Last year, Dorothy was a patient at Roxboro Physical Therapy for back pain. When she finished, she thought she was done with physical therapy for good! Then, in October she fell down steps, fracturing her left tibia and right tibial plate. She started physical therapy at the hospital, then continued at a rehab center and with home health before returning to Roxboro Physical Therapy for outpatient therapy.
Doorthy shares her physical therapy story here:
When I first came home, I was completely immobile. I could get myself into a wheelchair, but I was pretty helpless. Around Christmas, my doctor gave me permission to be weight bearing. I was pretty sufficient using a walker not long after that. The past couple of weeks, I’ve been working with a cane. My goal is to wean myself off of everything and walk without having to use something to depend on.
I’ve come a long way since I’ve been coming here. I was moving very slow and cautious, and now I’m more confident and I’m walking faster. Every few days, I notice an improvement. My range of motion has increased a lot, but I still have a long way to go. I have stayed in good spirits because I had a lot of caring people who visited and helped me. I’ve met so many people through this experience, and it’s been fun getting to know them.
When I look back at the time since my fall, I’ve made a lot of progress. I don’t want to go backwards. When I finish therapy, I will continue doing my home exercises and icing like I’m doing now. When I get strong enough, I’ll get back to walking. I already have started doing some of the household chores again, like laundry and cooking. I still can’t stand for any length of time to do vacuuming or major cleaning. I’m looking forward to getting back to fun activities, too. I’m a shopper and and I love to travel… I would have been in Costa Rica right now if I hadn’t fallen. Maybe I’ll be able to go next year, but I probably won’t be doing the zip line!
Thanks for sharing your story, Dorothy!
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