Life Care Center of Wichita helps Wolford recover from broken thigh

Annadele Wolford suffered a right femur fracture and came to Life Care Center of Wichita, Kansas, for therapy on Dec. 7, 2017.

When Wolford arrived, she required maximum assistance of two people to help her stand and get in and out of bed, as well as bathe. She needed extensive assistance to get dressed and use her wheelchair and some assistance with her daily grooming tasks. She also had difficulty with cognition and some trouble swallowing.

Five to six days a week, Wolford worked with physical, occupational and speech therapists to recover. Electrical stimulation and RockBlades soft tissue tools helped decrease the pain she was experiencing in her right hip.

"I couldn't do anything when I got here," Wolford said. "Therapy helped me tremendously."

Physical therapy improved Wolford's standing balance and activity tolerance, while occupational therapy retrained her in her daily living activities, such as bathing, dressing, grooming and feeding herself. Therapists taught her how to use adaptive equipment to make getting dressed easier. Speech therapy addressed her swallowing and cognition until they were back to normal.

"They worked on everything from strength to walking," said Wolford. "The facility staff was great. They showed a lot of compassion and concern. I made lots of new friends from other patients to the workers."

"Annadele was always willing to work no matter what time of day or even if she wasn't feeling the best," said Chanda Tyler, occupational therapist. "She had several medical complications occur but pushed through them all to reach her goals."

Wolford returned to her independent living facility on March 15, 2018, with home health services. She was independent again except for requiring some supervision for walking and bathing.