February 2008 is a month Samantha Bower can barely remember, but will never forget.
While driving her son’s truck near her hometown of Newellton, Louisiana, she swerved to miss a car in her lane. The truck then jumped two culverts and slammed into a tree, propelling its loose speakers into Samantha, which caused significant damage to her face, head, neck, and back.
When she woke up in the hospital weeks later, Samantha knew she was in bad shape. Worst of all—she could not feel her legs.
"Even though I don't remember a lot about what happened, I'll never forget the doctor coming in my room and telling me I would never be able to walk again," she said.
After spending months in the hospital, Samantha, a single mother of three, was finally released into her family’s care. They did the best they could to care for her, but it was very difficult, so she was taken to a nursing home.
"There I was, just in my 30's, and I'm sitting helpless in a nursing home," said Samantha. "I felt like a shell. I just sat there all day and cried."
However, Samantha was far from helpless. In April of 2009, Samantha’s boyfriend, Robbie, and her friend, Jenni, moved her and her family from Louisiana to Batesville, Arkansas. In a period of months, her physician, Dr. Davidson, recommended her for Occupational Therapy (OT) at White River Medical Center Physical Rehab Outpatient Services (WRMC PROS).
Occupational Therapists (OTs) help patients develop the skills to carry out everyday tasks such as grooming, working, or playing. OTs work with patients who have an illness, injury, or disability that prevents them from doing day to day activities.
Now, there's no limit to what Samantha can achieve. With the help of her OT Janet Wood, Samantha does many exercises that help her build upper body strength, improve stability, and perform activities of daily living. Samantha has learned to sit up on her own, bend over to put her shoes on, and do housework. She has also learned to dress herself.
"I’m proud of learning to get myself dressed," said Samantha. "My daughter was dressing me before. She said she didn't mind, but I could tell it was hard for her. I didn't tell anyone that I was learning to dress myself. Then one night, I told her I was going to get ready for bed. She said,'Well, don’t you need my help?' I said with a smile, 'Nope, I can do it.' And I did! It was a great moment."
Samantha credits all her success to WRMC and WRMC PROS services.
"Ms. Janet, my OT, has been great. Everyone here has been wonderful. I've gotten so much help from all the doctors at WRMC and the staff at PROS. They have helped me get an excellent wheelchair and any other medical necessities I need. I’ve come such a long way and I owe it all to them," said Samantha.
Occupational therapists work with patients in outpatient rehabilitation, like Samantha, but they also help Inpatient Rehabilitation patients, or those whose illness or injury requires hospital stay. In Inpatient Rehabilitation, overnight hospital patients that need therapy to recuperate are required to work with therapists for a minimum of at least three hours a day, depending on the physician's recommendations.
The OT staff in Acute Inpatient Rehab at WRMC helped patient Linda Phares get back something that she thought that she had lost forever.
Landscape painting was an activity Linda Phares took great pleasure in.
"I have always enjoyed painting scenes," she said with a faraway look in her eyes and a smile on her face. "One year, I won grand sweepstakes in the Imboden County fair. I was so proud of that."
Linda had all intentions of entering another painting in the fair. Sadly, in 2008, Linda was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a disease of the nerves that causes uncontrollable shaking. Linda’s hands were no longer steady enough to paint the beautiful scenes that she always enjoyed.
"Learning that I was never going to paint again was a hard pill to swallow," she said, as her smile began to fade.
Although she worked with OT’s to learn how to function with Parkinson’s disease, it wasn’t until recently when she returned to the Inpatient Rehabilitation for a fractured arm, that she discovered that her passion was not forever lost. During a session with Jessica Krug, a University of Conway Arkansas student doing OT clinical training at WRMC, a "fire was re-lit."
While attending Occupational Therapy during Inpatient Rehab, she told Jessica about her love of painting. Jessica mentioned something Linda had never thought about—abstract art.
Jessica found some paints, some paper, and a brush. Although hesitant at first, Linda started painting. It wasn’t long before a familiar sensation came over her. She was back to doing what she loved, just in a different way.
"Now I have my passion back. I developed a new ability to delve into a different medium and I have OT to thank for that," said Linda, with the smile returning to her face. "Abstract art is definitely something that I am going to pursue."
Linda has visited the Inpatient Rehab several times since her discharge, each time with a smile and an example of her most recent painting demonstrating how an old hobby brings her renewed joy.
Therapists, whether occupational therapists, physical therapists, or speech therapists, give patients a quality of life that they thought they had lost forever. Through therapy, patients such as Samantha and Linda, get back their independence by learning to do everyday tasks as well as things they enjoy.
Posted: June, 08 2010