Dave's story

The day started much like many others—Dave dropped his wife at work and was preparing to take his granddaughter to school. Instinctively, he felt something was off, and sought help from his son-in-law who immediately responded, “You need to go to the hospital,” and called emergency services.
Dave next recollects hearing, “Welcome to the hospital.” He was in Mercy Hospital. The medical team there placed a tube in his airway because he was not breathing well on his own. His heart was in trouble, it could not pump enough blood and oxygen to his brain and other vital organs. Diagnostic tests showed this was due to significant narrowing of the arteries in his heart. Doctors surgically removed plaque to open those channels and implanted a temporary artificial heart to keep his heart pumping. Recognizing the severity of Dave’s condition, his doctors recommended University of Cincinnati Medical Center for specialized care.
There, he was placed on the highest level of life support which temporarily took over the work of his heart and lungs. Further diagnostic tests showed areas in his brain where tissue had died due to lack of blood flow. After six days, doctors created an opening in his windpipe, called a tracheostomy, attached to a ventilator to aid his breathing and successfully removed him from the life support. Now stabilized, Dave set his sights on liberating from the ventilator and getting back to breathing on his own. For that, he and his family chose Select Specialty Hospital – Cincinnati.
At admission, Dave faced an uphill battle. He could not breathe on his own, sit upright, get into a chair, stand or walk. Motivated to get back to helping his family, he set his goals on liberating from the ventilator and walking.
His physician-led, multidisciplinary treatment team worked with Dave on his recovery plan. His rehabilitation began with respiratory therapy. Using a structured process, respiratory therapists dialed back his ventilator settings for short then increasingly longer periods of time. This strengthened Dave’s lungs and soon he was liberated from the ventilator and his tracheostomy tube was removed. He achieved his goal of breathing on his own.
Meantime Dave was working on improving his mobility with exercises designed to improve strength and range of motion. With a therapist to guide him, he focused on leg lifts, repetitive sit-to-stands and mini squats, progressing to walking in the hall with a rolling walker.
These gains were a turning point for Dave. “Getting into a chair was a turning point in my recovery. I couldn’t imagine not being around to watch my grandchildren grow up.”
His wife and daughter visited and called daily, motivating him further during his two week critical illness recovery stay. Now walking, he was ready for the next step in regaining his independence. For that, doctors recommended inpatient rehabilitation at TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital.
When Dave admitted to TriHealth he was walking with a walker, but struggled with balance and endurance. He required verbal cues to complete self-care tasks and had difficulty thinking quickly and recalling information. His physician-led team including physical, occupational and speech therapy, met with Dave who outlined his goals.
“I want to get back to walking normally, hopefully I stop forgetting stuff – like my phone number. I look forward to my short-term memory improving. I look forward to continuing exercising and moving.”
In physical therapy, Dave tackled stairs in the therapy gym, preparing for the staircase to his basement at home. He used leg weights during seated and standing exercises to improve muscle strength, pedaled an exercise bike to further his endurance and worked on balance with toe taps. Soon he was walking short distances without a walker.
Dave increased independence and safety in his self-tasks with occupational therapy. He successfully completed bathing and dressing in a seated position to conserve energy. He prepared to get back to helping his family by making coffee in the hospital’s Activities of Daily Living (ADL) kitchen. He also completed puzzles, games and used the Bioness Integrated Therapy System (BITS)—a large touch screen digital display with programmed games specifically designed to improve the physical, visual and cognitive (thinking) abilities of patients.
Meantime Dave addressed his short term memory with his speech-language pathologist (SLP). They worked on strategies to remember important information, such as when to take his medication. The SLP benchmarked his progress with repeated cognitive tests.
After 17 days at TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital, Dave could walk short distances without a walker and manage 28 steps with a handrail. He was able to manage his self-care needs using the energy-saving modifications learned in OT. His SLP ran a final cognitive test and he delivered a perfect score. He was excited to go home and resume helping his family.
To others facing a health journey, Dave shared this advice: “Come to TriHealth Rehabilitation Hospital because it works! I know I am so lucky and I have been given a second chance.”