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Anabel Dances Her Way to Recovery
Posted May 23, 2019
Anabel Tabucbuc has come a long way in the past month, and she’s got a lot to show for it. At the age of 56, she was admitted to Hale Makua in late April after a stroke affected movement and function on her right side, speech and swallowing ability. Anabel wasn't able to walk. She could only identify a few words, was unable to initiate conversation, and had a diet restricted to only thickened liquids.
Now, after a month of determination from Anabel, and the hard work of our rehab team, she’s standing up on her own and walking. She can dress herself, transfer herself and DANCE, which she freely does with excitement any chance she gets. She's back to eating solid foods, and striking up conversations all on her own. Anabel shares, “Everything is good here. They take care of me really good.”
While Anabel continues to get stronger everyday through our rehab services, it’s her progress in speech therapy that has really stood out. This month we recognize and celebrate the incredible impact that Speech Therapists make in helping people like Anabel to regain their ability to communicate and eat during National Speech Therapy Month!
“When Anabel first got here, she could only identify and verbalize two to three words from photo cards. She wasn’t talking at all. Now to sit and listen to her talk, start conversations. It’s crazy! She’s come so far, I’m so proud of her.” Says Jackie Britton, Speech Therapist. Jackie said they’ve worked together on swallowing, and speech to help with her communications. They started by working on automatic speech tasks like, counting, reciting the days of the week and the alphabet, and then moved on as she progressed.
Anabel says her care here has been really great, especially the therapists, which she says are “the best”. She plans to stay at Hale Makua a little longer while she continues to build her strength, before heading home. Jackie said “Anabel is so fun and lovable. She’s always smiling and making us laugh. I think that plays a huge role in her progress. She’s determined and full of life, it helps her to achievement more, and reach the goals we as therapists set for her too. Clients like her make our jobs feel so fun and rewarding. She’s just so great!”
Dedicated staff like Jackie help make our homes a warm comforting environment. Our Rehab team is always full of bright individuals who care about our residents and their recovery. To find out more about Rehab by Hale Makua and the program's inpatient and outpatient therapies, click here.