Yesterday we received a wonderful email from a family that we are helping in Oklahoma. I believe this email sums up what Ability Found is all about. Before sharing however, I would like to give a little background on their journey which started on Mother's Day 2009.
For some odd reason JD started feeling numbness, tingling and weakness in his legs and was having trouble walking. After some work-up with his doctors it was decided that he had some degeneration and instability in his lower spine and that he needed surgery to stabilize his back. After surgery and while in the hospital JD took a fall and became completely paralyzed from the waist down. Then to add to the challenge, during the summer while in the rehabilitation phase JD suffered a stroke which mostly paralyzed his left arm. From there JD had many medical complications and eventually was moved to a nursing home about an hour from his home where he required total care and was for the most part bed-bound.
With JD's insurance benefit now mostly used up and seemingly no where to turn, Kim (JD's wife) was at witts-end. The nursing home was no longer getting paid for JD's stay, the bills were piling up and Kim needed specific equipment in order to get JD home. That's when, through searching the Internet Kim discovered Ability Found. In our first couple of emails together Kim shared about her and JD's life.
JD and I worked together 24 hours a day 10 day shifts and took care of children with behavior problems who were basically "throw aways" in some people's eyes. Some couples barely can stand seeing each other after work or on weekends but working together all day everyday, taking care of children who had major problems and raising our own children(5), and still have time for each other, we were basically inseparable. My husband was a fisherman and hunter and loved the outdoors and most of all he loves watching our youngest son (who is now a freshman in college) play baseball. My husband needs to be mobile to still be able to enjoy the aforementioned life he had to the best of his ability instead of laying in a room flat on his back looking at the ceiling. Can you imagine?
This is a very very short version of his(our story). I need to get JD home asap before he totally gives up on life. He feels like there is no help or way we can get him home and depression is starting to set in now that he understands the whole picture of his situation.
With getting JD home as our motivation we started into action:
- First we arranged for a hospital bed and specialty mattress to be covered in the short-term by JD's now limited insurance.
- From there we coordinated with an occupational therapist in JD's town who arranged for a loaner wheelchair until we could provide something more permanent.
- Next we paid for a special patient lifting device and trapeze bar to assist Kim in getting JD in and out bed as well as moving him around for hygiene etc.
- Lastly we provided an EZ bathe inflatable bath system so that Kim could bathe JD conveniently at bedside
- We coordinated with Kim to ensure that she and her family had a plan in place to be able to care for JD once that he came home.
With our plan and equipment now ready to go and after 6 months in the hospital, JD came home just in time for his birthday and Thanksgiving!
We could have stopped there and JD's life would have been considerably better than when he was stuck in the nursing home, however we felt strongly that he needed to be mobile to have a life worth living. With essentially only one working arm, the best solution for mobility in JD's case was a custom designed power wheelchair.
So with the thought in mind that someday JD would be able to work and see his son play baseball again, Ability Found went into action:
- Through another charity we located a nearly new power wheelchair base and arranged to have it shipped to JD's home in Oklahoma
- We contacted JD's occupational therapist and a local medical vendor in JD's town and arranged to have JD's custom seating needs evaluated
- We ordered the custom parts and seating components for JD's specific situation
So as of this morning we are awaiting the arrival of the necessary parts to customize JD's new power wheelchair and normally I would have waited to blog about this story until completed, but I thought it would be fun to keep you all posted on JD's progress as he goes through an exciting and emotional time in his life with a whole new set of challenges in front of him.
Here is the email that Kim sent to us yesterday...
WOW! What a day!. I can only tell you that you missed a very emotional-beautiful- wonderful day yesterday, as far as being here..
First of all you have to know you have made things happen for JD's Birthday-Thanksgiving and now Christmas!
As we were un-crating the chair at my front door it was like Santa had arrived. He was yelling from inside "hurry". Josh (our youngest son who is the baseball player), pushed the chair inside while I was finishing up with the delivery person. As I walked in JD was sobbing so hard and so was Josh and Rachel (our only daughter). That's what took so long for me to call back. As you guessed as soon as the chair showed charge he wanted in it and the two kids put him in it as I was too reluctant. . They belted him on and away he went to the kitchen trying to see what he could reach and do and back and forth, it was awesome. We cried more.
Gavyn, our grandson that lives with us, came in about that time from kindergarten and looked at the bed and then the recliner and said, OMGosh-where is my paw-paw? JD then comes scooting out of the kitchen and Gavyn was grinning ear to ear..
Of course he couldn't stay in it long because we most definitely need adjustments, but it was quite a day for us all. THANKS A MILLION, AGAIN!!!!
kim
I will keep you posted on JD's progress as Christmas approaches and the new year comes. This is the true miracle of freedom at Ability Found!
May God bless you and yours this holiday season
Michael J. Workman PT
abilityfound.org