Help Suzanne be safe in her home
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SuzanneStrong Fundraiser
I am a physical therapist that helps to rehab patients following a stroke. Although this population comes with many challenges, it also provides me with the unique opportunity to get to know my clients over several years of treating them. One such client that I have been especially blessed to come to know over the past 7 years, and now consider a good friend, is Suzanne.
Suzanne is a 48 y/o powerhouse who lives alone but is lucky to have a very committed father who lives about 2 hrs away. She had her 1st stroke when she was only 35 yrs old. Her stroke left her with minimal use of the left side of body. However, due to Suzanne’s sheer determination and unbreakable spirit, she fought her way back to walking with a platform walker that helps to support her left arm. She returned to work as an administrative assistant, or as Suzanne says...”a glorified secretary”. The only major function that she lost was her ability to drive, due to the fact that the area of Suzanne’s brain that was affected by her stroke, also left her susceptible to seizures. It took awhile for her neurologist to figure out the right dosage of medication to treat her seizures effectively. Between the seizures themselves, and the medication she had to take to most effectively treat them, Suzanne would no longer be eligible to drive.
When she was 40, Suzanne had her 2nd stroke. It again affected the left side of her body, and increased her frequency of seizures. Her course of rehab this time around has been complicated by many falls due to seizures as well as an increase in rigidity of her left arm and leg when she tries to transfer to/from her wheelchair or when she tries to walk. She still uses her platform walker, but can no longer walk unassisted. Another factor complicating her rehab has been the development of lymphedema in both of her legs, meaning she has to wear compression garments every day or her legs get so swollen she can’t move them at all.
Suzanne’s quality of life would be dramatically improved by having a van that is equipped with a w/c lift, allowing her to simply drive her chair onto the lift and then, directly into the van. Currently, she can only travel with the help of local, medical transport that offers wheelchair lift. They do not run on the weekends and therefore, Suzanne is very limited in what recreational activities she can participate.
Suzanne’s dad lives approximately an hour away and is very supportive. He has built her ramps, helped to make modifications around her house and helps to transport her to appointments that she can not coordinate with County Ride. However, he is 70+ and has some medical issues of his own, that make it increasingly unsafe for him to be assisting her with transfers in/out of his vehicle and having to push her in a manual chair.
The second major factor that would make a significant difference in her Suzanne’s quality of life, would be having a private aide 24hrs/day. Currently, she has an amazing aide that she was able to afford by allowing him to live in an in-law apartment attached to her house, in exchange for helping her out a given number of hours/wk. However, he has to maintain his full-time job, and therefore Suzanne has been left to patch together as much coverage as she can afford. This does not include nights and large gaps of the day. Unfortunately, since her 2nd stroke, Suzanne has put on a significant amount of weight, partly due to lack of access to good nutritional services and someone that could do grocery shopping as well as food prep for her. Where she used to get on her exercise bike daily, she now is only able to get on, if someone is there to transfer her and stay to assist her when she is ready to transfer back to her chair. Lately, this has looked more like once/wk.
I think the best, and most basic example of how Suzanne’s life would improve with an aide around the clock, is how she sometimes looks when she comes to therapy. Because her regular aide leaves for work, once he helps her get washed up and dressed, she usually has to use the bathroom again before County Ride comes to pick her up for her appointments. Due to her inability to use her left arm to help pull up/down her pants, she can only pull her pants back up as far as her R arm will reach. This frequently leaves a good portion of her L hip and side exposed when she comes into the clinic. Suzanne also lacks the ability to feel on her left side, so she does not even realize she is exposed. If she simply had another aide to assist the rest of the day, she could come to therapy appropriately dressed. Sadly, for Suzanne, so many things that most of us consider mundane details in our every day lives, have become a privilege.
Im asking for any amount of help from anyone who is capable, so Suzanne is able to enjoy some of those basic needs that many of us are blessed to be able to provide ourselves. Please pass this along to anyone who you think might be interested in helping, even if it means just getting the word out.
Thank You!
