“The staff were very skilled, but they were also very, very kind” –A Park Place Health & Wellness Center Testimonial
After a fall broke her pelvic bone, Diana Nicholson was in so much pain that she barely remembers her week-long hospital stay, nor does she remember much about coming to Park Place Health & Wellness Center for rehab. “The pain was so bad that I can’t even describe it” Diana says. But she kept fighting. “I just knew that I needed to stay alive for my family.”
Diana’s husband had been dealing with health issues, and she had been his caregiver. Now she was concerned that he was without her. “I have an awesome family,” she says. “I knew my kids could step in for me while I got better. But they were always on my mind.”
Diana’s children are the ones who researched and found Park Place. “They said everyone said that it was number one, so that’s where they picked,” she says. “And it was definitely the right choice.”
Diana went to work right away, and her goal was simply to walk. She was determined to work hard and get better. She was impressed by the quality of care and the kindness she encountered from the staff who worked with her. She says, “They knew my goal was to walk out of there, and they gave me the tools and encouragement to do that.” And when she was finally able to lift her right leg, her therapist took a picture so she could show her family.
“As parents, my children and grandchildren are learning from me, and at some point, they’ll have hurdles in their future,” she says. “Now they will will be able to say, ‘If my grandma did that, I can do this.’”
Once Diana’s pain level became more tolerable, she wanted to see her family. Diana enjoyed visits with her husband, children and their spouses, and her grandkids. Whether they were visiting through the window or on the lovely porch area, she felt that connection to the people she loved. It helped make spending Mother’s Day in rehab a little easier. And she even made it to a bingo match with some of her fellow patients.
On her day of discharge, she wanted to make sure she was fully prepared to go home. “After breakfast that day, I said to my nurse, ‘I know I am not your only patient, but do you have a minute to tell me what to do for discharge?’ He came in and sat down with me and explained the prescriptions and what I should do to be careful,” she says. “He spent a good deal of time with me to make sure it was clear. I truly appreciated the way I was discharged. I felt ready. The staff is what makes Park Place so special.”
Later that day, she walked out the door, using only a cane. And now, the cane is gone. “Park Place got me here,” she says. “They staff were very skilled, but they were also very, very kind. I worked hard, but it was with them—joking with me, pushing me, helping me believe—that’s why I’m walking now.”
