Jessee's story

Jessee Daniels gives a double thumbs up from his rehab room.

Jessee Daniels wrapped up a recent beach vacation with his wife. But he came back with an unwanted souvenir—unbearable pain in his left leg. In the following days, the pain turned to numbness and he found himself struggling to walk.

Jessee met with his doctor, who immediately sent the 73 year-old to the emergency department. Tests showed a blood clot in his lower left leg. This did not come as a complete surprise as Jesse endured many vein issues and treatments throughout the years in that leg. His doctor warned him that he would likely require an amputation at some point.

That day had arrived. With all other solutions to restore blood flow exhausted, doctors recommended an above-the-knee amputation. Jessee always knew this day would come, but he thought he had more time.

“We went on vacation and my leg was hurting, really bad,” Jessee said. “I went to the doctor and I was told the only way to fix the pain was to cut it off.”

Following his amputation surgery, Jessee started working the hospital therapists. However, they recommended an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to maximize his recovery. At first, Jessee was resistant to the idea and wanted to go straight home, but he also knew life looked very different now.  He simply could not do the things he took for granted.

“I couldn’t get out of bed by myself, I could not walk, I couldn’t do anything,” he recalled. “I thought and thought about it, and I decided to come [to inpatient rehabilitation].” A week after surgery, Jessee chose Riverside Rehabilitation Hospital to adapt to his amputation and regain independence.

Upon admitting, Jessee met with Riverside Rehabilitation Hospital’s physician-led multi-disciplinary team to outline his treatment plan. Jessee faced significant physical challenges due to his new condition.

He needed to adjust his center of balance to account for his limb loss and build strength in both his upper and lower body. He needed help transferring from bed to his wheelchair and was not able to take any steps. His plan required physical, occupational and speech therapy.

His physical therapy team got to work focusing on strengthening his body and his balance. They focused on improving his upper body and core strength with balance and strength training. With these gains, the team shifted Jessee’s focus to functional tasks such as propelling his wheelchair and getting in and out of a simulated car. While propelling his wheelchair, he was given a reacher to retrieve objects from various heights. This readied him for tasks he would face at home such as getting a glass from cabinet—a simple aspect of daily life he was now prepared to tackle. Therapists also set up an obstacle course for him to navigate in his wheelchair, mimicking furniture challenges he might face when he returned home.

His occupational therapy team worked with Jessee on completing daily living activities with greater independence. At first, he required assistance for bathing and dressing. To advance his upper body strength, Jessee dedicated himself to upper body exercises- bicep curls, shoulder presses and chest presses with dumbbells. These worked quickly in concert to increase upper body strength and improve his ability to manage his self-care independently. In a week’s time, he was getting on and off the toilet, brushing his hair and teeth, bathing and dressing—all without assistance.

Jessee also refined his cognitive skills during sessions with a speech-language pathologist. Although he didn’t have speech or swallowing difficulties, Jessee’s treatment goals aligned with another key area of speech therapy expertise – cognition and communication. Jessee was introduced to problem solving and memory exercises to improve his attention and thought organization. His therapists challenged him with daily activities including medicine management tasks that would be important when he returned home.

He also learned strategies to help manage his pain, build endurance and adapt to life ahead. Indeed, his family actively participated in the education and family training program, learning how to assist Jessee at home to ensure a safe transition.

As he prepared to transition out of inpatient rehabilitation, Jessee was effusive about his care team.

“My experience here has been great, everyone here has been great. The therapists, nurses, everyone! The neuropsychologist really helped me through this, to process all of this.”

After two productive weeks at Riverside Rehabilitation Hospital, Jesse prepared to return home to his family. He pledged to continue gaining strength with home health services.