Deb is a 65 year old married female p/s 3/28/20 CVA with hemiplegia and hemiparesis following a non traumatic intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke affecting her right side and presenting with flexor tone in both upper and lower extremities and expressive aphasia. Deb used a quad cane and AFO for ambulation. Deb was coming to the clinic to help improve her impairments for the CVA. Before her stroke, she was very active and enjoyed spending time outdoors in the Lakewood area with her husband. Deb has a very difficult time with words, but remains very up beat and positive. Interventions for Deb included gait training, standing and dynamic balance skills, passive ROM for upper and lower extremities, muscular strength. I enjoyed working with Deb and her husband, during my clinical. 

These two have a very special place in my heart, they are my Grandmas. I was blessed to have both grandmas in to my adulthood, and have taught me so much about life and death. 

Dorothy - She was dx with COPD and CHF, early on she completed cardiopulmonary rehab at a local hospital. She enjoyed her exercise time and saw the benefits this type of treatment provided. She would comment on how she was able to continue walking her dog to the corner and back because of the rehab. She also spoke so highly of how well she was treated by the staff, they were professional, encouraging, and caring. This made a huge difference in her life and giving her a better quality of life for longer. 

Noella - When we talk of old-old in aging adults, she was old-old-old. Noella was 4 days shy of her 108th birthday when she passed in 2014. She was very active both physically and mentally through out her life. She was playing bridge in to her 100's at a local bridge club. There is a lot to learn from how to take care of our old-old population. When she was 103 years old, she was on a day trip up north at her cabin with her daughter and broke her hip stepping out of the cabin. She was transported home and her hip was fixed. She was living independently at home prior to the accident, she was required to go to rehab/nursing home after her surgery. She had hopes at the time to return home after rehab with assistance but was never able to. At the time, I had concerns about rehab not working to improve her situation because of her advanced age. She was left to be fully dependent, when even working to improve transfers would have improved her quality life, and the 5 additional years she was alive. We need to always work to help return patients to prior function regardless of age, and not give up because of someone age.