The vast majority of the cases that come into rehabilitation facilities are due to unexpected events; whether resulting from a medical diagnosis or an accident, it’s never something you plan for.
Every new patient is assigned to specific occupational, physical, and speech therapists for a thorough evaluation and individualized plan. Our goal as medical professionals is to get you back to your prior level of functioning as quickly as possible. Our ability to do that requires gathering a lot of information, including your medical history, prior level of function, living situation, and discharge plans. While these may seem like simple tasks, they can be overwhelming when you’ve been thrust into an unexpected situation.
6 Ways to Prepare for the Unexpected
Here are our top recommendations.1. Keep a Current Medication List
You’d be surprised how many people take a handful of medications without knowing precisely what they are or do. An unexpected hospital stay can make it even more difficult to remember.Well-meaning family members or friends will often throw together a big bag of medications, leaving the nurses to dig through the stack of pills to determine what’s expired and which drugs are currently prescribed. Electronic records are often incomplete.
2. Have a Plan
We often see patients completely stressed about their pets, bills, or any number of other things they normally take care of at home. When you’re in the hospital after a major event, someone else has to take over these functions.3. Take Plenty of Pictures
Helping a patient prepare for their return home is much easier with a clear understanding of their living situation.
“When an inpatient therapy episode starts, we are keenly interested in what the discharge situation will look like,” Carmen Yon, an occupational therapist with over 35 years of experience, told The Epoch Times. “Unfortunately, patients are often poor historians or can’t properly describe their homes in terms that give us a clear picture.”
- Steps, stairs, and railings. Understanding access points is critical for discharge planning.
- All doorways leading into the home. Having a clear picture of doors, handles, and even how many gas struts are on storm doors can help us better assess how to help you.
- The “flow” of the home. Seeing how rooms connect and if there are any floor-level changes can be helpful. Measurements for toilet heights, tub height, doorway widths, stair step heights, and counter heights are also recommended.
- Carpet–floor junctions and rugs. These can be major trip hazards for patients returning home.
- Bathrooms. We want to see where toilets are situated, the placement of any grab bars, the floors and rugs, the tub or shower, and any chairs or benches.
- Kitchen. Since the kitchen is one of the most used areas of the home, take plenty of pictures from all angles.
4. Have a ‘Ready to Go’ Bag
“Patients often come in completely unprepared due to the emergent nature of many hospitalizations. They come in with the clothes on their backs, so to say, but even those are often cut off in the emergency room,” Mrs. Yon said.“Patients often then outrun their clothing. They come into the rehabilitation cycle without anything from home. We seek to get patients back in street clothing as soon as possible to restore normalcy and to get them out of hospital gowns,” she said.
It can sometimes be comical when a family member or friend brings in clothing. They usually scramble to find everything, using a “luck-of-the-draw” approach with sketchy information from the patient. Often, the clothes they bring haven’t fit in years—sometimes decades. We once had a well-meaning but rather confused helper bring in a wedding dress.
- A complete change of clothing, including undergarments, shirt, and pants. Depending on the person’s size, these can be placed in large Ziploc bags as a “capsule wardrobe” for each day.
- Supportive shoes that fit well. Therapists can work with patients wearing grippy socks, but we prefer them in shoes.
- A long cable for charging a cellphone.
- Preferred toiletries. While hospital-grade toiletries can work, having your own stuff can help maintain normalcy.
- Headphones or earbuds. Hospitals can be noisy, and being able to access music, entertainment, and news can help.
- A pad and paper. Being able to write things down can help a great deal, especially when it pertains to your medical situation.
- A hard copy of important telephone numbers. Sure, many people keep their numbers on their phones, but having a hard copy allows for quick access and can serve as a backup if the phone is lost or damaged.
- Reading materials and devotionals. There’s a lot of downtime outside of therapy treatments. To alleviate boredom and maintain spirituality, keep reading materials close at hand.
5. Maintain Realistic Expectations
Some patients have wildly unrealistic expectations regarding their hospitalization, therapy treatments, daily aspects of their stay, and their potential to return home.6. Be Reasonable (and Kind)
While rehabilitation can be challenging and leave you feeling out of sorts, it’s never an excuse for negative behavior. Some patients seem to be looking for a fight—arguing with every nurse and resisting every therapist—even refusing their therapy treatments.Without a doubt, you should be afforded the professional services you are entitled to, but it’s essential to remember that your main goal is to return home as close to your prior level of function as possible.
Everything else—the food that unsurprisingly isn’t restaurant quality, the amount of time it takes the aides to answer call lights, and so on—stands solidly behind that goal. Sure, work out the kinks as needed, but don’t let them take center stage. Resisting emotional impulses and being reasonable, kind, and focused can go a long way in your recovery.
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