Chris' story
Christopher “Chris” Music, 57, spent weekdays running a printing press and weekends following his passion—long motorcycle rides on the open road. Life was cruising along until he hit an unexpected speedbump—a notable lack of energy and loss of appetite. After a few weeks, Chris felt worse and was unable to work. He headed to the Emergency Department (ED) at Bethesda North Hospital where doctors determined Chris had severe flu and pneumonia infections compounded by blood clots in his legs and lung as well as kidney failure.
The visit to the ED was one of last days Chris remembers of that time. Doctors placed Chris in a medically induced coma to protect his brain while they administered powerful medications and treatments to address his lung infections, blood clots and kidney function. Doctors created an opening in his windpipe called a tracheostomy and connected a tube from the opening to a ventilator to take over the work of his lungs. They also placed a feeding tube to deliver medication, hydration and nutrition directly into Chris’ stomach. Regular dialysis treatments took over the function of his kidneys to remove waste and extra fluid from his blood. Chris remained in the induced coma for three weeks.
Chris stabilized and remembers bits and pieces of what came next—recovery time in the hospital and a nursing home, followed by readmission to the hospital for another respiratory infection. After an additional couple weeks, Chris was stable once again. Although no longer on a ventilator or feeding tube, Chris was breathing with the support of supplemental oxygen through a collar around his tracheostomy opening. He was also very weak from his extended illness and unable to stand or walk without assistance. Motivated by the ultimate goal of getting back on his Harley, Chris chose TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital to focus on recovery.
Upon admission, Chris met with his physician-led multi-disciplinary team that included a speech-language pathologist and physical and occupational therapy. Chris laid out his goals: “Be able to feed and dress myself, walk independently and manage the bathroom without help.”
Chris initially had trouble swallowing liquids so his care team thickened his liquids to prevent aspiration—breathing liquid into his lungs. To improve swallowing, the speech-language pathologist took Chris through exercises focused on strengthening throat muscles and increasing tongue control. After a week of therapy, Chris was ready to put his progress to the test--the fiber optic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). He passed and progressed to drinking regular liquids without concern.
Meantime, physical therapy (PT) got to work on Chris’ strength and mobility. They got him up on his feet and engaged him in core and leg strengthening with seated exercises and the SciFit bike to increase balance and stamina. Next, the therapy team put him to work in the gym’s parallel bars. Using the bars for support, Chris took his first independent steps. From there, he started walking with the support of a rollator—a walker with wheels. Consistent walking during therapy gradually increased his cardiopulmonary strength and endurance.
“Everything the therapists did helped. I just kept listening to them and working hard. It was a great sense of accomplishment when I walked around the therapy gym for the first time with the rollator.”
Chris’ brother-in-law, Rick, was there with him almost every day during his physical therapy sessions—motivating him and celebrating his successes. During his PT sessions, Chris set a new goal for the future—swimming workouts with Rick in the heated pool of their local YMCA.
Concurrently, Chris worked with occupational therapy (OT) on regaining independence with his activities of everyday living. His was initially limited by weakness in his arms, balance issues and lack of endurance. To build his upper body strength, OT started Chris off on exercises while his arms were supported. This eliminated the effect of gravity and allowed him to focus on gradually building muscle strength and increasing range of motion. Soon he advanced to arm exercises with weights and pedaling the arm bike. Chris also enjoyed pedaling the seated bike in the therapy gym to strengthen his legs. These gains in his upper and lower body translated to the strength and coordination Chris needed to accomplish tasks of daily living.
After 21 days at TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital, Chris met his goals—he was dressing, grooming and managing the bathroom independently and walking 150 feet with a rollator. He was ready to head home where he looks forward to continuing to gain strength to once again feel the rumble of his Harley with the wind in his face.