Life Care Center of Wichita helps Brown walk again

Wichita, Kansas, resident Ruby Brown fractured her left pelvis in a fall and needed rehabilitation in order to walk again.

Brown remembers when she came to Life Care Center of Wichita on July 3, 2018.

"I wasn't able to do anything," she said. "They would try to get me up, but I didn't make it very far because of the pain."

Brown needed total assistance for walking, bed mobility, getting in and out of bed and standing balance. She also needed extensive assistance for grooming tasks, bathing, getting dressed and balancing while sitting. On top of that, her cognition had been affected, as well as her language skills.

To recover, Brown took part in all three therapy disciplines – physical, occupational and speech therapies.

While speech therapists worked with Brown to successfully regain her speech and thinking skills, occupational therapists used their skills to help her relearn how to do her self-care tasks, and physical therapists centered their efforts on helping her regain strength, balance and mobility.

"They kept pushing me to get better, and the encouragement helped with my balance and coordination," said Brown. "Even my memory is working better with the help of speech therapy. I can get in and out of bed by myself, and I'm walking farther than I could before – with my walker, of course."

Andrew Parsons, physical therapist assistant, shared, "Ruby was able to achieve all her goals through hard work and her great attitude toward therapy. She was always willing to work."

Brown returned home on Sept. 13.

"Everything to me was perfect," she said. "The nursing staff was fantastic, and the food was good even though I don't eat much. I made some new friends as well during my stay."