Move to Live Newsletter by Choice Physical Therapy
Move to Live Your Resource to Moving Well and Living Life
GRACIAS (EN CUBANO)
“Hola! Como estas, Genoveva?!”
INSIDE: • Gracias (en Cubano) • Happy Holidays! • Patient Success Spotlight • #Choose2GiveBack
Genoveva is a 72 year young, Cuban woman. She just had both her hips replaced within the past 24 hours. Before coming to the Hospital Ortopedico Fructuoso Rodriguez she wasn’t able to complete two minutes of walking without having to sit and rest. Her son and daughter in law have travelled from hours away with her to have the chance to get a hip replacement. (continued inside)
www.choiceptny.com
Move to Live Your Resource to Moving Well and Living Life
Genoveva was having a hard time following her surgeries due to a reaction to the anesthesia. After her nausea and dizziness had subsided we were able to get her seated on the side of the bed, eventually standing and walking with a walker. Despite the fact that she wasn’t feeling great she was such a sweet lady, smiling, laughing and grateful for all our help. As was common on the rehab floor, when someone got up and walking for the first time after surgery the team of hospital doctors, nurses, physical therapists and anyone else in the hallway at the time would clap and cheer them on with words of encouragement. As we round her hospital room door entering the hallway, another patient a couple doors down is getting up for their first time as well. Just by chance more of the medical team is further down the hallway and sees the other patient walking out of their room and start cheering. Not three steps later Genoveva plops back into the wheelchair behind us, clearly frustrated. My spanish is no bueno, but I’m trying. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get her to crack a smile or get her motivated to rest a bit then continue walking. Shaking her head back and forth and motioning with her hand to go back to her room is all I’m getting. Ava is a member of Operation Walk Los Angeles, her and her husband Kyle own a Physical Therapy practice there. The LA team partnered up with our Albany team and we’d met about 72 hours earlier and gotten to know each other a bit during the course of our trip to this point. Ava happens to be walking down the hall right as we’re about to wheel Genoveva back into her room. She asks me how’s it going and I explain the situation how Genoveva was doing so good but seemed to get discouraged and I could’nt seem to get help her get motivated again. Ava’s spanish IS bueno. She kneels down and starts talking to Genoveva and her family members for about 45-60 seconds. Not, 10 seconds after their done talking, Genoveva pushes herself up from her wheelchair and we start charging down the hall while she’s pumping her fist in the air and yelling “Si! Si! Si!” GRACIAS (EN CUBANO) (continued from outside)
I’m not sure what Ava said but I look back with a big smile and Genoveva’s son is standing there crying and hugging Ava. We kept charging down the hallway for another 3-4 minutes before she sat down to rest again. Certain events tend to really put things in perspective. Here was a sweet woman who hadn’t been able to walk more than 2 minutes a week ago charging down the hallway less than 24 hours after having both hips replaced, cheering and pumping her fist. Ava, myself and most of the Operation Walk team were strangers four days ago and it was quite possible that none of us would see each other again. Despite all of that, everyone was working together to help one another to make sure each patient was able to get their best outcome. Whether in Troy, New York or Havana, Cuba I am proud to be a Physical Therapist and truly believe we have the best “job” in the world. Special thank you to everyone who was so supportive of Erin and I, before, during and after our trip. Attending fundraising events, stopping in the clinic to make a donation to Operation Walk Albany, donating crutches/ walkers/canes, and just generally being interested in our trip.
Thank you so much for your generosity and support! Joe
www.choiceptny.com
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
We are so grateful for all the great things that have happened over the past twelve months. A great team is made up of great team members and that is truly what we have here at Choice. Everyday we come to work with the most caring, compassionate, fun, knowledgeable and dedicated group of professionals we could ask for. In addition we have been very fortunate to have six awesome, hard working, professional team members join us in 2019. Our second location in Speigletown opened up this past fall and is off to a great start with Sarah and Donna leading the way to helping people of the Speigletown, Schaghticoke, and Melrose communities to move well and live life! Personally, it’s been a very fun year for the Napoleone family. Dominic has been busy in kindergarten, soccer, tee ball and ran his first grade school mile at the Turkey Trot! Cora started dancing, swimming lessons and loves having her nails painted (were changing colors almost daily at this point). Erin and I were extremely fortunate to be able to join the Operation Walk Albany team on a medical mission in Cuba and have continued to be blown away by the awesome support from our local communities.
Campbell 518.203.6761 518.279.2740
Wishing all of you a very fun, healthy holiday season and a happy new year!
Best wishes, Joe & Erin
Speigletown
Exercise Essentials Try this exercise to relieve back pain.
Patient Success Spotlight
Relieves Back Pain
www.simpleset.net
DEAD BUG | HEEL TOUCHES Lie on back, hands up, knees up and engage your core. Slowly lower one heel to the ground. Alternate sides. Keep core engaged.
SPEIGLETOWN GRAND OPENING!!
On November 19th, we were joined by local officials from the Town of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County Executives, the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce, The United Way of the Greater Capital Region, and all of our CPT team, family and friends for our ribbon cutting ceremony at our new clinic at 290 Speigletown Road. We were humbled by the turn out and look forward to bringing Physical Therapy to this community for years to come.
www.choiceptny.com
#Choose2GiveBack
Operation Walk Albany - Havana, Cuba Joe and Erin returned home November 13th after a week spent in Havana, Cuba, where they provided physical therapy care with Operation Walk Albany. Alongside 53 other health professionals, a local team formed by Dr. Jared Roberts, the group completed 56 total joint replacements in 3.5 days, consisting of total knee and total hip replacements, with some patients receiving bilateral surgeries. The Cuban nationals travelled hours to be candidates for these surgeries and following a day long screening process, were selected for surgery and scheduled within the first 4 days of the trip. The days started at 7am at the hospital and ended at 6pm, with an average of 17 cases per day. Erin and Joe had the opportunity to teach these patients how to walk for the first time post-op, negotiate stairs, bathroom activities, and return to their homes. It was truly an experience they will never forget. Thank you to all who gave their well wishes, donated the assistive devices, and have been following along the way! Gratefully, Erin
www.choiceptny.com
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