Life Care Center of Cape Girardeau helps woman recover from broken leg

Retired grade school secretary Laverne Givens was living independently at home when she broke her right femur as a result of a fall.

After surgery, she came to Life Care Center of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for rehabilitation so she could get back to living her life.

When Givens arrived on Dec. 28, 2016, she was unable to bear weight on her right leg, which meant she was unable to walk or transfer from one surface to another and she needed extensive assistance to bathe and get dressed. She had difficulty thinking and communicating as well.

Physical therapists worked with Givens to improve her strength, balance and range of motion. They used a slant board to help her stretch and had her do hip exercises. She also used the Omnicycle^™ and BioStep^™ machines, which allowed her to exercise her arms, core and legs from a seated position. When she was able to bear weight, they trained her in standing and walking on the parallel bars.

Givens worked with the occupational therapy team to restore her ability to take care of herself at home, and she underwent speech therapy to improve cognition and speech.

"Rehab helped me get back to where I was before," said Givens. "I tried my best to listen and get well to go home."

Givens' family shared, "The therapy at Life Care made it possible for our grandmother to return home. At 96, her progress was amazing, and it is all due to the dedicated therapists that she worked with every day."

Givens went home on March 24. She was able to take care of most of her self-care tasks on her own and was able to get around with a front-wheeled walker with supervision.