“I gave birth to my son in 2013. A couple months after that, my aunt had a stroke. There was no one available to help her get through the physical therapy, bring her to doctor’s appointments, sit with her, and make sure she was taking her medications. She was partially paralyzed on her left side. So she couldn’t drive. She couldn’t pick up a lot of things. She had trouble walking. She needed someone to help her with all that. And that person was me.

“I became her caregiver for about four months. It was pretty challenging. I was this new mom, taking care of my baby and my aunt at the same time. He was with me when I drove into Houston to take her to physical therapy three times a week, and back and forth to doctor’s appointments. To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was doing. For both of them.

“I remember thinking, what would my mom do if she was in this situation? That inspired me to do what I had to do. My mom is this nurse who has taken care of people for years. So I kind of imitated her, and that’s how we got through it.

“I was breastfeeding my son at the time. My aunt gave me the nickname, Meals on Wheels, because he was always hungry. There were times when she needed help getting to the bathroom or doing something else, and I would have to put him down for a minute. Of course he would cry. I’d be like, I’m so sorry, but my aunt needs me more right now. There were moments where I had to take a break and just breathe. Then I would drive home and get ready to do it all over again early the next morning.

“My son is 6 years old now. He is doing fine. My aunt is 80-something, and she is doing fine, off her medications and living well. We are all OK.”

— Maureen St. louis Nelson

Maureen is writing a book, “Through Their Eyes.” It will highlight stories of people in the health care profession and others who are caregivers. If you are in one of those roles and would like to share your experiences for the book, contact Maureen at bluemsnelson@gmail.com.

Related:

• She’s surrounded by a family of caregivers

• Poem about lost pets becomes children’s book

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“My 10th grade year in high school, a classmate was in football practice when he ran into a guy with his head down. He broke his neck. So he’s paralyzed from the neck down.

“At the time, I didn’t think the family pushed him hard enough. He wasn’t motivated enough to go through the therapy like he should have to be able to do more for himself. So it made me wonder, what could I do to help influence somebody to want to do more? What kind of motivational factors could I use to help someone want to push through not being able to walk, not being able to feel their legs, not being able to use the bathroom on their own?

“A lot of people are in pain when they come in here. They may have just had surgery, and I’m the one who is supposed to say, ‘Come on and let me push and pull on that knee and try to get that range of motion back.’ But I enjoy that. I enjoy people.

“I’ve always wanted to do something to help people. When I treat patients, I treat them like they’re my mom or my grandmother, and they know that. With that personal one-on-one approach, you’re able to get great results.”

— Dr. Raven West

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“My left knee blew out about two years ago. It got to the point where the pain felt like someone was driving a knife under my kneecap. I bulled my way through it for a while, but I finally realized it was just wearing me down. So I had a total knee replacement. Because I had no cartilage left in either knee, I’m going to be doing the other one in about 6-9 months.

“I receive therapy on my knee three days a week, and I’m seeing big improvement. There are times when it really hurts, but you just have to keep focused on your goals and get through it. This isn’t my first time doing therapy. Osteoarthritis was eating away the joints in my hands, so I’ve had two hand surgeries. Sometimes I feel like I’m falling apart, one set of joints at a time.”

What motivates you to do the therapy?
“I want full use of my legs again. I don’t want to be crippled. I’m too young and too active. I’m not a sedentary person. I’m used to moving and doing things. I have adult grandkids. I have a new grandbaby that will be born in August. So I want to be able to do things with them.”

— Evelyn Marlow

The post Physical therapy helping her become active again appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“We exist to serve the needs of the community. If you look at the history of Bay Area Rehabilitation Center, we’ve gone from assisting a small group of individuals with cerebral palsy at the very beginning to where we now provide services to the full spectrum of individuals. Everyone from newborns on up to seniors, in all of the major rehabilitation disciplines: physical, occupational and speech therapies. When we brought the Opportunity Center on board in 2007, we added the component of vocational rehabilitation.

“On a personal level, what really drives me is the notion that I can help make a difference in someone’s life. I’m not out there providing the services. I’m not a therapist. I don’t treat people. But if I do my job right I can help put in place the right personnel, the right resources, the right types of facilities and the right opportunities for this organization to meet our mission. As a facilitator to allow our programs to happen, I think that’s what really keeps me focused.”

— Mark Alexander

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