Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Eleven

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Eleven

The day begins with a weekend review. This is everyone taking it in turns to say how (or how they didn’t) meet their goals we have to set each week. I didn’t meet a couple of mine, but I imply I did, as I don’t want to start the weekly with a lecture!  I spent most of the weekend doing absolutely nothing, but hey what’s wrong with that after such a packed week?

Next up is Anatomy and Healing. It’s almost exactly the same talk from the week before. I hate it when they do this – they repeat some of them and they are mandatory to attend. The session runs better than the previous Anatomy one that ran though!

New people have arrived for their programme, and we meet them better at lunch.  They’re all a bit older and quieter than the last two weeks.  After lunch I have a Wii Fit session, looking at balance. It’s really hard and I’m crap at most of the games but the Wii does make it more interesting than a balance board.  I find standing very painful, but I have a chair next to me so I can keep sitting down.

Later on I have physio. We do a lot more core work, then she decides she wants me to do some walking tolerance. This makes my heart sink, as I’m quite walking intolerant, thank you very much.  This is something I’ve explained to her at length.  I get a feeling when some doctors/physios see you in a wheelchair, they believe you’re using it all the time.  It isn’t the case – I try my best to walk when I can – even just a few steps.  If I go over my limit I’m in agony for hours.  This limit can differ – some days any walking is too painful, other times I can walk very short distances     As part of this walking tolerance she encourages me to walk my limit, sit down, and then walk it again.  We go to the gym based at the swimming pool, as the equipment in the physio room is very poor.  (It consists of two broken exercise bikes!)

It pretty much looks like this.

It pretty much looks like this.

We walk back from the gym and I really struggle.  My hip goes into spasm and I feel awful.  My physio then says cheerily that tomorrow we’ll walk further.  I believe this to be badly judged.

Our final session is yet another repeat – Pacing. It’s very brief, but still dull. Yes, yes, we get it. Pace everything, except all those things where it’s impossible. I’m getting a bit negative now with this programme.  It really isn’t what I expected.

I am exhausted and go to bed at 9pm, but two people on the other side of the wall to me are talking too loudly for any actual sleep to happen.

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Ten

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Ten

I awake and am horrified to find that her arm is still dislocated. I had heard up until the doctor trying, and had then fallen asleep at about 2am. I had no idea she hadn’t been able to get it back in until she told me what had happened.

She’s now on nil by mouth, in case they need to operate to it get it back on. She’s white as a sheet and looks awful.

At 9am we have a relaxation session – really badly timed. It’s in the conservatory which has no heating and of course is nothing but windows. Everyone is tired, and I think everyone just falls asleep in the session out of exhaustion, not relaxation! It’s run by Michele, who I’m not the biggest fan of!

At the end the girl with the dislocation is swaying on her feet, and we take her back to bed before she passes out.

A doctor comes to see her, and says the shoulder physiotherapist wants to try to get her shoulder back in, and would be down soon. If he couldn’t, then they’d move on to other options. She’s upset, she doesn’t want the physios to continue messing about. Luckily her physio is off today, as she doesn’t get along with her, and the one looking after her is much better. They leave her for ages before coming and collecting her to take her to the main physio room, which is a massive room filled with in-patients and out-patients and only a small curtain for privacy. They make her listen to music for an hour to relax her, before Andre, the physio gives it a go.

He manages to get it in, but tells her the technique she was taught would never have got it in, it could only be done by pulling it outwards, then moving her arm across her chest.  We’re horrified they spent the night torturing her with a technique that never would have worked, and encourage her to raise a complaint.  Unfortunately she won’t.

The girl in the bed opposite was told the day before they’d messed up and while she thought she had another week, there was another space.  A nurse then found her in the morning and tells her there is good news – a bed has opened up, as someone who was on a two-week shoulder programme now only needed one.  She’s really excited, and the nurse goes to check with the rest of the team.

However, in the afternoon the nurse comes back and tells her they’re sorry, but someone had already filled the slot so there is still no space.  Her emotions have been up and down, and we all felt so bad for her.

I say goodbye to her, as well as the girl who’d suffered the dislocations.  I will miss them both.  Pretty much all my ‘friends’ are leaving except one, who I really like – but her bed is on the other side of the ward so I feel a bit isolated.

But – I’m homeward bound for a weekend of chilling!

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Nine

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Nine

I wake up feeling human and I’m not totally shattered, I don’t spend the day collapsing in bed every spare minute I have!  Finally!

Stretch first. I get through it a lot better than the last two days, although I still have periods of dizziness and nausea. I can’t understand how I did all three sessions in week one with no issue, then have problems in each session this week.

