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Ernestine Uses Rehab to Get Home
Posted October 15, 2018
After suffering from a stroke and spending one month in the hospital, Ernestine Akiona came to Hale Makua for rehab services. When she first arrived, she couldn’t move on her own at all. She needed the assistance of a mechanical lift to transfer her from the bed to a chair and to go to the bathroom. Her condition was incredibly weak.
Ernsetine's Occupational Therapist Kasey Batterton said "I can't believe how far she's come. Her progress has been amazing to watch. When she first got here, she could hardly move on her own. She needed assistance to do basically everything, and now she walking! It's been an incredible journey for sure."
For nearly five months, a team of occupational, physical and speech therapists worked daily to help Ernestine get back on her feet. Now, she's accomplished just that! She is walking with a cane and ready to get home and back to her normal routine.
While she was here, Ernestine received Occupational, Physical and Speech therapy, which she said she was surprised about. “When they told me I would be needing speech therapy I was shocked. I couldn’t understand why I needed therapy for my speech, but then they explained how the stroke had effected the way I was swallowing. I learned so much while I was here”.
Ernestine considers herself incredibly fortunate, “things could have been a lot worse, and my recovery definitely could have been a lot less successful. Because of the diligent therapists, and my friends, I am able to walk and move around. My friends just kept telling me not to give up, that it is a slow process but hard work pays off- and in my case it really did. I feel very fortunate for that.”
As excited as Ernestine is to get back home and be in her own space she shares, “it’s going to be hard to leave, I love some of these people. I love my roommate, well all of them that I’ve had, and the nurses. They are so kind and work so hard every single day to take care of us, and I am so appreciative.”
The work that our nurses and therapists do every day is not easy, and without them, our Rehab by Hale Makua program would not be as successful as it is. We always hear how gentle and kind they are and how they know exactly how to push someone to their limits in a very calm and understanding way.
Learn more about Rehab by Hale Makua, here.