My Time at Kessler--Part I

It started a little over a year ago I was falling more, my folks kept reminding me they were doing too much for me and wouldn't be around forever and I honestly felt like my body was getting tighter. I joined the Y MCA for swimming a few days a week, it helped some  but I was falling more and losing control of my body. Years of  "you need to get yourself to a gym" couldn't be ignored any more.  Last May I went to see the orthopedic doctor down at Kessler Rehab, she said it was time I consider going back to PT and OT, twice a week for eight weeks. She wanted to start over the summer, the first summer we had the new house in Cape May. My mom and I looked at each other in horror. What would we tell my dad?  It was decided I could wait until fall, then we agreed January after the holidays. With the transportation in place, for the most part I s

The PT was very straight forward, I work with the machines to build up strength and to loosen my body. He said we ,need to get your endurance up, so for the n ext eight weeks I was put on exercise machines and even started  to do some cross-training. I kept reminding myself that if I knew this was  the kind of PT I would be doing, I would have started a lot sooner. It also made a difference he was a guy,  up until this point all my PT's when I was younger were women. Whole different experience working with a guy. He was tough, but not mean//. He didn't water anything down and did something I'll always remember, push myself. I soon realized he was

 The OT sessions on the other hand were a bit more complex. During the initial interview the OT commented,first day  there  I was put through the ringer with all kinds tests for hand and arm strength, and coordination..  The OT is a lady obviously younger than I am she repeated what I have been hearing for years, your folks aren't going to be around for ever, it's time you start doing stuff like cooking on your own. Then she got into dressing I said yeah I dressed myself, except small buttons and shoe laces. Basically she helped me problem solve daily living obstacles. She also was someone around my age I could to talk outside of a bar setting. She also was very  objective about how I was getting through  life and how I could make things better.] It took me awhile to figure it out, but she was teaching me life skills I had neglected to  learn when I was younger, much to my family's dismay. She also helped me find my confidence again,  something that was missing for years

During those eight weeks I wasn't only getting physically stronger, I was served a few doses of reality as well. Kessler after all is a rehabilitation center,  meaning people who have had  injuries due to accidents g o there to try to regain control of their bodies. I saw folks both younger and older, walking with a walker or crutches, to folks who could barely lift their arms.  The youngest boy was  either a  freshman or sophomore in high school  the oldest woman seemed to be in her eighties. We  rooted for each  other, not vocally but gave each other glances of  encouragement whenever we had a break from working out

 Continue reading My Time at Kessler Part II

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