I then see Lucy, my Occupational Therapist who takes me through to the kitchen to look at different items available. She shows me knives with handles to help support cutting, which are quite good. She explains I need to pick things like cutlery and pens by thick handles. It’s due to the fact my smaller joints are more prone to damage, so I need to put my larger joints to better use and thicker handles help this. She then gives me a catalogue of helpful items to look through, which has some excellent ideas – but I just can’t afford them!

My next session is with Rachel, my Physio and is all about setting my weekend goals. We decide on me practising relaxation at least once, to look at my desk set-up, to look at any kitchen equipment that might help, to do one set of stretches and one set of exercises and to look into getting a gym ball.

We are meant to have Nutrition next, but the lady who does it isn’t there. A nurse takes the session instead and she does it by reading the words on the sparse slides, and then saying she didn’t know the answers to any question asked of her. I’d rather they just cancelled it and put it on when the person was back!

When the girl in the bed opposite me saw her consultant, he put her down for the three week course, but when she got her letter, it said two weeks. When she arrived they said it was an error, but they had no beds, unless someone cancelled. Someone did cancel, so early in week one she was told she was okay for the three weeks. Just before we go into nutrition a nurse walks up to her and says ‘we made a mistake, there is no bed, but oh well, you thought it was two weeks anyway.’ She said it so blasé, and then just left.  Unfortunately she’s gutted, and leaves lunch in tears.  We try to help, but leave to give her some space.

We have work support next and again, I learn nothing new. I’m getting a bit annoyed with these patronising sessions, that says things like do you know about Access to Work? Yes… Oh right, well I have nothing more to tell you.  I just expected so much more.

The questions are dominated by our resident grumpy man, who hasn’t worked for nine years.  People that do work and are asking for relevant advice, is rudely interrupted constantly by him.  The instructor says nothing, so I interject on her behalf. Honestly, he’s like a child.

Half way through the girl who has just found out she can’t stay leaves, and doesn’t come back.  After we find she’s locked herself in the toilet and is retching.  Her physio comes to see her, and says she’s shocked, but there is nothing she can do. She says they will try and arrange it so she can comes back in for two weeks in about four months time.

Finally, we go swimming. I find it easier than the week before, and my neck holds up longer. I also do walking backwards and forwards, ‘water cycling’ and some leg exercises.

We have another pizza party with some of the boys from their ward over. We head back to the ward, and a group of us are sitting around my bed when the evening drug round starts.  The girl who dislocated her shoulder the week before is standing talking to someone when the drug trolley passed her, and the nurse accidently bumps into her.  I saw her react, but she didn’t make a noise.  When the nurse has moved on she says she thinks her shoulder is almost out, but when we look we can see the bone is out and it’s a full dislocation.  It was as easily done as that.  L

She says she needs her strong medication to take straight away, so it can start kicking in ready for the bone to be put back in place.

She isn’t actually on the same progamme as us – we’re all on the rehab or pain management programme.  She’s in purely for the shoulder specialists to teach her how to put it back in after dislocations, which she finds very difficult.  She had a plan in place, which involves the strong medications, and getting her to get her arm up above her head, and bringing it back down in a specific way.

I go and tell the nurse it’s dislocated and she snaps at me, saying she knows, and there is nothing she can do. She couldn’t have known, having left the room, and there was a lot she could have done. They eventually give her the meds and leave her to it. Her shoulder has been dislocating for five years, and she’s never been able to get it in. She waits and hour and the medications don’t help the pain at all.

Medication Credit: Zomb kille

Medication Credit: Zomb kille

One of the girls who is new to the programme this week, is also an accident and emergency nurse. She’s horrified they have just left her to it, particularly because the doctors put her shoulder back in the previous week it stretched her Ulnar nerve, which left her unable to move two of her fingers, and was already in a lot of pain. She goes to speak to the nurses and asks them to provide her with some gas and air so an attempt can be made to put it back in. She is told there is no gas and air kept at the hospital – which we know is a load of crap as she had it the week before!

One of the nurses – Mary, comes back into the ward, and someone asks her whether she was aware it was the drug trolley being moved that dislocated it in the first place. Mary turned to her and screamed, “No it wasn’t! The trolley didn’t touch her, it’s never touched anyone! Don’t you dare say that.”

She leaves and comes back a few minutes later.  The same girl tries again, and says she thought they should know as she thought as report should be filled in, but the nurse responds rudely and sarcastically.

She leaves the ward and she is overheard saying “Do you know what that they’re saying? That we banged into her! I don’t know why she is moaning because she walked into it herself.”

