharged. We decided the goal was Christmas and that put a fire under me! Suddenly I was doing everything to make my goal.

I should mention that I had family at Texas NeuroRehab Center, my sister-in-law works there. She handpicked all my therapists for me. That is good and bad. Whenever I did something new my sister-in-law knew it before I told her. Plus she and my brother were policing me, making sure I did everything I was supposed to. I remember getting mad at them one evening because I was eating my dinner in bed even though I was supposed to eat all my meals in my wheelchair. They started to tell my tech that I am to eat in my wheelchair. I yelled at them saying that I decide where I eat and if Joy (my speech therapist) doesn’t like that it is between me and her, not them. The tech had not seen me angry and he wasn’t sure what to do. I told him to go as I was not going to change where I was eating. After that argument the tech teased me saying he doesn’t want to get me mad.

By the time December came around I was a model patient, everyone knew my name and loved working with me (at least that’s what I think). I was determined to get discharged the Friday before Christmas, and I did.

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