Linda's Story
Retirement for native Texan Linda Bomar was filled with activities ranging from family fun, to gardening, and participating in her philanthropic sorority, Epsilon Sigma Alpha. As a local leader of the organization, she was regularly involved in public speaking, events and fundraising. Linda and her husband, Pat, also enjoy spending time with their grandchildren, gardening and working in the yard.
But life changed quickly after a series of errors, according to Linda. She suffered cuts and minor injuries when she fell while carrying metal yard art up a hill. Later, her dog jumped and unintentionally knocked Linda to the ground, badly hurting her thigh.
She was admitted to North Texas Medical Center in Gainesville and was diagnosed with a displaced fracture of her left femur. Surgeons replaced her femur with a metal implant. While recovering, Linda experienced delirium – confused thinking and reduced awareness of her surroundings. Her condition was further complicated by a recent stroke and brain bleed. For Linda, all of these issues added up to difficulty finding words, challenges in processing multi-step tasks, walking and handling everyday activities from bathing, to dressing and regular household chores.
A highly motivated person, Linda was ready to transition to the next level of care for recovery. For that, her family researched and decided on Select Rehabilitation Hospital of Denton.
Upon arrival, Linda’s goal was to regain her independence in everything from bathing to toileting to more involved activities like her sorority events.
During her stay, Linda’s physical therapists focused on balance, stability, safe transfers and strengthening tasks. They also made her aware of weight-bearing precautions following her recent surgery. She got started with basic bed mobility tasks such as moving her limbs while laying down and spending time sitting at the edge of her bed so that she could gain strength to get out of bed independently. Linda quickly progressed to standing, increasing the amount of time she did that to walking and eventually walking over different surfaces. Linda said her spirits were buoyed the day she independently lifted her legs to get into bed with only one therapist nearby in case she needed help. She said, “It felt like I had climbed Mount Everest, and I couldn’t stop smiling!”
Occupational therapy (OT), focused on overall strength, endurance and fall prevention. Linda learned how to become increasingly self-reliant with self-care tasks by using assistive equipment. She navigated an obstacle course using a rolling walker and practiced reaching tasks using safety techniques and balance strategies to build her coordination and confidence. Linda also worked on her upper body strength and endurance with an arm bike and therapy bands.
In speech therapy, Linda worked cognitive strategies to improve her concentration, thought organization and decision-making skills. She appreciated how her therapist tailored sessions to her personal goals which included relearning meal planning and grocery shopping. Her therapist also incorporated visual aids and graphic organizers to assist with complex topics, working memory, word finding, problem solving and reasoning.
After about a week and a half, Linda was walking with the help of the walker, taking care of all her personal care needs and thinking clearly again – ready to return home and back to the activities she enjoys. For others in similar recovery situations, she had this to share: “First, learn to be patient. Second, listen to the therapists. Third, be sure to have a support network.”