Concierge: Tiffany Colon
Patient Name: Judith Applebaum
Patient Age: 78 years old
Admissions Date: 12/22/2022
Admitted from: St. Catherine of Sienna Hospital
Discharge Date: TBD
Length of Stay: A little over two years
Reason for Stay: Fall that later led to above knee amputation
How did this patient hear about The Hamlet? Social Worker at St. Catherine of Sienna Hospital
Details of experience:
On 12/22/2022, Judith was admitted to our community from St. Catherine of Sienna Hospital with an admitting diagnosis of a fall. This fall set Judith back with a lot of her ADL (activities of daily living), which left her not getting out of bed most days. This led her to need a right AKA (above knee amputation) in October 2023. Judith came to our community for rehabilitation to recover from her fall, and then after her AKA, she was a part of our unique Comprehensive Amputee Rehabilitation Program.
Upon arrival, Judith was greeted by Hamlet’s interdisciplinary team, which includes Nursing, Concierge, Social Work, Recreation, and Rehabilitation. Patrice Thomas, Physical Therapist, evaluated Judith along with Kristen Gualbert, Occupational Therapist. Judith had become part of The Hamlet family, so when returning to our community after her AKA, we all strived to keep her in the best spirits and help her get through this transition. Todd Schaffhauser and Dennis Oehler, both Gold Medal winners at the Paralympics and the driving force behind our Comprehensive Amputee Rehabilitation Program, came to visit Judith after her AKA and followed her throughout her healing of the surgery to get her to use the early ambulation device.
She required rehabilitation services to strengthen and increase functional activity tolerance, functional transfer/ bed mobility, and improve dynamic balance. Upon evaluation, Judith was dependent on all ADLs. She worked extremely hard with our rehabilitation team to regain her strength. Judith had a long road to recovery, but after 5 months, she went from being dependent on most ADLs to independent. She is instructed in sliding board transfer training with contact guard assistance (CGA) for safety, hand placement at times, and weight shifting. Judith is currently walking 10-12 feet with a max assist of one person. During this challenging time of recovery, Judith had 1:1 sessions of Integrative Therapy Session to help with her anxiety.
Judith achieved every goal handed to her in these last 5 months of rehabilitation services but still has a long road ahead of her to be able to walk with her new prosthetic leg. She is working extremely hard to work past the struggles she may come across. Judith is a long-term resident in our community, but since her amputation and being able to start walking again, she has made it known that she would love to be able to be on her own again one day. She is extremely grateful to the entire team at The Hamlet for being by her side every step of the way through her healing journey.
The team at The Hamlet will continue to be Judith’s biggest cheerleaders on her healthcare journey.