Getting into a routine
Where does the time go? The days seem to blur together. Thankful for a calendar to help me know the day. Hard to believe it’s been 9 months since arriving to my new home, AgeCare - Skypointe. Trying to accept this is my home until my body recovers from it paralysis. Admittedly has been difficult connecting here as majority of the time, I am 15 to 20 years + younger than the residents on my wing. For meals, I am with 3 other ladies and we try to share some laughs. They are 83, 81 and 67 with me being 48. Where we sit in the dining area, we have a good view of everyone. You can see the routines of the others; which table they sit at or what refreshments they like with their meals. It has come in handy knowing this when you have nursing staff working unfamiliar with our floor.
I have tried a few group activities, but felt outside my comfort as some activities are focused on the majority of residents which are senior citizens. So I mainly keep to my room and join others at meals time. Of course I have a wonderful circle of friends who comes to visit, so it helps stay connected with the outside world.
In the past few months I have started to create a routine for myself just as one does in a working lifestyle. I have introduced therapies into my schedule to continue my recovery - in September I hired a massage therapist Jenny who came three times a week doing massaging as well as range of motion exercises; the facility gave me two days a week for occupational therapy doing range of motion exercises too. Last month after hearing there is a 6 month wait to see the Rehabilitation Physician, I hired a mobile physiotherapist Kashish who has been coming three days a week. So with my therapies I can begin having a schedule, a motivation to help me continue to move forward - one step in front of the other.
On April 24, I will be meeting with an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist through the
Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Clinic at South Health Campus where my neuromuscular physician works out of. I believe all of these things will help the healing on my body. From this appointment, I hope to have further regular appointments which will give a more scheduled weekdays.
At the facility I have become co-chair to the Resident and Family Council as well as being the spokesperson for Food and Service Council too. We have monthly meetings. Now I have been trying to develop a schedule that can also align with my HCAs time management to provide the great care to our residents. For the past few months - I wake up between 730-800am and staff takes off my BiPap mask, then readjust me in bed so they can set up my iPad on my hospital table where I check any messages/Facebook and play some games. Staff returns around 9-930 to feed me breakfast. Rest of morning I usually I have an hour therapy session, staff returns around 1130 to transfer me to my wheelchair for lunch. My afternoons are spent playing on my iPad or visiting with friends and evenings is watching Shaw’s Free Range app, playing games, doing FaceTime with the Paterson family to join in family prayer time (love it!) or talking on my phone.
The feeling of a “new” normal is returning. :)
I have tried a few group activities, but felt outside my comfort as some activities are focused on the majority of residents which are senior citizens. So I mainly keep to my room and join others at meals time. Of course I have a wonderful circle of friends who comes to visit, so it helps stay connected with the outside world.
In the past few months I have started to create a routine for myself just as one does in a working lifestyle. I have introduced therapies into my schedule to continue my recovery - in September I hired a massage therapist Jenny who came three times a week doing massaging as well as range of motion exercises; the facility gave me two days a week for occupational therapy doing range of motion exercises too. Last month after hearing there is a 6 month wait to see the Rehabilitation Physician, I hired a mobile physiotherapist Kashish who has been coming three days a week. So with my therapies I can begin having a schedule, a motivation to help me continue to move forward - one step in front of the other.
On April 24, I will be meeting with an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist through the
Neuromuscular Rehabilitation Clinic at South Health Campus where my neuromuscular physician works out of. I believe all of these things will help the healing on my body. From this appointment, I hope to have further regular appointments which will give a more scheduled weekdays.
At the facility I have become co-chair to the Resident and Family Council as well as being the spokesperson for Food and Service Council too. We have monthly meetings. Now I have been trying to develop a schedule that can also align with my HCAs time management to provide the great care to our residents. For the past few months - I wake up between 730-800am and staff takes off my BiPap mask, then readjust me in bed so they can set up my iPad on my hospital table where I check any messages/Facebook and play some games. Staff returns around 9-930 to feed me breakfast. Rest of morning I usually I have an hour therapy session, staff returns around 1130 to transfer me to my wheelchair for lunch. My afternoons are spent playing on my iPad or visiting with friends and evenings is watching Shaw’s Free Range app, playing games, doing FaceTime with the Paterson family to join in family prayer time (love it!) or talking on my phone.
The feeling of a “new” normal is returning. :)
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