Kate Mills
I am a physical therapist that helps to rehab patients following a stroke. Although this population comes with many challenges, it also provides me with the unique opportunity to get to know my clients over several years of treating them. One such client that I have been especially blessed to come to know over the past 7 years, and now consider a good friend, is Suzanne.
Suzanne is a 48 y/o powerhouse who lives alone but is lucky to have a very committed father who lives about 2 hrs away. She had her 1st stroke when she was only 35 yrs old. Her stroke left her with minimal use of the left side of body. However, due to Suzanne’s sheer determination and unbreakable spirit, she fought her way back to walking with a platform walker that helps to support her left arm. She returned to work as an administrative assistant, or as Suzanne says...”a glorified secretary”. The only major function that she lost was her ability to drive, due to the fact that the area of Suzanne’s brain that was affected by her stroke, also left her susceptible to seizures. It took awhile for her neurologist to figure out the right dosage of medication to treat her seizures effectively. Between the seizures themselves, and the medication she had to take to most effectively treat them, Suzanne would no longer be eligible to drive.
When she was 40, Suzanne had her 2nd stroke. It again affected the left side of her body, and increased her frequency of seizures. Her course of rehab this time around has been complicated by many falls due to seizures as well as an increase in rigidity of her left arm and leg when she tries to transfer to/from her wheelchair or when she tries to walk. She still uses her platform walker, but can no longer walk unassisted. Another factor complicating her rehab has been the development of lymphedema in both of her legs, meaning she has to wear compression garments every day or her legs get so swollen she can’t move them at all.
Suzanne’s quality of life would be dramatically improved by having a van that is equipped with a w/c lift, allowing her to simply drive her chair onto the lift and then, directly into the van. Currently, she can only travel with the help of local, medical transport that offers wheelchair lift. They do not run on the weekends and therefore, Suzanne is very limited in what recreational activities she can participate.
Suzanne’s dad lives approximately an hour away and is very supportive. He has built her ramps, helped to make modifications around her house and helps to transport her to appointments that she can not coordinate with County Ride. However, he is 70+ and has some medical issues of his own, that make it increasingly unsafe for him to be assisting her with transfers in/out of his vehicle and having to push her in a manual chair.
The second major factor that would make a significant difference in her Suzanne’s quality of life, would be having a private aide 24hrs/day. Currently, she has an amazing aide that she was able to afford by allowing him to live in an in-law apartment attached to her house, in exchange for helping her out a given number of hours/wk. However, he has to maintain his full-time job, and therefore Suzanne has been left to patch together as much coverage as she can afford. This does not include nights and large gaps of the day. Unfortunately, since her 2nd stroke, Suzanne has put on a significant amount of weight, partly due to lack of access to good nutritional services and someone that could do grocery shopping as well as food prep for her. Where she used to get on her exercise bike daily, she now is only able to get on, if someone is there to transfer her and stay to assist her when she is ready to transfer back to her chair. Lately, this has looked more like once/wk.
I think the best, and most basic example of how Suzanne’s life would improve with an aide around the clock, is how she sometimes looks when she comes to therapy. Because her regular aide leaves for work, once he helps her get washed up and dressed, she usually has to use the bathroom again before County Ride comes to pick her up for her appointments. Due to her inability to use her left arm to help pull up/down her pants, she can only pull her pants back up as far as her R arm will reach. This frequently leaves a good portion of her L hip and side exposed when she comes into the clinic. Suzanne also lacks the ability to feel on her left side, so she does not even realize she is exposed. If she simply had another aide to assist the rest of the day, she could come to therapy appropriately dressed. Sadly, for Suzanne, so many things that most of us consider mundane details in our every day lives, have become a privilege.
Im asking for any amount of help from anyone who is capable, so Suzanne is able to enjoy some of those basic needs that many of us are blessed to be able to provide ourselves. Please pass this along to anyone who you think might be interested in helping, even if it means just getting the word out.
Thank You!
Kate Mills
Organizer
Kate Mills
Organizer
Centreville, MD