My first day at rehab

So I sucked up my pride, told myself that what I was doing was good for me and off I went to Epworth rehabilitation hospital in Camberwell. Now, I have never been to a rehab facility before (as a patient or other) so I did not know what to expect, but my opinion was highly favourable.

I don't know if this was simply because the staff were really nice or it was genuinely a good facility, but I can't say for sure as I have no basis of comparison, but one thing for sure is that the staff were really great.

Before I arrived I had been given an outline of who I was going to see, and my first appointment was with the physio, a delightful, warm and caring person called Tiana. For this session we took some measurements of my strength and balance, and also discussed what I wished to achieve. From here she developed a plan for me for future visits. I will elaborate more in future posts.

After the physio I met with Delia, another delightful, warm and caring person who is an occupational therapist. We talked about what made my day to day living hard and what could be done to make it easier. We wrote a list of goals I wanted to achieve and from here she also developed a plan. I will also elaborate on this further in future posts.

Overall, my first experience with rehab was positive. I understood what the process was and what it was designed to achieve. More importantly, I didn't feel like an ability impaired person who was the pity of society. Until next time, stay well:)

Rehab

To tell you the truth, I had a hard time accepting the fact that I needed rehab. First, I was a victim of my own ignorance. I thought rehab was for Matt Newton, Lindsay Lohan or Ben Cousins. People with substance abuse problems, and although I have enjoyed a drink from time to time, I have never taken drugs and do not fall into this category.

But as I said, I was a victim of my own ignorance. Rehab is for people with a wide range of disorders. Most of the patients were either car accident victims, stroke sufferers (or other brain injury patients) or elderly patients that had had a fall. In fact, the facility that I went to did not treat addiction.

The second problem that I had was simply accepting that I needed to go to rehab. I am 35 years old, and I have looked after myself. Up until I got sick I was active fit and healthy. I ate well and did not abuse my body. Rehab is for old people or those who have not looked after themselves, or for an unlucky few have been in an accident. I fell into none of those categories.

I understand that these thoughts do sound selfish, and if I strip them down, they are. But I think all sick people feel cheated in some way, and I have decided to share how I feel for two reasons.

First, even when you think your feelings are selfish ad unfair I feel it is so important to address them and talk about them. Bottling them up is not good for you, just make sure you choose wisely who, when and where you share your feelings.

Secondly, I cannot convey to you all how I feel if I don't share all of it, and by addressing how I feel I can deal with it and move on. So how do I move on?

I start by addressing my issues. It is not fair that I need rehab, and by telling myself that I validate how I am feeling. But there is nothing I can do about it and rehab will be good for me. So swallow my pride and get on with it. Earl Woods told Tiger Woods that when he hit a bad shot he could be angry at himself for ten steps, after that he needed to focus on what needed to be done afterwards. The same applies here. Be angry and validate your feelings, but afterwards you must look ahead.

Next time I will share with you my actual experience with rehab. Oh, and if you are curious, my hands are feeling better, but I think this is a problem that will resurface again. Until next time, stay well:)

Ouch, it hurts!

I must apologise, it has been a while since my last post. But I do have an excuse, my hands have been killing me.

This has been a real problem at night when I wake up and they just hurt. The only way to stop it is to get up and move around and after about ten minutes it goes away. Any sort of pain relief is quite ineffective.

Secondly, it has been a problem when I try to do something. If I turn my hand over I get a snapping, shooting pain down my wrist and into my hand, which is why I have been avoiding blogging for a while.

Unfortunately for people like me, it is a statistical fact that if you have one serious medical complaint you are more likely to have a second, which is why it is so important to stay healthy (but that is another blog).

It also begs the question 'what am I doing about it?' Since pain meds won't work, I have simply tried to minimise my activity to compensate. I have also been wearing wrist braces at night to stop the night pains. So far, it has worked and I have felt better the last couple of days, but I see the neurologist on Thursday, so I will discuss it with him then.

I don't think it is anything to do with the DBS, but I do think it is a nerve thing, so the neurologist should be able to help. I'll keep you posted. Until then, stay well:)

What to talk about?

Well I actually have a lot to talk about on my favourite subject, me! Since I last gave you an update on what I have been doing an awful lot has taken place. I have been through the surgery and I feel I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't do my part to make it as successful as possible.

So, in order to do that I have taken the following steps:-

1. Keep all my doctors appointments, follow their instructions, be honest with them and call them if I think their are any issues (which thankfully there hasn't been).
2. Take time away from work to focus on my health, physically and mentally.
3. Get fit. I have been training twice a week and swimming two or three times a week anywhere from 400m to 1000m.
4. Do my rehab and associated exercises.

It has been quite exciting to see the improvement, but I won't lie, it has also been tough. In my next post I'll elaborate further. Until then, stay well:)

Hospitals - done and dusted - Part 4

So where else can you get information about the hospital you are going to visit? I think that there are two other sources that you can use.

First, you can simply ask other people who have been to that hospital before. You may have had friends or family that have been to the hospital. Make sure that you have asked around your own network of friends, because one thing that you know for sure is that they will be honest.

You should make sure that you also have your questions ready. Find out what things are most important to you and ask about them. Vague questions like "what is it like?" will rarely get you the answers that you seek.

The other source of people you can ask is other patients. You can either actively seek them out (ask your doc for other patients to talk to) or be a little more passive and simply ask other patients in the doctors waiting room. You are likely to find other patients who have been through the hospital there.

Secondly, if you still want answers, you can go and visit the hospital. That will give you a first hand look at what the place is like. You can also talk with the staff and see how they operate first hand. Remember though, that you cannot always look at every place in the hospital. For example, the OR's will (and should be) out of bounds to the casual visitor, but there is nothing to stop you visiting the public areas or the wards.

Next time I'm not sure what I'll talk about. But rest assured there will be a next time. I do have a few ideas, but if you have any suggestions, let me know. Until then, stay well:)

Hospitals - done and dusted - Part 3

If hospitalisation is in you near future you are probably wondering where you can get all the information you require. Well, there are number sources where you can look.

Internet - Unfortunately for Australians there is not many sites where you can go and find ratings and reviews of hospitals. www.ourhealthservice.com.au gives details of many hospitals, but certainly does not tell you what the hospital is like. The reviews which it is counting on are sadly lacking.

Another site which is aimed at the US but allows for international hospital reviews is www.healthcarereviews.com. However, a lack of reviews make it hard to make a good evaluation. So is there a point visiting these sites. YES. Visit them and leave a review. Once enough people have visited and left a review, the site will become extremely handy.

The last site will draw your attention to is www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. This site is only for the US, but it compares hospitals using quantitative data collected and gives the patient valuable information when looking to select a hospital. Australia could really use something like this.

So, where else could you look for information on the web? Most hospitals have a website these days, so it is never bad to look at these to get some information. Just bear in mind that the website is used to paint the hospital in its best possible light, so be ware, but some good information can come of it.

Next time I'll tell where else to get information about hospitals. Until then, stay well:)