My Husband is in Rehab. On Friday, the social worker will talk to us about his progress. He had two surgeries on his foot. Advice?
He cannot put pressure on the foot that he had the surgery on. About how long do you think he will be in rehab? He is getting homesick. He needs help with everything. Please answer me. He is 80
Shirley, really sorry you are going thru this. This is not the first time you have asked a similar question and received answers. We cannot answer this question for you. It all depends on why he is there. You have said he can't put weight on his foot for 2 months. I don't see him being in rehab that long since he can be home with his foot up. Tomorrow the SW will talk to you. This is the time to ask questions. Maybe take someone with you. I found with my Mom she missed some things doctors and others would say to her. Me being there could explain things later to her if she misinterrupted some things that had been said.
I’m not a physician. But I was told plainly that I couldn’t be at home with my foot propped up. Here in NH at night my foot is put up in some sling type thing. During the day aide or nurse checks every hour. They change the number of pillows under my leg. It has to be supported and elevated all of the time. They have board type thing under the pillows so that it isn’t too cushioned. My husband is a doctor and I have two strong healthy sons. I would not want them to have lift my cast and dead weight leg. And I would not want to do it for my husband and risk permanently injurying. I have only been in a wheelchair with leg extension holding my leg up twice. She needs to let her husband stay in rehab and heal properly.
I guess you will have a better idea of how long when you talk with someone from rehab.
Don't let his homesickness prompt you to take him home earlier than is prudent. When my mom had knee surgery, I set some basic lines in the sand of things that needed to be accomplished before she could return to my home. 1) Need to be able to get into the house with minimal assistance (or hopefully alone). 2) Need to be able to get to and from the bathroom alone.
I was unwilling to be up all night assisting her or have her not be able to get in and out of the house safely.
If/when his time in rehab is going to come to an end (when he stops making progress), look at the rules. If he can not yet be semi-independent, he may need to go to a nursing home and continue PT until he is more capable of taking care of himself.
I’ve had 5 ankle/foot/lower leg surgeries since late April. I’ve had plates, screws and pins placed. I was in rehab for about 10 weeks earlier. Since my last surgery I’ve Been in rehab a week. I will be in rehab at least 8 weeks possibly 12 weeks. I have to to have my foot propped up all the time. It takes a lot of time to heal and rushing the process is not helpful to complete recovery.
I would like to be home, but I do not want to end up with problems. My family is very supportive, in wanting me to make a full and complete recovery. Support your husband in participating with the rehab process. Don’t dwell on any problems you are having with him being in rehab. You need to want him home healed.
Depending on his health insurance (if he has a supplemental plan for his Medicare) there is a limited number of days they will pay for rehab. During this time, he needs to understand that if he doesn't make progress they will end paying for his PT.
Even if he progresses really well, he still may need more help in the home than you are used to giving him (if that's what you were doing pre-surgery). Again, his healthcare may cover some follow-up help in the home (like wound care) but you may want to call Medicare to confirm what this would be, as it won't be full-time and may only relate to his foot care, and not doing his ADLs (activities for daily living).
You may also want to talk to a social worker (not sure if the rehab facility will have one or not) to see if he'd qualify for in-home services that would help both of you.
5 Answers
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
Please come back and tell us how things work out.
ADVERTISEMENT
Don't let his homesickness prompt you to take him home earlier than is prudent. When my mom had knee surgery, I set some basic lines in the sand of things that needed to be accomplished before she could return to my home. 1) Need to be able to get into the house with minimal assistance (or hopefully alone). 2) Need to be able to get to and from the bathroom alone.
I was unwilling to be up all night assisting her or have her not be able to get in and out of the house safely.
If/when his time in rehab is going to come to an end (when he stops making progress), look at the rules. If he can not yet be semi-independent, he may need to go to a nursing home and continue PT until he is more capable of taking care of himself.
I would like to be home, but I do not want to end up with problems. My family is very supportive, in wanting me to make a full and complete recovery. Support your husband in participating with the rehab process. Don’t dwell on any problems you are having with him being in rehab. You need to want him home healed.
Even if he progresses really well, he still may need more help in the home than you are used to giving him (if that's what you were doing pre-surgery). Again, his healthcare may cover some follow-up help in the home (like wound care) but you may want to call Medicare to confirm what this would be, as it won't be full-time and may only relate to his foot care, and not doing his ADLs (activities for daily living).
You may also want to talk to a social worker (not sure if the rehab facility will have one or not) to see if he'd qualify for in-home services that would help both of you.