Tuesday, February 10th ... Mama's NOT happy, again!!

Well, Cane Island now has two strikes against them, and I'm not sure they will even get another turn to bat! Dad started his third week at Cane Island on Monday, and the therapists there have only had Dad on his feet two or three times. As you all know, they told us that they felt Dad needed an ankle/foot orthodic to help him with his balance and walking, and they supposedly ordered it the first week he was there, it came in mid-week last week, needed an adjustment, sent it back off, was supposed to be back to him yesterday. Long story short, it has yet to arrive, which translates to no walking time/practice for Dad since he left Katy Rehab! So, Dave was "super sleuth" yesterday and went to Cane Island to observe dad's therapy session. Just like Dad has been telling us, the therapist used the electric stimulator on his nerves/muscles, put him on the stationary bike, and then had him use a pully to work his arms. This is pretty much what happens every day with very little patient/therapist interaction. When Dad asked about his brace once again, supposedly the head of the therapy department asked him, "Why are you asking me?!?" Dave called and reported in to "headquarters," and Mom pretty much lost it. Since Dave's hurricane claims have come to an end, he told Mom if she wanted to pull him out of there, he would help Dad out at home until Mom got things worked out. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Dad is losing ground by sitting around in a wheelchair all day instead of building upon the foundation that Katy Rehab laid. So, Mom emailed Kelley at KRH and asked how she could get Dad back there on an out-patient basis. Kelley responded that Mom would need to talk to Dr. Bing about getting Dad discharged and then he would need to write orders for further therapy, etc. Mom immediately called Dr. Bing's office and spoke to his nurse about the situation, and within 30 minutes, Dr. Bing personally called her back. He said that he would have the Nurse Practitioner that he worked with at Cane Island run some traps and figure out what insurance would approve, etc, and they would get back to her with a plan on Wednesday. In the meantime, when Mom arrived at Cane Island after work, Tracy (one of the head nurses) and Shelley (the Director of Nursing) were in with Dad. Apparently, Shelley overheard a conversation between Mom and Dad the day before about how unhappy they were with the therapy program. Shelley and Tracy were in there telling Dad that they had decided that THEY were going to take the time to walk him every day. Mom relayed to Shelley & Tracy the experience we had at KRH along with her concerns and disappointments with therapy at Cane Island. She found them to have "empathetic" ears and caring hearts, and as Mom became emotional and told them she had wheels in motion to get Dad discharged because she wanted to give him the best shot at gaining his independence, supposedly everyone was in tears! Shelley promised that she would relay all of the information to the Administrator and then encouraged Mom to speak to him directly, as well as show him the video that we had taken of Dad "walking" at KRH and other video footage of the interaction between the therapists and Dad, that she and Tracy had just viewed (thanks to Dave's laptop!). So, as you can tell, the last couple of days have been stressful, and the bottom line is we just want Dad to get what the insurance companies are paying for and what a patient deserves. Afterall, Cane Island boasts of their "Stroke Recovery Program!" Hopefully, we will have a plan for moving forward by the end of the day tomorrow, so stay tuned for "game highlights!" HA! Mom wants to thank Jo Gilbert for stopping by Monday evening to visit with she and Dad, and to all of her friends and family who give her a shoulder to cry and/or lean on every day! You are all very much loved and appreciated ...