Ella is now in the rehabilitation ward. This ward is structured for her to receive occupational therapy as well as some physiotherapy. She is able to walk like she was before, although if she walks for long periods of time, she will get a bit unsteady on her feet. She is encouraged to walk around the unit, and if visitors come they may take her for a walk around the hospital. This will help with her recovery. If you do come to take her around the hospital, please let the nurses know, so they don't think that she has gone missing. Ella still easily gets confused and lost, so she should not be left on her own to wonder. She does have a yellow bracelet with her ward number on it on the off chance that she does get lost. This will alert hospital staff that she should not be wondering off on her own and needs to be returned.
The main concern at this point is her cognition. She is having short term memory loss, and is confusing how events have unfolded. This is not unexpected with the surgery she has had. For instance, last week she was saying she had been in the hospital for a week already. I needed to remind her that she had actually been in the hospital for two weeks. This came as a complete surprise to her. She will need to be reminded of things that have occurred and plans going forward. I have also been noticing that she is not fully understanding what the nurses and doctors are telling her. Therefore, if she does tell you something that doesn't seem quite right, there is a good chance she is confused about it.
Occupational therapy is there in order to help her regain her cognitive abilities. They have had her do little exercises such as counting money, and doing math, which she hates! These tasks, which used to be easy for her, are now a challenge.
I am not entirely sure what the long term plan is at this point. I spoke with one of the nurses last night and she informed me there will be a family meeting between me, Ella and the medical staff to determine what the plan will be. This will happen within the next two weeks. So that does mean she will be in there for at least two weeks. When I asked how long she will be in there for, she was unable to give me an exact time. It could be as little as one month, however it is likely it will be three months still. After that, there may be an option for her to go to another site for further rehabilitation. This facility could take one to two years. This information is by no means certain at this point. But this may help give us an idea what is to come in the future.
Ella is in good spirits so far, but is getting bored. She does have her colouring books there, as well as magazines. There is a computer there that she may access to get onto her facebook. I am still working on getting her email passwords so that she may access those again. She does have her cell phone there to make phone calls. But if you have had any experience with her and her phone, you know this can be a challenge even on a good day! She has troubles understanding how to answer the phone. I think she is good at calling back right away as she understands how to do that. She is not good at texting, so that may not be a good option for keeping in touch. We also don't know what her voicemail password is, so leaving a message at this point will not get you very far! I am going to try to get this sorted out so that leaving messages will be possible.
If you have had any contact with Ella in the last few weeks, you already know how much she hates the food at the hospital. Although there is nothing we can do about that, I have been bringing in cookies and coffee for her, which she likes. Therefore if you are wondering if there is anything you can bring, those are good options!
That is all the information that I can think of for now. When more information is available, I will provide another update!
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