Patients Age: 58

Admitted From: New York-Presbyterian Hospital

Discharged To: Home

Length of Stay: 58 days

Reason for Stay: Short Term Rehabilitation

How did this patient hear about the Riverside? Hospital Social Worker

Mr. Raymond was admitted to New York-PresbyterianHospital for a prosthetic joint infection of the right knee. Prior to his initial surgery, Mr. Raymond was spending a substantial amount of time enjoying the life of retirement. Life was about family, gardening, eating, and working a few hours on the weekend. His knee surgery was a health matter he was putting off for some time and wasn’t looking forward to having. Following the State of New York guidelines, he quarantined at home for several months. While he was watching TV, a thought occurred to him. Why not have knee surgery, and quarantine at the same time. He had no plans to leave the apartment, no plans to see his grandchildren in person except through video chats. A two-part surgery was planned in order to replace the knee completely. The first surgery went well, and he was instructed to make a follow-up appointment with the surgeon to go over his recovery. While being questioned by the surgeon, Mr. Raymond mentioned that his knee was in a tremendous amount of pain, with the surgical site being very warm and inflamed. The surgeon took a look at the knee and ordered an x-ray of the knee and blood tests to be ordered. Results found that there was an infection in the surgical site, and the implant would need to be removed, as well the infection would need to be removed as well. On August 13th, 2020 the surgeon removed the implant and the infected areas. The surgeon recommended that Mr. Raymond recuperates in a skilled nursing facility while receiving IV antibiotics, with a continuation of physical therapy. With the recommendation from the surgeon, Mr. Raymond spoke with the hospital social worker. Looking over different reviews online about different Skilled Nursing Facilities, Mr. Raymond selected The Riverside.

Upon admission to The Riverside, Mr.Raymond was introduced to the medical staff that would be following him through his journey to recovery. In the hospital, he had difficulty putting weight on his right leg. The Therapy Department in coordination with nursing made a costume plan for Mr. Raymond in order for him to receive the needed Physical Therapy and IV antibiotic treatment. Progress was initially slow due to the severity of the surgery. With consistent follow up appointments with his surgeon and coordination with The Riverside’s Wound Care Team, the surgical site was beginning to look better every passing week. His surgeon recommended that Mr.Raymond finish his IV antibiotics first then restart physical therapy. As weeks passed by Mr. Raymond couldn’t wait to finally start walking. Finally, after day 30, and with the surgeon’s blessings, Mr.Raymond was given the green light to start doing physical therapy.

Initially, Mr. Raymond couldn’t tolerate standing for 5 seconds and felt pain radiate from his knee all the way down to his toes. Riverside’s pain management team made slight adjustments with his pain medication. In no time at all, Mr. Raymond was able to stand more than 10 seconds, and over the following days, he was standing for a minute without needing to sit. By day 40 he was able to walk outside of his room with minimal assistance, walking a few feet at a time. His determination to work harder grew every day and he pushed himself to walk farther and farther. It came to a point that walking the entire floor was not long enough for him. When he was not doing therapy he would be socializing in the halls, providing motivation to every resident he passed by. With every resident he passed he made each one feel like a superstar and would give friendly tips to people.

 

As his discharge date arrived he said his goodbyes and said to each person that worked with him, “It’s because of you I am able to walk out of here.”