So suddenly the story had changed to she walked into it. Interesting. There were three witnesses, plus the girl it happened to!

People begin to head to their beds as it’s getting late, and we advise the girl with the dislocation, as horrible as it may sound to give it a go – and if her pain worsens and she begins to get hysterical so be it, perhaps they will take notice. She does try and can’t even move her arm. A doctor suddenly arrives and closes her curtains. We all have to listen for the next few hours as she tries to coach her through doing it herself. She’s screaming in pain, but manages to get her arm up over her head a millimetre at a time, and then can’t bring it down as she was taught. The doctor goes and magics up some gas and air and wheels it next to her bed. She then says she can use it if she wants – but if she does they will discharge her and not be interested in working with her again, as it’s obvious she isn’t interested in trying the plan. I’m so angry – as she has tried. It’s complete and utter blackmail – let’s put pain relief next to someone in agony and tell them they can use it, but with massive strings attached. I hear her respond that they will work with her, because she is trying, and I’m so proud of her as she doesn’t usually stand up for herself. She uses it, and manages to make her arm go the final downwards motion and nothing. Nothing bloody happens. Hours of torture, and the shoulder won’t go in.

The doctor then goes and phones the shoulder team to ask what she should do – whether she should leave it out when she already has nerve damage. No, absolutely not, they say. Get it in.

She comes back and tries three times using the method the physio said she had to use, and it won’t go back in. They then leave for the night with it still dislocated. She doesn’t sleep all night.

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Eight

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Eight

Once again it’s not a great day physically.  Yes, I know this is a reoccurring theme and it’s dull!  I can’t function in the morning though, but drag myself out of bed until one of the girls in the ward tells me I’m mad, and to get back in bed.  There is a strict ‘you must attend sessions’ theme, and we’ve all worried all week that if we put a foot wrong they will kick us off, but doing something physical is just completely impossible.  A message is sent to the physios running it that I can’t make it, and I fall asleep.

I wake an hour later to the doctor by my bed, checking I’m okay. A bit embarrassing they actually sent a doctor, when this is a quite normal part of the condition.

The sleeping helps, and the next session is relaxation.  I’m able to follow it better than the day before and the technique used is called progressive muscle relaxation.  You take each muscle in turn from the toe to the head and tense them, then relax them.  It’s an interesting taster, but the results would be better at home somewhere in comfort.  We’re just on normal chairs – and I tend to need full neck and head support to achieve relaxation.

I then have arts and crafts and continue glass painting.  I still find the lady that does it very patronising.

Next up is cognitive therapy, with the theme on stress.  No information is given that I would actually find useful on a daily basis.  After the session I head back to the ward to sleep again.  I wish I could get through a day without this.

Later on I have physio which I enjoy, but straight afterwards we have an hour of sports which is too much at once.  My shoulders are in spasm from overworking it in physio, and every sport they have is based on arm movements – table tennis, short tennis, badminton, catch. The physio with us is interested in getting new things, and we suggest more lower limb based exercises (while remaining seated), and possibly something like mini golf which is more of an underarm movement. I play a game of table tennis with a member of the group and it’s much better than the week before! We end with a session of kicking a massive football to each other.

Table tennis Credit: Mishahu

Table tennis Credit: Mishahu

My dad comes to visit me around 5pm, with the idea of going to the friends and family session.  I was really pleased they were putting this on, as I hoped they would help explain my condition to him which I have struggled to do.  Instead I’m told ten minutes before he arrives “It’s cancelled.  Whoops, didn’t anyone tell you?” and so instead we go to the cafe next door for dinner.  On the menu they have burger and chips, and that’s it.  We order two of them, and are told they only have one.  It’s actually worse than the hospital food!

He only stays for about an hour, and I then go straight to bed and am asleep by 8pm. It’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had so far.

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Seven

Three Weeks in Rehab – Day Seven

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-sleeping-safely-image11122158

I wake up exhausted, and to be honest it ruins my day.  I can’t concentrate, and I spend every spare second sleeping. It’s a busy day as well, which doesn’t help.   I’m also frustrated as I’ve looked forward to this programme so much – hoping to learn a lot on it, and feel annoyed at myself when I feel I can’t fully take part in it.

The first session as always is stretch.  As you remember lots of new people joined yesterday, and we’d all got to know each other the week before and feel comfortable, so there is an air of slight awkwardness.  Throughout this session my nausea is playing up, and I take an anti-sickness pill.  I tend to find my nausea (common with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) gets much worse when my fatigue is particularly bad.   The other thing that gets worse is dizziness – so throughout feeling with the mixture of dizziness, fatigue and nausea – the session isn’t particularly fun and I have to keep taking breaks.

