Ronnie's road to recovery

Me and Ronnie at the Huntersville Health and Rehab Center

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

The Huntersville Health and Rehabilitation Center must have taken good care of my husband Ronnie that he didn't want to come home anymore.

At least that's the impression I got on my husband days before he was scheduled for discharge after 20 days of confinement at the center located at 13835 Boren Street, Huntersville in North Carolina, 28078.

At least it was good to know he was in better condition than before his admission, when he was quite emotional that he would shed a tear for the past three days presumably out of the physical pain he felt. 

Ronnie was admitted to the center's emergency ward after being discharged at the Novant Hospital. I called 911 when I could not get him up after he fell from the bed. 

Ronnie with Hannah at the facility's entrance

Actually he has this condition called neuropathy that is progressing since the onset. 

What used to be an annual condition is now happening every month and he has this feeling of weakness in which he couldn't move or swing his legs no matter how anyone helps him. 

The night before on July 26 he had high fever--the thermometer wasn't working but I was sure he had a fever because the wet wash cloth I placed atop his forehead would dry up minutes after I placed it on him.

Anyway I rushed him to the Novant Health Hospital where he was confined due to acute neuropathy resulting to general weakness. Doctors there also discovered that he had a sepsis infection or blood poisoning which by itself is fatal. 

After being discharged there, he was admitted to the Huntersville Health and Rehabilitation Center that was just a walking distance from most commercial establishments such as McDonalds, Starbucks, CVS and the Novant Hospital. 

The center just opened this summer and I can smell the paint. Ronnie was confined at room 106, the first room to the left going to the exit.  Room 106 was across the rows of new condos which make the skyline when you look it up lying on your bed. 

Room 106 at the center was his room for 20 days right after he was discharged from the Novant Health Hospital where he was confined for a week due to acute neuropathy resulting to general weakness. 

Ronnie with Janet Hixson

The first afternoon he was at Huntersville Health and Rehabilitation Center (HMRC) was a Saturday on July 30. 

I think the staff at Novant Hospital didn't make a good impression on Ronnie since the staff there were busy with their schedules.

Knowing Ronnie to be an extra social person, I think he expected the staff to be more welcoming but I can only guess that the center's staff are still adjusting to working there. 

Room 106 was spacious and fresh from the looks and smell. Paint was on my nose. The TV mounted on the wall was excellent. Furniture suited the patient's need. The center looked like a hotel for the disabled.

The bathroom which was also large was accessible to people with disabilities (PWDs) and had handle bars and knobs that can be easily used by the patients.

It is a family friendly center, spacious enough to accommodate family and friends. I stayed at the center with Ronnie most of the time and slept there though there was no extra bed.

We were able to provide our own which really makes it conducive to holistic healing as the patients were not separated from family members.  

Ronnie started his physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) which consists of exercises for the upper and lower extremities at the center's Mobility Garden on Monday, Aug. 1.

Ronnie told me that he was tired after the first time he did it. The Mobility Garden is said to be one of the latest advances in rehabilitation therapy.

The center's website explained and I quote it directly “by simulating the everyday situations you'll encounter when you're back at home (such as sand, grass, inclines, and uneven surfaces) our Mobility Garden insures that you'll be 100 percent ready to resume your everyday activities safely and independently. There are even plant beds, putting greens, and more to make sure you're ready for your favorite activities, too. It's the only one of its kind in the area.”

Ronnie likes this kind of exercise since he can stop at any time so long as he did it for an hour. 

Ronnie with his therapist

His army buddy Jim Duhon kept him company through the phone and he told me that the therapist should understand that Ronnie was slowly engaging in physical exercise because he hasn't been moving much for the last 20 years.

At first it was hard for Ronnie, but he later enjoyed it and it helped that he had beautiful therapists to keep him company. 

There is a media center with books, magazines and did I mention that his room is spacious enough to accommodate a large number of visitors.
  
The reception center is flowing with coffee and cold lemonade. During his confinement, Ronnie's day starts with breakfast at the cafeteria at 7:30 am and it helps that he can socialize with other patients too. 

After eating, the nurse would give them their medicines and most of them would check on their emails, read magazines or mostly stay at the reception room and play online games. 

By the way the nurses would check on the patient's vitals including their weight before breakfast. Before breakfast at least Ronnie starts the day with his bath and fresh towels are provided. 

Then at 9:30 am, Ronnie would start with his physical therapy. If his condition allowed it he can do PT for two hours. That's 40 hours of exercise for 20 days at the center and that's perhaps the longest time he got exercise in his life.

After this the patients would return to their rooms and either take a nap or watch TV or call friends. 

In Ronnie's case he would take a nap and call family members and friends like Jim Duhon, Viktor Diopala and JS Reid who would also call him back.  

The menu is made available to the patients who can choose their meals for the next day. “The food was excellent, ” Ronnie said. 

Ronnie with his dietician

An example of a patient's dinner is the “herbed pork loin, honey glazed meatballs, paprika rice, buttered corn and turnips green, dinner roll or melon in season. 

They can also be served hot roast beef sandwich, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, garlic herb gnocchi, green peas, seasoned squash or for dessert assorted cookies or the fruit of the day. 

Each meal ticket would have the corresponding carbohydrate/protein/mineral intake like 0-25 percent, 26-50 percent, 51-75 percent, 76-100 percent- whatever that means, what I do know is that the dietician did job well. 

And what I knew it is a meal portion is in accordance with the standard of weight loss depending on a patient's body weight and health issues.    

What I did observe is that the center's team was professional and dedicated to each patient's needs. Their goal I think is to give the highest quality care and service to the patient.

We went home at 7 am on August 18, with Ronnie attaining his recovery goal of improved balance, increased strength and increased physical independence.

I could not blame Ronnie if he didn't want to come home. At the rehab center he was exercising, eating the right food without preparing it and best of all, he socialized with a community of patients and the beautiful medical staff and nurses—beautiful people inside and out can also be panacea for the physically ill and the emotionally ailing--who cared for him. 

The Hunstersville Health and Rehabilitation Center is a place close to home. Ronnie and I had a good experience with them and on his behalf, I thank them for taking good care of my husband. 

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.
Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)