Knee surgery and rehabilitation may have totally changed Carole Fitzgerald’s life. For her, they were the difference between living as a recluse, confined to the house, and getting out, spending time with the people and activities she enjoys. The change didn’t come without struggles and lessons along the way.
Plagued with knee problems, three years ago Carole’s knees got so bad that she began using a wheelchair. Walking caused pain, she said, so she simply avoided it. In a wheelchair, she had to rely on family and friends to get around, from going to church and the store, to simply getting in and out of the car.
After three years living like that, Carole considered her situation. She
realized her grandsons were probably getting tired of wheeling her around and helping
her in and out of her chair. The same
was likely true of her friends.
“My favorite thing to do is go to the show,” said Carole. “Even my girlfriends, as much as they love me, were getting tired of lifting my wheelchair out of the car. At that point, I decided I was either going to be a recluse for the rest of my life and not get out of the house, or I was going to do something. I wanted to be able to leave the house by myself. I wanted to be able to go to church without begging someone to take me.”
So she decided to do something. That something was having knee surgery, but finding someone to do it wasn’t easy. Two doctors turned her down for bilateral knee replacement surgery, telling her the risks were too great with her size and age. A third doctor, Rick Wright, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and team doctor for the St. Louis Blues and Cardinals, finally agreed to help Carole.
She admits now she was totally unprepared for the recovery and rehabilitation ahead.
“When the doctor said it’s going to be extremely painful, I had no conception of how extremely painful it would be,” said Carole.
In her humorous, straight-forward way, she admitted, “I had no conception about what therapy was either. When I packed up at home, I packed like I was going on a cruise!”
Four days after surgery, she came to SSM Rehabilitation Hospital at St. Mary’s
Health Center
, and the next day was scheduled to begin therapy.
“I was quite surprised that I had to start therapy that soon,” said Carole. When staff at BJC had tried to get her to stand before discharge, she refused. SSM Rehabilitation Hospital occupational therapy assistant Gretchen Patterson experienced the same.
“In the beginning, Carole couldn’t and wouldn’t stand,” recalled Gretchen. It didn’t help that she didn’t see the value of occupational therapy either.
“I thought all that stuff was the silliest thing,” said Carole. “All I knew was that I just wanted to walk. I didn’t realize all the other pieces of rehabilitation – that I’d need rehabilitation to get in and out of the car or stand at the sink to wash my hands.”
Carole challenged her physical therapist, Linda Weigel, as well.
“I had to really work to motivate her in the beginning,” said Linda. “I really dreaded the day I had to tell her she had to do the step.”
Through persistence and creative thinking, Gretchen and Linda gradually saw a change in Carole’s attitude. Her confidence grew. She started making progress.
“When I went from one end of the parallel bars to the other for the first time,” said Carole, “I felt like I was ready for The Rockettes!”
“I am now so in awe of everything that goes on at SSM Rehabilitation Hospital,” said Carole, reflecting on her experience days before being discharged home. “The people here are so good – and if I could take Linda home with me, I would. She let me walk.”
Leaving SSM Rehabilitation Hospital having achieved her goal and so much more, Carole said, “Now with God’s help, I’m going to walk from the car into the house.” And likely, this time she’ll be coming back out again soon, over and over again.
June 2005
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