Orlando's Story
Ten years of heart issues sent Miami resident Orlando Pino to the hospital frequently with injuries tied to his weakened state. This time was no different. A brush against a car door opened up his swollen leg. The wound wouldn’t heal and soon it became infected. Orlando was at the grocery store when he felt his heart racing and his body heating up. Alarmed, he dialed 911.
EMTs rushed him to Palmetto General Hospital where doctors treated the infection with antibiotics. After a few days he was ready for transfer to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to maximize his recovery and return to his previous level of function.
Orlando decided on West Gables Rehabilitation Hospital after hearing high praise from a friend regarding the staff and overall quality of care.
Upon admission, Orlando was assessed by his physician-led multi-disciplinary team of nurses, physical, occupational and speech therapists. He struggled to move from a sitting to standing position, and was unable to walk, dress and groom himself. Additionally, he had a tough time organizing and expressing his thoughts. His throat muscles too were weak, making it hard for him to swallow. Orlando not only wanted his leg wound to heal but he also wanted inpatient rehabilitation to clear up his weaknesses. He wanted to walk again and take care of himself.
Nursing played a crucial role in Orlando’s recovery regularly flushing his wound with fluids and monitored the healing process. With the care team’s support, his wound healed in 10 days.
Meantime physical therapy worked on simple body movements with Orlando—sitting balance, trunk exercises while rolling and changing positions in bed, reaching activities while sitting—all in order to help him build strength in muscles he’d need to sit upright and get out of bed, for starters. As Orlando gained strength, the team helped him to sit, and positioned on the side of the bed for more advanced exercises. In a few days, he was stronger and able to stand and work on balance.
Once Orlando was able to stand firmly, his team advanced his treatment with sit to stand activities, standing balance with static and dynamic exercises and walking practice – all of which allowed him to walk with a cane. Within seven days, Orlando started taking steps with the use of a cane, and at 10 days into his stay, Orlando started navigating stairs supported by a handrail.
Occupational therapy worked with Orlando on caring for himself. It began with strengthening exercises for his upper body, then working specifically on task related arm and hand activities. The repetition built his strength and he soon progressed to grooming, dressing, bathing and transferring to the toilet independently. Orlando praised his therapist saying, “she taught be how to get back to real life.”
Getting back to real life also included getting back to drinking and eating normally. Due to weakness in his swallowing muscles, Orlando initially required thickened liquids and pureed food. Speech therapy (ST) strengthened his swallowing muscles through working on trialing different food consistencies, using swallowing strategies of chin tucks and effortful swallow to further work the muscles in his throat.
Orlando’s decision making and communications skills also needed work. Therapists addressed this through cognitive tasks and memory exercises such as word games and question and answer sessions.
Family helped Orlando remain motivated, while his sister lived out of state she called daily. As his communication skills improved through ST, Orlando became more engaged and motivated by her calls. Recreational therapy buoyed his mental recovery too, having him sing, listen to music and paint which gave him an outlet for his emotions while also boosting his physical skills.
Prior to his hospitalization, Orlando had been living in his car. With his improvements in strength and mobility, Orlando was now walking with a cane, able to manage his self-care needs and back to eating a normal diet. He would now require a more stable home environment. His team at West Gables Rehabilitation Hospital helped him make arrangements to move to a friend’s home, and ensured he could receive home health services there to continue his progress towards his goal of driving again.
After 24 days at West Gables Rehabilitation Hospital, Orlando felt stronger physically, mentally and emotionally. His parting advice: “If you are in the same situation as I was, come to this hospital and give yourself a chance to get better!”