One of the new ladies unfortunately has an even worse time.  She suddenly whispered to me she didn’t feel well and was going to get some air.  She almost reaches the door when she collapses. The physios rush around her, covering her up and putting screens around her. We’re told to carry on, and when we finish the session she’s still on the floor. We see her a bit later and she says she just got incredibly dizzy and ill.  I feel really bad for her.

Straight afterwards I have my first gardening session with Viv. It’s all adapted, with long handled tools, which is really awesome.  It’s set out so you can sit at a table to work, and I re-potted lots of Snapdragons. I then watered them with a can you didn’t need to tip, just press the button – which is fantastic for those of us with wrist, arm or shoulder issues (or all!). The underlying emphasis of the session was about posture and pacing, so I had to regularly change position and stand, or walk every 10 minutes. She helped put my posture right, but was nice about it. I come out feeling positive and like I can get this posture thing down. (I struggle as I hold my body in certain ways due to the pain, so while it sounds easy, it isn’t always.)  I also really enjoy the gardening aspects and find it soothing.

My next session is Intro to Relaxation and the tiredness just hits me. She says it’s just the theory behind it, and I think thank god, as I’d just fall asleep. The room is cold, uncomfortable and packed, so how we’d relax, I don’t know. She goes on about the benefits of it, and my eyes keep shutting. A couple of times I find myself jumping awake. I just need it to be over so I can lay down, but on it goes. Then she announces we will have a short try by closing our eyes and breathing deeply. I keep my eyes open, trying to read or do anything to stay awake, digging my fingernails into my arm! It was horrible. I hate that feeling when you just can’t fight it, but it’s not somewhere you can sleep!

Lunch is next, but I collapse into bed to sleep, and then eat my salad on my bedside table as I just can’t move. It’s quite all-consuming today. Next I have physio, and I was looking forward to playing on the Wii, but someone else’s physio had the same idea – and decided to use it for the hour, rather than share it. Instead I work on the shoulder strength and core work. She asks me if I feel whether we’re missing anything out. It’s want to say that I feel it would be nice if it was more hands on, trying to relax some of the muscles as well as just exercises, but I don’t feel comfortable enough to do that.  I tell her my wrists are very sore, and she gets me to try on a wrist support, but it’s no good unfortunately.

Straight after I have Occupational Therapy with Lucy, who coincidentally enough has decided to look at my wrists and hands.  She tests my grip with a machine and says it’s very weak, particularly on the right. We try on lots of supports, and pick one with wrist and hand support to order in which feels really comfortable and gives support without being too tight, and another which is like a tight glove. People with EDS often have trouble with their joints as their brain can’t quite tell where their joints are (called proprioception).  After putting it on immediately my grip improves. It’s a ugly thing though! She is also going to look for something to help my elbows which keep locking in hyper-extension, particularly overnight, which is very painful. Finally, she is going to write to my employer to say I need a phased return.

Next up is Arts and Crafts and I’m not so keen – which is ironic as I love crafting.  Again, they look a posture – which I’ve kind of had enough of today. Every time I move she makes me move back into the ‘right’ position, even when it’s painful. She goes to ridiculous and patronising extremes, and hasn’t a clue about pain and how it impacts on your posture. I come away wanting to sit slumped for the rest of my life just to spite her, rather than earlier that day with Viv when I felt inspired. A terrible way to go about it.

Finally, a break! Once again I collapse in bed. I hate these day-time sleeps, as I’m trying to get better sleep at night, but it’s impossible not to. I’m just leaving for my final session when one of the ladies in the ward faints.  God, it’s the day for it! I’ve never seen the nurses move so fast.  If you’re wondering why so many are fainting or dizzy – we all have a condition called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, which is linked to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.  It causes your blood pressure to rise as you stand, causing dizziness and sometimes fainting.

The final session is on Pain – why it happens, what it is, etc. Again, I would be interested normally, but I’m fighting to stay awake. It wasn’t a session I was originally down for, it was just for the Pain Management patients, not the Rehab, but my physio said she thought I’d be interested. They finish the talk, and the two patients point out they’d heard exactly the same talk the week before. They’re told they do the same talk each week, and they have to listen to it three times. How weird! I won’t be going next week anyway.

Tea isn’t great.  Afterwards a few people have to walk to the nearest shop as they were still starving.

I set my jewellery out in the evening and make a couple of sales. I also start work on a bracelet commission.  Just as we’re settling down, the grasshopper (or cricket or whatever) reappears again. Someone manages to grab it and saves another sleepless night.  Yay!